The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-02-08
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


Especial Despatch to The Reformcr )
Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON. Feb. S.-Baclz Of +Lo
telegram Just sent by 40 members Of tbo
Democratic national committee to Chair
man George White asking that meetin =
OF the committee be held at once. j. =
story Of politics That shows how onbo,,,
eral the followers Of james NJ. Cox of
Ohio or William Gibbs McAdoo ~ Nov
ork regard the factors which orc,,obt
about the overwhelming defeat Of ,},nlor-
racy last autumn.
80 intense is the struggle for control Of
the Democratic committee on the part Of
both McAdoo and Cox Geutenapts that
one might think the national conv,nr,,n
was next spring, instead of four years off
ana that Repubhcanism had stubhaI it,
toe and was on the downward grade Tho
utter confidence in Democratic vicrnrv
next time, would he incredible if r. wa,
nor rejected accurately i'm the atii5,.las
ana maneuveTes OF the Democrat. laaIars
VINO seem To- THINK no time should he lost
III HghIing Tor their respective idols.
broadly speaking, the peoule who are
CIdHlotlhg Tor reorganization Of the Dem
Deidlic party are urging Mr. Whites res
ishdJ!On and complete change in noli+IcaI
attack not because Of individual ambitious
OF c9hdldacieS-no, that part OF it Is
S7touty denied To hear the McAdoo FOL.
,,,l',Si1,, lax one would believe tina. the
movement has no candidacy Whatsoever
IN mind, merely the best interest, IF fIo
party and incidentally Of the caunfl,, IN
furnishing an Intelligent and aggressive
ohnPosItIq3n To the party in power
But the truth is neither the NcAr.o
9Tl-r L.
Lhem the chance OF nominating their man
loHf years hence Is Just as good as it was
IN the earlier hours Of the deadlock M
San Francisco. The situation has many
CONTRADICTORY aspects but it Is. obviols
rom what the writer knows Of t;a,r,a
Whites personality that thc men and wo-
men who signed the petition virtually
saying here 's-vOllr-hat what 's-vnuI- hurry
dld not know that the method they chose
was about the last way To brush White
ont OF office. He isn't kind. lie learned
perseverance and persistence IN due KI0n-
dixie regions when he prospected nprcn-l
maIly for the precious dust of that soil.
~ course, Mr.. White intends to resign.
ana he IS rs ANXIOUS as anybody that the
next chairman Of the Democratic national
committee shall be man of integrity
and progressive ideas. a man who can rive
all Of his time for the next four wears to
the TeSuscItatlon OF a mOribund political
0I4anzatlon. When Mr.. White was in
Washington shortly after the election the
effort TO Dust him became pronounced but
the chairman was unmovcd and let it be
known that he was planning to Stav Tor
awhile IN his present position
Now, however the situation has
changed. The McAdoo followers have
quietly obtained control Of the Democratic
national committee membership-at least
they think they have a majority and
therefore they want a meeting called at
once. Should Mr.. White decline to call
one, the Cox followers are of the opinion
that before many months are past the Cox
group will have regained control.
The alignment on the surface of course
Is pro-McAdOO and pro-CoX. but a deeper
uDheaVal IS m prospect. The coalition Of
all the W IlSou forces. including the cle-
mentS who supported McAdoo and Palmer
at San Francisco and some Of those who
heIped Cox, but who have always been
ldentlhed with the progressive wing OF the
against the old Murphy Nugent- Brennan
forces and their allies who represent the
wet element in the party and anti-Wilson-
ism besides
William Jennings BRYAN represents an
INDEPENDENT element which IS more likely
to be found against the wet element IN the
end than with it. In a nut shell, the fight
has i'm it desire on the part of the west
ern leaders OF the party and certain pro-
gresslves to form a partnership, choose a
WeSterner for chairman of the national
committee, and make the Democratic
party 4 truly progressive instrumcntality|
that will afford refuge to those voters who
in the congressional elections two wears
hence or the presidential contest in 1921
may have come to the conclusion that the
Harding administration was not progTes-
sive. The prospect of a similar nrogres-
sive versus reactionary fight inside the
Republican party is of course getting
brighter every day. The whole situation
wen at this early date is beginning more
and more. to resemble the era in our polit-
zeal history which came 10 a climax in the
Bull Moose movement of 1912.