New-York tribune., 1920-09-26

~ IN 40 I'D ~ AN IA ~ " ~
while the liquor element all over the
country has long been rotoriously gull
lible, as for instance it's stupid re-
fusal to admit the possibility Of pro-
hibition actually coming, in Wisconsin
at least the men anxious for restora-
ton Of beer and wines have shifted
over into the "show me" class. As one
German put it to me to-day: "A wink
doesn't mean anything to US any more.
and with a notary's seal on it at that"
VETS Throw Cox Over
But not only has Wisconsin waited
in vain for any positive hope for beer
from Cox; it has been, as the vets up
here feel, deliberately thrown over
board by the Democratic nominee in his
desperate effort to save the Rocky
Mountain and Pacific Coast states.
anger, that he has been getting drier
| and drier, first calling prohibition
dead issue in Washington and finally
reading himself deliberately into the
dry ranks in southern California.
The dispatches carrying this South
ern California announcement had just
been printed in Wisconsin when en-
tered the state, so that the resentment
was still fresh and bubbling over 1t
may simmer down later, but it is diff
ficult to see how Cox can gain any
thing on the wet and dry issue, no
matter what he may say on the sub
ject from now on.
Curiously enough, this has done him
little good with the drys. Judging by
Mrs. Kennan's statement, and many
from other sources like it, the dry
women are afraid of that wink which
means 80 little to the vets. They don't
want to take any chances.
Cox and Roosevelt have also been
hurt in Wisconsin by their promises
made in the Pacific Coast and Rocky
Mountain states. Wisconsin folks want
the taxes reduced, and they are rather
liberal promises of big appropriations
out of the Federal treasury for irriga-
tion projects for the Far West as made
by Cox and Of big Pacific fleet made
to the coast states by Roosevelt.
Snarting under the taxes, they also
resent the recent drive to run the regu-
lar army up to 100000 by Secretary of
War Baker, when Congress made ap-
preparations for little less than 2O0,-
600 men for the current year.
! The fact that this means big de-
makes it harder for even the next
Congress to reduce taxation, has been
pretty thoroughly brought home to
them, and they are rather disgusted
therefore with Cox's criticisms of the
| kepUblican Congress for not reducing
taxation last session.
Disappointed With Cox
Wisconsin is normally heavy Re-
! publican state, so no special surge of
Ieellng is necessary to put it in the
hepubncan columns at any given cleo
tlon. This year, however, all signs
point to an unprecedented Republicans
majority because of the intense feel
ing. against the Wilson Administration
which can be manifested only by vot-
ing against Cox, who has apparently
been perfectly willing to shoulder the
ADMINISTRATORS burden, in the hope
OF deriving such strength as it might
be able to give.
The League of Nations and the peace
treaty are probably understood as well
here as in almost any state in the
union. Every man one meets has a
rather clear idea, not only of Article
x, for instance, but of the reservation
proposed to it by all of the Republi-
cans and a strong minority of the
Democratic Senators. The people here
were very much disappointed. there
| fore, at the way Mr.. Cox dismissed
this in his local speeches. They had
hoped for real discussion of Article X
Also, the people up here were thor
oughly aroused on the Shantung is
sue. Minister to China Reinsch, who
strangely enough, is Senator Lenroot's
Democratic opponent for the Senate, is
believed here to have resigned his post
because he sympathized 80 deeply with
the Chinese in their protests against
this section of the peace treaty and
their refusal to sign the treaty for that
reason.
This, together with the very active
part played by Senator Lenroot in
drafting reservations and leading the
Republican group of Senators known as
the mild reservationists," made the
peace treaty, so far as Wisconsin is
concerned, not national story but a
i local story for the newspapers. The
people have had an almost personal in
terest in the questions in which
Reinsch, Lenroot and La Toilette were
taking an active part.
The situation is that the normal Re-
publicans are practically all against
the league, while the Democrats are
having a hard time trying to be for it
Most of the Democrats here would
have been extremely pleased to have
gotten the treaty issue, out of the way
T.