Evening star., 1922-11-03
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Congress will remain republican.
The momentum which the republi-
can party achieved in 1920 will carry
it successfully through the coming
elections.
The dissatisfaction with the Hard
ing administration and Congress is
partly offset by the fact that the
democratic party has offered no con-
structive alternative
There are, in fact. no issues to
awaken the voter in California to the
same sense Of interest as the voter in
Massachusetts.
The entire political situation Is
local and spotty. State issues will
determine the result of congressional
elections In so many states that
mathematical tables on the number Of
republicans or democrats to be elect
ed to either the Senate or the House
of Representatives are of no value
or significance.
President Sure OF Majority.
Enough of the states and districts
will support the republican ticket,
however. as to insure the President
a working majority in both houses.
litical upheaval in 1924 are not Wis
ible. Quite the opposite Is true. The
most notable characteristic of the
American electorate today is it's dis
like of both republican and demo-
cratic parties. The professional poll :
ticians use such words as apathy"
and indifference" to describe the
mood Of the public. Basically. it is
deeper than that-it is disappoint-
ment. disillusionment, regret. almost
despair. 1t means that neither party
has developed aggressive leaders. me n
with vision to lead bewildered ma
tion in the midst of the most perplex-
ing era of American history-the
period Of reconstruction following the
earthquake of war.
.Ins, and "Outs, at Issue.
Pettiness. triviality. demagogery.
inferior types Of candidates. religious
bigotry, elusive radicalism. fanstfsal
conservatism-all these Characters
tics are to be found in dozens of state
elections where the label democrat or
republican might mean one thing in
one state and the opposite in another.
Better labels would be the ins" and
the outs" where 1t is merely a crav-
ing for public Office. or 1t migh bet
ter be conservative" and radical"
where the business men and others of
a practical turn of mind are voting
for a democratic or republican con-
servative, as the case may be, and
where the extremists in labor, in So
cial reform or in agricultural radi-
calism have found common ground
irrespective of their previous politi-
cal Affiliations.
There is as yet no enthusiasm for a
third party. Discussion here and
there Is academic. What is hoped for
parties. No small part of the upset
Of political lines has been the prohi-
bition issue.
In many states there is resentment
over the failure of the authorities to
enforce the law. and in those same
states there is bitter feeling that the
law enforcement agencies are going
100 far and that prohibition Is an in
vasion of personal liberty. Party
lines have suffered as consequence.
Broadly speaking. the sentiment for
a repeal Of the eighteenth amendment
has not crystallized sufficiently to de-.
termine exactly what proportion OF
the whole it occupies. This much is
true-the people who favor prohibit
tion are not as vocal as those who
oppose it, The argument for light
wines and beer or for a modification
of reinforcement laws Is usually ac-
companeid with such plausible state
ments that it Is making headway. 1t
is doubtful however. whether in a
clean-cut fight this sentiment would
not be diminished by the prohibition
argument that to yield an inch
means to break down the whole bar
rier Tho woman voters to a large
extent hold that view now.
Drys Face Reaction.
The prohibitionists. however. have
constantly to face the danger of a re-
action-not against the theory of
prohibition or it's abstract virtues, but
Its practical abuses, its actual work.
inss. state after state east of the
Mississippi river Is becoming aroused
over the growth of "bootlegging,"
while in the west. where states have
been cry for many years. the problem
Is gradually being regarded with few
exceptions as closed issue. If a re-
versal in sentiment comes it will not
be in favor of a return to the old
saloon, but 1t will be a protest
against clumsy enforcement of the
law.
Prohibition, after all, Is not the is
sue nationally as might be supposed.
It's effects are spotty. Indiana and
Ohio. New Jersey. New York and New
England-in other words, the populous
etates-are discussing 1t as live ques-
tion. These are states where repub-
licans and democrats can be- found
on either side. 1t Is an important
question. but not a party matter.
Tariff Too Late for Issue.
The tariff has had some effect. but
here again 1t is not nationwide. The
Fordney-McCumber law was passed
too late to have an influence on this
election. But the murmurings and the
rumblings and the currents Of dis
content are beginning to be noticed,
and he il q blind politician who ar
CUES that the tariff will not be q
source Of great worry to the republi-
can party in 1924. 1t is so complex a
question that the side which has to
defend O tariff is always at a disad-
vantage against the faw-picking Of
fensive Of the opposite party. Un-
doubtedly certain states have been