The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-02-18
DENIS. SQUELCH
REVOLT IN PARTY
No Meeting of National
Committee to Be
Held Now
GEORGE WHITE is
STILL IN CONTROL
Members Think Country Would Look
Committee Called on Evening of Be
Committee Called On Eeyening of Be
ginning of Repub. Administration.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Despatch to The Reformer.)
Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON, Feb. is. -Democ-
racy has had its little revolt and has
squelched it. There will be no meeting
of the entire membership of the Demo
cratic national committee at this time
nor will there be any political move made
that may be interpreted by the public at
large as the beginning of a campaign of
carping criticism of Warren Harding
administration Canvass of the indi-
vidual members of the executive com
mittee of 10 summoned by George White,
Democratic national chairman, revealed
a distinct aversion to active party cam
paigning at this time and a general feel
ing that the present was no occasion for
the upbuilding of a Democratic offensive.
Conservative minded men like Homer
S. Cummings and Cordell Hull and many
other Democrats whose personal aileg
lance is to Cox or McAdoo seem TO think
that the spirit of fair play III America
demands cooperation instead of parti-
sanship and that instead of initiating
their Republican brethren who rarely
lost a chance to oppose the Democratic
executive in the last two years of Re
publican rule in congress. public opinion
seems to be that the public viii be more
receptive to a return of the Democrats
to power if they have given an example
of breadth and fair~-mindedneSS.
The Democratic revolt is tFaceable to
two or three overzealous and overeager
friends of William CT. McAdoo. These
men-among them Robert Wooley. for
mer interstate commissioner
and Thomas b. Love, national commit
teeman from Texas both of whom were
active for McAdoo at San Francisco.
seemed TO think the present was an OPP
perfume moment to capture the party
machinery. They had the idea that the
party welfare demanded n reorganization,
that the last campaign was more or less
of a hascO and that advantage should be
taken immediately of the mistakes which
they as Democrats fOrsee as inevitable
when the Republicans begin to tackle the
problems of state and turn from the role
of critics to the task of responsibility
So MessrS. Love and WoOley sent out
tclegraphic messages to the entire mem
berShip of the Democratic national com
mittec urging n full meeting and Il con.
StructIye program. Authorization t.
sign such n request came from more than
a majority of the committee but when
MeSsrS. Loy and Wooley drafted the
request for a meeting and sent it. on Ia
George White the phraSeOlogy used was
obnoxious to many of the members OF
the committee who had originally author
lied the use of their signatures. The
request for a meeting contained a pointed
hint to Mr.. White tina his resignation
was expected. Accordingly the issue be-
came more or less personal and many
signatures were promptly withdrawn.
Most of the members of the executive
committee with whom the writer
talked today were of the opinion that
/ fNnnrwa NXhT#a hnl L. H. 90. I'll -
could have been done under the circum-
stances in the last campaign that he had
not sought the Craftsmanship in the first
place and was probably not eager to hold
it any way and that there was no good
reason for humiliating him. As a matter
of fact there II no particular feeling one
way or the other about presidential can
didates among the members of the execu-
tive committee. The broad general inter
estS of the party seem uppcrmoSt and
with the exception of a few over eager
boomers of McAdoo and Cox the wiser
heads in the party are much more inter
eSted III planning a general program of
party reorganization than they are i'm
helping any Individual get control of the
party machinery for his own ends.
Many OF the members of the committee
seemed to think the country as a whole
would look askance at a full meeting of
the Democratic national committee called
on the eve OF a Republican adminiStra-
ton. when these 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 a whole wants
to See Warren Harding succeed and that
it Will not brook obvious partisan inter
ference. Later on-and of course this
is the Democratic view point-when
mistakes will have been made and the ma
ton has recovered from its flush of ex-
pectancy and enthusiasm and is begin
ming to look for an opposition party to
stimulate the Republicans to keep their
promises drift of public opinion may
make timely and pertinent a full meeting
of the Democratic national committee.
Another thing which makes a meeting
at this time unwiSe is the fight that
would ensue over the selection of a sue.
cesSor to George White. The sores OF
the campaign are not healed and there
is no such thing as agreement on any
Moses to lead the party out of the wild.
erneSS. SO the revolt will blow over
and the Democrats will resume a passive
attitude while men like Oscar Underwood
maintain the party traditions i'm con.
gresS and the Republicans have their in.