New-York tribune., 1922-10-31
Old Line Democrats See
Domination of the 1924
Convention by Senator
if Reelected This Fall
Believed Certain Winner
With Hearst Support and
Split Since 1920 Defeat.
Might Rum for President
By Carter Field

saturated with thorough contempt
3or so many prominent Democrats,
dominating the next Democratic Ma
s.anal Convention is not the least ele-
Gent which has driven so many old
HFe Democrats in this state 90 support
Republican candidate for Senator for
fhe FIRST time in their lives.
Sim Reed is almost surely going TO
be elected, though, of course, the bolt
ing Democrats for the most part
believe they can beat him. If elected,
most Democrats take IL for granted
that there will be no League of Ma
tions plank in the next Democratic
platform. There arc Some practical
Democratic leaders who would not be
averse to this part OF tho possible con-
sequences, but there are other pos-
sible consequences much more serious.
For example, there are Democrats.
and Republicans, 100, out hero who
believe that if Reed ia reelected Sen
ator, with the tremendous prestige of
having triumphed over the only leader
the Democratic party has acknowledged
since Bryan was "knocked into a cooked
hat he may easily be nominated by
the Democrats for President. Ger.
iainly, though his nomination would
seem almost an impossihiIity. he will
have much To say about who will be
ramed and what is written into the
platform.
Reed is far from friendly. since his
fght against Wilson, with the McAdoo
wing Of the party. He has no use for
Mitchell Palmer. He has been more
friendly, on the other hand, with Tam
many in New York, Nugent in New
in Illinois and the Taggart forces in
Indiana, except that while most of
these elements submerged their own
ideas and followed the leader while
Wilson was in the White House Reed
die not
Excluded Reed. Nominated Cox
Two years ago these forces in the
Democratic party, excluding Reed,
who was thrown out of the conven-
tion although elected by his county,
joined hands in nominating Governor
Cox OF Ohio. At tho time they all
thought they were nominating man
who was at least moist, and who was
anti-Wilson. Everybody else at San
Francisco thought so. The anti-Saloon
League leaders. most of thcm happen
ing TO come from Coxs own state.
thought SO and fought him bitterly to
the end on the wet issue. Had it not
been for so much bitterness having
been engendered between the Palmer
forces and those who were lighting for
McAdoo, without MsAapp's ewn an
pyova4, it is probable That 4 Combine
ton gould have been made 30 defeat
Cox. But it was not TO be-. and as
the result of one of the most amazing
combinations of circumstances in the
history Of American politics Cox was
nominated--despito the belief that he
would soft pedal the Wilson policies
az the very least.
Cox disappointed the men who had
fought for his nomination by running
down to the White House to receive
Wilson'S blessing. He got dryer and
dryer as his stunping tour progressed
The men who had nominated him, ex-
cept those who were personally at
tached to him, and these were mostly
concentrated in Ohio, grew cold. What
happened to him will always be re-
ferred to as the Harding landslide.
Actually it was an anti Wilson land
slide. All Cox did was to intcrpose
his person between Wilson and those
who were shooting at him.
Won't Repeat Their Mistake
1t is safe to assume that history
will scarcely repeat itself in this par
0cular. The same men who nominated
Coz will not make the mistake of not
thoroughly lining up their candidate
next time if, indeed, circumstances
should again arise which would per-
mt them to name the candidate.
But on the other hand they will, be
Jim Reed, and from present indica-
tons in this state Reed will carry to
the next Democratic convention
delegation which will scarcely dare
defy him. Missouri has thirty-six
votes in the Democratic National Con-
vention, so that this was detection
from what might have been called the
Wilson strength OF the 1920 conven-
tion of no mean magnitude.
Certainly if added to the element
which fought for Cox it would add up
to more than one-third of the dele
gates-enough to block the nomina-
ton of any man unsatisfactory to it.
for the two-thirds rule still applies at
Democratic conventions.
This is no case of wild political
The Democratic leaders who are and
have been affiliated with the elements
Of the party which supported McAdoo,
Palmer and--after he had taken his po-
sition in the campaign of two years
One other Senatorial election will
,ut considerable factor in the same
situation. That is the fight of Sena-
tor Atlee Pomerene, of Ohio, for re-
election. II Pomerenc should be elect
ed, as most Democrats of whatever
factional stripe out here believe, then
what they call the Reed menace n&y
not loom so large as far as Reee
self as a candidate for President is CO..
eerned.
Pomerene would have the streng n
q coming from the most important OF
all pivotal states--Ohio. He never went
50 far in following Wilson on the
ieague as to utterly alienate Reed and
ms friends, nor yet, on the other nand,
70 drive away from him the blind fol-
owers Of the former President.
Fear Victory for Reed
But the nomination of Pomerene, the
Democrats here believe, would be ac-
if accomplished ut all, by
. platform that would be anathema to
he cid Wilson Democrats. For 1t
Eould certainly contain no praise of
ne League of Nations and might read
ly contain a plank stating that this
question had been settled for the time
icing. No milder course than ignor-
hg the league would be satisfactory 30
Iced and his misunderstanding all the
While, of course, that Reed wins re-
lection to the Senate on November q ,