The Washington times., 1922-10-10

S<A committee Is w.
WILLIAM HARD. II. Miller, com.
monty called
"Howling Bill" These two engaging
and competent gentlemen leave little
to be desired in the line of optimistic
leadership. Bill Durbin. the Demo.
cratic chairman, is additionally a
prestidigitator.
In his factory. not far from Colum.
bus-so am informed by my col.
leagues of the Ohio press-he has in.
stalled a sort of little theater where,
when he Is not manufacturing. he
performs extraordinary feats of pres
tidigitation, legerdemain, and so on.
He throws things into the air and
has them. disappear and then has
them matCrialiZe again at will. Thus
refreshed and exercised. he turns to
politics and pulls issues and Presi-
dents out Of his hat.
He tells m" that the issue this
year is taxation. He tells me that
all other issucs-such as foreign
affairs and labor and capital and
wetnesS and dryneSs-are subordi.
nate. The catapult which will hurl
the Republicans out of office in Ohio
and also hurl Senator Atlee Pom.
creme back into the Senate is n vast
popular resentment of Republican
taxation.
Mr.. Durbin asks me to observe
that State taxes in Ohio in 1920
We're $l56.000 900 and that in 1921
they had risen to $21l 900 900: and
he asks me to observe further that
Senator Atlee POmerene in his cam.
paign speeches is concentrating
emphatically on the question OF the
taxes imposed by the Republican
revenue and by the Republican
Fordney-McCumber tariff bill.
Senator Pomerene is we'll fitted
for such tasks. He is an indus.
trious and arduous man In Wash
ington he arrives at his office in
the Senate office building at some
time in between 9:59 and 9:Ol in
the morning each day. He then
stays In his office or on the Senate
floor or in a committee room till
6 in the afternoon each day. He
IN
dining out he reads a book till bed.
time each sday. He is reputed
wet politically, but he has great
talent personally for refusing
drinks. He also refuses smokes. He
Is not known TO play cards. Sports
outdoor or indoor are not for him.
He reads. He studies. He analyses.
He debates.
In Ohio today he is Indebted to
Attorney General DaugheI ty and to
President Harding for certain advan.
tages which he would not otherwise
possess over his Republican oppo-
nent, DR.. Fess.
On labor, for instance, he and Dir.
Fess are personally perfectly equal.
That IL, they are personally perfect
ly equally criticised and attacked by
labor. But there are thousands of
Ohio wage earners who are going to
vote for Pomerene. whom they do
not like. in order to get back at
Daugherty, whom they hate. The
sins of Daughertv and Of his injunc.
ton against the railroad workers
will be considerably visited upon
Fess.
Similarly there is perfect per.
sonal equality between Pomerene
and Fess on the subject of the bonus.
They both Of them voted for the
bonus. But: there are thousands of
OK service men who two years ago
belonged to Harding for President
ex.service mems club" but who will
this year vote for Pomerene in order
to get back at the Presidential leader
Of the Republican party for what
they call his "duplicity" toward them
in first seeming TO favor the bonus
and in then vetoing 1t.
II Pomerene gets back into the
Senate and thus gets really started
toward the Presidency, II will be &C.
curate to say that among those who
helped to push him toward II are
prominently Mr.. Harry Daugherty
and Mr.. Warren Gamaliel Harding
Meanwhile. Mr.. Pomerene concen.
trates on the tariff and on other
taxation in his speeches In Ohio and
he has drawn from DR.. Fess an OK.
Ceedlngly good epigram on the sub.
ject of the tariff, DR.. Fess says:
THE purpose Of a tariff is TO in.
sure employment in American
factories and on American farms and
thus TO reduce the highest cost OF
living. The highest cost of living
Is when a man loses his job"
The contest between Pomerene
and Fess is a contest between two
exceedingly able men and to date
it is n close contest. Voters who
are against the League OF Nations
will vote against Pomerene. Voters
who are against high tariff Will
vote against Fess. Voters who arc
against both the league OF nations
and a high tariff-Oh well!