The Washington herald., 1922-01-15
NEITHER PARTY
HAS LIVE ISSUE
FOR CAMPAIGN
G. o. p. to Praise Harding
And Ask More Time
On Legislation.
By MARK SULLIVAN.

from an elderly Southern lady a
compliment about his political past.
coupled with q friendly wish about
his political future. Bryan, with
the broadest and most gracious
smile in his armory Of personal at
fractions. took his well-wisher
aside and said:
Madam, consider this: right now
down here In the white House we
have q Republican President con-
Quoting a conference whose busi-
ness Is to carry out my policy OF
disarmament and Mr.. wilson's pol
icy Of international cooperation.
Over In sthe House of Represents
tives. you have just seen a Repub-
liean Congress Appropriate moro
money for the enforcement Of pro-
!. hibition than was ever Appropriated
before, and just recently you have
seen q Republican Senate adopt the
Democratic program of high sur
taxes on large incomes.
Madam" Mr.. Bryan said in con-
clusion, when things are going SO
well with Democratic policies. why
should we worry about the ofiicesr'
skeptical watch Bryan.
This expression of philosophic
resignation about his personal for
tunes may have come from Bryan's
heart. or II may merely have been
his parlor manner. A good many
persons who argue from the known
laws of human nature smile skep-
tically when anyone speaks of
Bryan as having foresworn ambi-
ton. They say that no one can have
thrown himself as Bryan has into
public life for thirty years without
becoming what such an experience
viii make Of any man. They assert
that IL Bryan saw the opening for
another period of personal leader
ship Of the Democratic party, he
would Inevitably % drawn into IL.
The persons who say this include
many who compose the present
leadership of the Democratic party.
within the field of political gossip
there 10 nothing more common than
TO be drawn aside and told, with an
air of cryptic meaning, watch
Bryan"
Nevertheless, in cold fact the
thing Is hardly possible. There are
host OF Democratic voters and Of
smaller local leaders who love
Bryan. but so far as political avail
ability is concerned they regard
him like an elderly country uncle
who comes to town in his black al
paca coat and invokes the blessing
at meals and leads the family
prayers. They pay reverence to his
years and his position. they listen
respectfully to his quotations from
the prophets. they pay him every
Difference Of affection. but when Il
comes to managing their practical
affairs they elbow him into the
chimney corner.
Not Sharing His Calm.
Moreover. these same leaders Of
the Democratic party have no no
ton Of sharing Bryan's philosophic
calm about the Offices On the con-
trary, they are even now at work
TO acquire the largest possible num-
Der Of ofices during the present
year. They think the tide has
turned and is running strongly in
their direction. They give you sta
tistics showing that recently In In
diana forty-six out Of seventy-four
towns went Democratic at local
elections, and that in several other
States. particularly Connecticut, the
results were similarly hopeful from
the Democratic point of view. For
these Developments they give no
specific reasons. but assign merely
a state of general discomfort with
the Republican management Of
things. And when you ask the
Democratic leaders just what they
rely on to carry the coming Con-
gressional elections, they admit
they have no clear, SPECIFIC issues
The nearest thing we have had to
a formal declaration of Democratic
. national policy was contained in
two speeches made recently by the
new Democratic national chairman,
CordeIl Hull. But even in those two
speeches there was little in the ma
ture of a clear definition Of issues.
Parties HarkinE Backward.
As IL happens. / have been at
some pains TO familiarize myself
with the plans OF both the Demo-
cratic and Republican party man
asements for the coming campaign,
and II turns out that both parties
expect to point backward. The Re-
publicans are going to rehearse all
. they have already said about Demo-
cratic management of the war, and
make a plea in the nature of con-
fession and avoidance to the effect
that the time has been too short
for them to regulate the economic
chaos in which they claim the DEM
ocrats left the country. Vivid and
elaborate portrayal of alleged Dem
ocrstic extravaganza in the man
aEement of the war, and Of the
after effects OF that management,
is to form the bulk of the Republi-
can campaigning this year 1t Is
"old stuff" but In private CONVEX
sations the Republicans say that
circumstances compel them to rely
on II.
The Republicans know times are
hard. and have little faith that they
will be better before the elections
come They are preparing to accept
that condition as an unavoidable in
cident of the campaign, and frankly
ask the public for another lease of
power to give them time to make
matters better. Their real hope, of
course. Is that IL they can manage
to squeeze through the present year,
thereafter hard times will come to
an end soon enough to enable them
to claim the credit for Il when the
Presidential election comes round
two years later. In fact, II Is taken
completely for granted as a part of
the Republican policy that by 1924
the country Will. be in the swing or
an upward boom in business, and
that II they can manage to Squeeze
through 1922 fate will soon there
after become their partner.
Den0crnfD Hark Hack