The Washington herald., 1922-02-10
ENEMIES WHET
KNIVES FOR WAR
ON LAFOLLETTE
Thorn in Party's Flesh
Expected to Make a
Strong Fight.
By ARTHUR SEARS HENNING

MILWAUKEE,, Wis. Feb. 3
They are going to slaughter SEN
ator La Toilette again when he
comes up for denomination this
year. the conservative Republican
leaders in Wisconsin assure me.
Maybe so. maybe so. They have
been going to slaughter La Toilette
so often, only to come out of II
pretty well slaughtered themselves,
that one cannot be blamed for wax
ing wary OF such prognostications.
And how La Toilette does love TO
be slaughtered, When the snicker-
snees of his enemies are being
whetted with more than the usual
vigor. he knows that all is well ana
another term in Office is assured
An ominous calm would give him
the first scare in thirty or forty
years of office holding.
sIs Apostle Of Protest.,
My Judgment Is that 1t will be
more difficult to defeat La Toilette
this year than ever before. He al
ways has been the candidate Of pro-
test against existing conditions.
against the party in power even
when it happened to be his own
party, against pretty much every
thing at all times, ana In year
when dissatisfaction is expected to
be a political factor of consequence.
the great apostle of protest may
be expected to find easy going on
the road to a fourth term in the
Senate.
Wisconsin is not one of the States
in which the Republicans fear the
loss of a Senate seat this year, the
Democratic party being at the low
est ebb in this State in many years.
The only question. il La Toilette Is
returned. is whether La Foi:ette IS
Republican. for he votes with
the Democrats about as often as
with the Republicans. a circum-
stance which may account partly
for the decay of the Democratic
party in Wisconsin.
Deprived Of Patronage.
La Toilette long has been a thorn
in the flesh of the Republican or
ganization. which the Republican
leaders are making a supreme ef-
fort this time to pluck out. He
and the La Toilette congressman
have been deprived of a good deal
of Federal patronage which has
gone to Senator Lenroot and the
anti-La Toilette Congressman and
recently an effort was made in a
caucus of Republican Senators to
read La Toilette out of the party.
La Toilette as a progressive was
several laps in advance of
all other progressives. Now he
stands for ultra radical tendencies,
with which his position or
twenty years ago appears reac-
tionary.
He has aligned in his support the
league, which is wax
ing powerful, the radical element
of organized labor. the population
of German descent, the Irish. and
the vets. In addition he has
large aggregation of progressive
Republican followers whose devo-
tion has not been lessened by his
recent radical tendencies.
Await Attitude on Farley.
The opponents of the Senator are
awaiting with eagerness a disclos-
ure of his attitude toward the work
of the conference on Limitation of
He has spoken slight
ingly of the conference in his mag
azine and IL he should oppose the
treaties there Is little doubt that
he would find his support weakened
among the thoughtful
and the women.
There will be a candidate in the
primary against La Fol-
lette, and this candidate is to be
chosen by the citizens Republican
State conference, scheduled to meet
In May. Guy Goff, Assistant Attor-
ney General in the Harding admin
istration, has been mentioned as a
possible candidate. but the anti
La Toilette leaders would prefer to
put up conservative dirt" farmer,
who would be expected to put a
crimp in the plans of the Nonparti-
san League to consolidate the farm
ers in support Of Fighting Bob"
Unite Against RadicalI.m.
The purpose or the conference Is
TO organize all those elements OF the
party which are opposed
to the forces Of destructive radi-
calisn striving for ascendancy In
the State" according to the call is
sued by the committee of forty-four,
of two men and two
women from each Congressional
district. The conference will select
also for. the Republican
for governor against
GOV. Blaine and for other State Of
fees.
This movement against radicalism
was launched last fall following the
adjournment OF the legislature In
which the Nonpartisan League, the
and the La Toilette fol-