Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-02-19
IN RANKS
OF DEMOCRATSIS
FINALLY ENDED
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Ueased Wire Service to The JournaD
CConvripht 1921

WASHINGTON. Feb. 17,-De-
mocracy has had its little revolt
and has sduelched it. There will
be no meeting of the entire mem
bership of the Democratic national
committee at this time nor will
there be any political move made
that may be interpreted by the pub
lie at large as the beginning of a
campaign Of carping criticism OF
Warren Harding's administration.
Canvass of the individual mem:
bers of the executive committee Of
White, Democratic national chair
man, revealed a district aversion to
active party campaigning at this
time and a general feeling that the
present was no occasion, for the
upbuilding of a Democratic often
sive.
vativeminded men, like
Homer S. Cummings and Cordell
Hull and many other Democrats,
whether their personal allegiance is
that the spirit Of fair-play in Amer.
lea demands co-opera ton instead Of
partisanship and that instead of
initiating their Republican brethren
who rarely lost chance to oppose
last two years of Republican rule
in congress, the public will be more
receptive to a return of the Dem
ocratS to power if they have given
an example of breadth and fair
mindedness.
Source of Revolt
The Democratic revolt is trace
able to two or three over-zealous
and over-eager friends of William
G. McAdoo These men-among
them Robert Woolley, former inter-
70 o nnY11O1i c and
Thomas B. Love. national commit
teeman from Texas. both of whom
were active for McAdoo at San
Franciso, seemed to think the
present was an opportune moment
to capture the party machinery.
They had the idea that the party
welfare demanded a reorganization,
that the last CAMPAIGN was more or
less of a. fiasco and that advantase
has been taken of the mistakes
as inevitable when the Republicans
begin to tackle the problems of state
and turn from the role of critics to
the desks Of responsibility. So
Geographic messages to the entire
membership of the Democratic ma
tional committee urging a full meet
ing and a constructive program.
Authorization to sign such a re-
quest came from more than a ma
Messrs. Love and Woolley drafted
the request for a meeting and sent
it on to George White, the phraseol-
ogy used was obnoxious to many Of
the members Of the committee who
had originally authorized the use of
their. signatures. The request for a
meeting contained a pointed hint to
Mr.. White that his resignation was
expected. Accordingly the issue be-
came more or less personal and many
signatures were promptly withdra Wn.
Most of the members Of the execu-
tive committee with whom the writer
talked today were Of the opinion that
George White had done about as we'll
as could have been done under the
circumstances in the last campaign,
that he had not sought the chairman
ship in the first place and was prob
ably not eager to hold it any way,
and that there was no good reason
for humiliating him.
Party Interests Uppermost
AS a matter of fact there is no
particular feeling one way or the
other about presidential candidates
among the members of the executive
committee. The broad general inter-
and with the exception of a few over
eager boomers of McAdoo and Cox
the wiser heads in the party are
much more interested in planning a
general program OF party reorganlza-
ton than they are in helping any
individual get control of the party
machinery for his own ends.
Many Of the members Of the COM
mittee seemed to think the country
as a whole would look askance at a
full meeting of the Democratic ma
tional committee called on the eve OF
a Republican administration when
such meetings are usually held only
once in four years just before the
presidential conventions are held. In
other words, the sagacious ones seem
to think the nation as whole wants
to see Warren Harding succeed. and
that it will not brook obvious par
tisan interference. Later on-and, of
course, this is Democratic viewpoint
when mistakes will have been made
and the nation has recovered from
its flush of expectancy and enthusi-
asm and is beginning to look for an
opposition party to stimulate the Re-
publicans to keep their promises
drift of public opinion may make
timely and pertinent a full meeting
Of the Democratic national commit
tee