New-York tribune., 1922-10-24
Supremacy i'm His Own Do~
main Unquestioned, Sem
ator's Strategy Cen,ers
on Presidency in 1924
Defends His War Record
Woman Opponent Is Making
Gallant Fight, bu, Has
No Shadow of q Chance
BY Carter Field

"s@'1Ts tHe Fenominatlon OF Prcslden
Harding two years hence.
! In every speech Senator La Follctt,
/ denounces the Harding record. Few
/ democratic orators anywhere are NOR,
scathing in their Genunciation Of tn,
PRESIDENT, despite the fact that La Fol
| iette clings to tie word Republican
as his own party label
IN every speech La Toilette also de
| tends his own record during the wa,
! with Germany, a record which mus
| tered considerable vote in the Sen
/ ats Tor his expulsion. Indeed, thers
are those in Washington who asser
/ that If the expulsion OF La Follett.
mad come up on that issue when hi:
vote was NOT needed TO organize ths
Senate for the Republicans he wonle
have been expelled
Makes Hit With Germans
! He thought he was right in opnosine
! the war and the draft at the time. LIS
Toilette is telling his audiences. Now
he says, he knows he was right That
| is rather irritating TO the old line Re.
publicans up here, but it makes a bis
hit with the German population ana
with some of the other racial groups.
AS far as the radicals are concerned
they are not much interested. Most
of them were pro- German, neutral @,
tepid during the war anyhow. They
vanced" views. This business of pa
triotism, as they see it, is only an
other device Of capital to grind down
the working classes anyhow, while
wars. they assert passonately, are
forced by politicians taking pay from
the munition makers.
No real fight was made against La
Toilette in the primary, and the ma
tional Republican leaders, including
President Harding himself. are re-
sponsible for that fact. 1t is only fair
Go point out that had real fight been
made and had President Harding and
Wisconsin, backed the fight La Fol-
letto would have been renominated
Just tho same.
Invincible, Foes Admit
abraham Lincoln could not have
beaten La Toilette this yeaf," one anti
La Toilette man told me.
Which sounds perhaps stronger than
it really is, for compared with La Fol-
the Badger State.
The chief question here is what La
Toilette expects to do two years hence.
AT the present moment he is like Alex
ander-looking for more worlds to con-
quer. For there is little left for him
to accomplish in the way of extending
his power here. Pcnrose, Platt, Quay
and Hanna never in their palmiest
days dominated their states as this
man does. Yet, for some reason, he is
never referred to as boss"
He is one of the two United States
Senators. 1t is generally admitted that
II the other, Irvine l.. Lenroot, were
up for reelection in the near future
La Toilette would put up candidate
against him and would defeat him. 1t
is admitted further that it would make
no particular difference who La Fol
iette picked for this task. He would
simply select some man or woman and
ator. These are not debatable questions
mp here. Every one-Republican, DEM
oorat, Socialist and Independent
simply admits it,
Grip on Organization Unique
La Follette's son. Robert jr., is
chairman of the Republican State Com
mittee. His law partner, Alfred T.
Rogers, is the national committeeman.
John j. Rlaine. selected by La Toilette
for Governor Two years ago and elected
after real fight, is the candidate for
reelection this year and will surely
be chosen. No enc of these or any
other member of the La Toilette or
ganiZation would think of moving a
finger politically without getting his
orders from Bob.
There is not much interest in the
election here, naturally, as there is
no real contest anywhere up or down
the line, save in one Congressional dis
trict, the 9th. Here Victor Berger is
running again on the Socialist ticket
despite the refusal of the House on two
separate occasions to seat him. Berger
Is racing clean-cut fight, as the Dem
| oertaIc candidate has withdrawn, leav-
| ;ng berger opposed only by William
member
Berger is defending his war record
too, saving it was practically the same
as La Follette's. Incidentally, Berger
was largely responsible for the de-
elsion OF the Socialist convention not
10 put up candidate against La Fol
lette for Senator. He took the floor
on this issue, defended La Follette's
war record and pointed to the "per.
secution' to which La Toilette had been
subjected as a result, He convinced
the Socialist delegates that their duty
was to support rather than oppose La
Toilette. ~
Woman His Opponent
Mrs. Jessie Jack Hooper is the
Democratic nominee for Senator agains,
La Toilette. She is making a rea]
canvass and has taken for her para.
mount issue the League OF Nations
thereby showing more bravery thar
most of the Democratic candidates fu,
tne Senate this year. She is yer,
highly esteemed, making an ahsolutel,
hopeless fght in gallant fashion. She
Is not nearly so critical Of presiden,
Harding as In Toilette.
/ With the other Democratic candi
aa.es, she Is compelled to run as AZ
independent The Wisconsin law re-
qaires party, in order to get ;fs n.a,,
on the official ballot, to cast 10 ne,
cent as many votes in primary =
1 we're cast for its candidate for Gov
/ error at the preceding election.
AL the last election Colonel Mccoy
1 .ne Democratic nominee Tor Governor
had the support of the ansiyI.a Follett
Republicans, and rolled uu q tramen
dous vote. In the Democratic primar;e
this year nothing like 10 per cent o
/ this was cast, so the Democratic part,
has 10 place on the Wisconsin bailo
/ this year.
| The fight in the Republican primar
against La Toilette was q half -hearte.
affair, without. as has been stated. tn,
sanction of the national RepubIica,
i leaders. IT Was in striking contrast t.
the fight made against La Follette'
organization last year on behalf o
Senator Lenroot. Dir. w. A. Ganfel,
made the race this year and rolled u,
some 10000 votes, but he never has
chance from the first moment os ~,