The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-14

The republican party even though it does not please all deponents of tha Wilson administration, at any rate of fers the only effective opposition of the democracy and the opposition vote. Even though not entirely pleased and satisfied, it will have nowhere else to go than to Harding and Coolidge As to the conservative tendency of the people, Mir Mills pointed at the con vention as a striking example.
 And the delegates were amazingly conservative They would not have anything to do with Johnson; cared nothing about his vote-getting power so far as allowing him to influence the action of the convention on can didates or platform. They, or the gall leries or both, hissed and booed the Wisconsin delegation at every ballot when the chairman of that delegation arose and made the monotonous an- noun cement, Wisconsin casts twenty four votes for Robert M. LaFollette.'
 There was no mistaking the mood of the delegates. They had made their selection and were going to cast out the devil of radicalism and all his works. If they truly represent the majority sentiment or the country the Harding ticket will win easily The delegates were either curiously confi- dent that conservatism would have an easy victory or else they had made up their minds that it was better to go down to defeat for the cause of conservatism than to win by further trafficking with the other side.
 REPRESENTED THE MASSES
 But it takes a little out of our con- fidence that the delegates were truly representative of the great masses of population when you see your hotel bills The man who pays s20 or $30 a day for a hotel rovm is neither on3 of the white collar slaves nor one of the blue denim clad workers. The delegate to convention, by reason of the cost of attending, is necessarily man of some means He has profitable business or he has com fortable bank account. Even the men who are elected by the direct pri- maries, as Johnson delegates in states carried by the Californian, turned out to be hard-boiled conservatives who voted for Johnson reluctantly and re joiced in the small figure Johnson cut in the convention. The country may be in an intensely conservative mood, but this convention necessarily could not be a fair cross-section of public opinion Conservatism, if one may say So seems rather determined to make a fight as one that can no longer be deferred than sure of it's ability to win.
  of view, that expressed by MT. White He expressed doubt Lf Harding carry ing Kansas Kansas is not well chosen as an example of Mr. Harding's diff ficulties Kansas Is an agricultural state where plenty of men are rich. Kansas has a certain liberalism which dates from the past, survival, sort of echo of old emotions. And this echo may die out during campaign in which the interests of one class of so- ciety are definitely arrayed against the interests of the other class.
 The hissing of LaTollettes name was a more serious symptom. The delegates to the convention recognized instincensively where the line was drawn and where the fight would be. Plainly there was a reading out of the party of LaFollette, the Non-Partisan League the labor vote and those mis- cellaneous elements which make up the partys left wing.
 If the fight develo ps as the conven- ton indicated Wisconsin is likely to follow LaFollette out of the republican party into something else, with the loss of it's electoral vote to the repub- licans. And the whole tier of states extending from Wisconsin to Minne- sota. the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho and Washington is made doubtful.
 THOMPSON. AND HEARST
 Mayor Thompsons defection during the convention indicates that he will go where Hearst goes. The strength of the Hearst-Thompson influence was indicated in the 900 written-in votes for Johnson in the Illinois primary. These allies together apparently com trol the rest of power in this state The liberals here, who are disap- pointed with the convention's work, fear that Illinois my be doubtful. The Hearst influence is very great wherever he has newspapers and wherever there is a large industrial population of the sort that Johnson successfully appealed to, as in Mich igan and northern New Jersey. A con- servative ticket may have difficulties. This argument applies in Mir. Harding's own state where the primaries showed his weakness, and it may lead to the giving to Governor Cox, Ohio's most popular citizen a place on the demo- cratic. ticket.
 Johnson is big factor in the situation. He accepted. the ticket, but he is known to be an angry and disappointed man From being powerful figure in Wash ington he dwindled to nothingness here The delegates did not care two straWs for the fact that he was the leader of the party's left wing. They did not care two straws for the partys left wing.
 The parallel of 1904 recurs again. Bryan l accepted" the Parker ticket in that year. Bryan stayed regular and waited untii he could say triumphally, 1T told you so'
 Johnson. if the worst fears Of the hp-