Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-02-14
|6RY ISSUE PUZZLES
!, BOTH OLD PARTIES
pernocrats Wish Bryan and Ed
wards Could Be Sidetracked
Very Quietly
n 0. P. HAS EASIER TASK
nv CLINTON w. GILBERT
s..r correspondent Of the Evening Public
Stan ledger

o'"" Icdger
washington. Feb. 14.-The Demo
.,.tic marty: meaning thereby the ad-
s,;ristration. Mr. Homer Cummings,
tbeir friends and henchmen. has two
worries Mr.. Bryan and Governor Ed
1 wards of New Jersey.
II loves Governor Edwards for his
4 handsome victory last fall, but it would
/ Ike to chasten him. It hates Mr..
j Rryan for his many sins and offenses
and II means to crush him on April 20
4 in Nebraska.
The Democratic party, that is, the
i administration. wants to forget the
ret. and dry issue at San Francisco. 1t
| has other troubles and embarrassments.
II NAV split easily enough without as
sistance from Bryan or Governor Ed
wards. Yet the Commoner and the New
! Jersey governor won't let the Democ-
Mr. Bryan takes himself quite scri-
orsly, He is the voice of virtue. Gov
4 erbor Edwards takes himself quite seri-
4 ously. He is the great draught making
itself heard in protest. Didn't Mr..
/ BRYAN single him out for the honor of
an attack?
Since then not day passes but the
/ New Jersey governor breaks into the
news as the friend of 3. or Or some
lucky number per cent. One day he
4 isn't on the list of speakers at the Ma
tioDal Democratic Club in New York,
b,d Tp all the same his speech is in the
newspaper Offices. and 3, 3. Z. and all
the way up to 81 per cent. are largely
represented among the diners. With
| loud voices the higher percentages de-
| mand Governor Edwards. The chair
I man has to make place for him on
| the program much to the horror, annoy
/ ance. anger and chagrin of Chairman
Homer Cummings. who is forced to
4 write a piece to the papers every few
! days saying that it is only by accident
4 not by. design that he puts his feet
| under the same table with the wet gov
ernOr.
Would Like to Suppress Both
The next day it is straw vote taken
1 In the dry state of Iowa and the wet
governor of New Jersey leads all the
i West. The vote probably does not
mean anything, except that the resi-
dents of the river towns of Iowa who
looked calmly and with good reason on
the dryness of Iowa are perturbed by
nationwide dryness. Even the river
is now dry. Hence the big vote for
Edwards.
The Democracy would like to suppress
l Edwards, gently and with wink at
the boys 1t would like to suppress
Bryan rudely and with the appearance
I of furnishing the Commoner' hcresy on
the treaty. on the government owner
ship of railroads or on any other sub
ject except percentages.
1t is troublesome thing to suppress
! Bryan and Edwards without having
row The Democratic party has par
tisans of every percentage from one
half of per cent, favored by the Com
moner to 100 per cent, favored by Ger
tain nameless and noisy citizens, who
| at public banquets call loudly. Eds
! wards, Edwards, speech. speech" The
! Democracy needs the votes of all of
! them. The mildest words it uses about
4 Edwards are to wish he would 'shut
up" There is no use of wishing Bryan
1 would shut up" Experience running
\ since 1896 has taught the Democracy
4 that.
If Edwards would "shut up and
Bryan would go home where he could
be talked to by Sir Oliver Lodge, the
Democracy would do at San Francisco
what the Republicans will do at Chi
cagO-adopt some mild words about
being the friends of ''law and order"
4 and at the same time being the Jealous
guardians of the liberties of the COM
mon man" and let it go at that. The
half pcrcenters getting much comfort
out of the words law and order while
the 3, D. Z and 81 percenters fixed their
eyes or the liberties of the common
man. ="
It will be easy for the Republicans
to do this. Percentages don't run over
. wide range in the Republican party.
They run frCm one half of l per cent
TO blank per cent, the Republicans
keeping quiet about the upper limit.
They are well disciplined party, not
making much noise about either limit.
Inc ly. Democratic range is from one
hali OF to 100 and much, noise is
made about each figure. 1t is an un.
disciplined party.
NJ The only hope lies in the discipline of
wilson. Everybody hopes he will be
90 restored in health that he can say at
saI francisco ION the one hand law
shd order and on the other the "liber-
ueS OF the common man." and it will be
!uSt IKE that. on the one hand law and
order and on the other the liberties of
The common man.
Dem0cracy's Hopes in Wilson
IN that way there wiil be room in
MI @ hpeihocratlc party for the extra dry
tS ana Tor the very wet cities of
lne North in which the wessest vote ia
tverywhere the Democratic vote, All
hopes Of having that much room rest
o opoh Mr. Wilson. If it can be nut
er .s tnere will be room in the party
err San Francisco.
will ~ uo'' not mean that booze issue
snH "mi SSiSappear when Chicago has spoken
Hou oah francisco has WHISPERED about
tho tbS" and ana ORDER and 'the liberties of
oS @ common man." Not at all not.
or Ore might might say, by a jugful of raisin
n Il r;u MIne juice ripening in the cellar,
can "'at III De De local issue. Neither party
nstioanipr anpra TO pass upon booze as a
ford fdOtal ia issue Neither party can af-
W ignore IT as local issue.
n.t;oe une parties have their way in the
hoth ha' s conventions there will be in
Mr. Vam VI hem candidates. like that of
oifsr ate nn Philadelphia, which will
percont 10 .he voters the choice of various
this heusGS h, t OF alcohol. Especially will
parties VII III the cities where both
ddates P''oaoiS put up wet can
issnsa nae . percentage issue is a very live
for CTuI man ana will remain a very live issue
n Cornnntahy years to come. So long as
4 intrsSrrerSss. isreSs or the state legislatures NAV
sres hPrrt the words "aicoholic bever.
4 in MI tbo IN the constitution, men will run
intern,owtet wet districts promising q liberal
Npretation Npp of those words.
the eirb constitution settled nothing in
Of WbYintteenth amendment but the fate
Of lightS and drunkenness. The fate
Of tSSH' tho wines vines and beers is in the hands
And the situation 10 suo, 49,.