Evening star., 1922-10-30
IPARTY LINES GONE
|NMARYLAND FIGHT
Conservative Republicans
Expected to Support
Bruce for Senate.
FRANCES DEFEAT SEEN
Wet and Radical Democrats Said
to Be Rallying to His Ban
ner, However.
FRANCES DEFEAT SEEN
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


BALTIMORE, Md. october 90
Maryland is another one OF those
states where the outcome Of the elec-
tlon for United States senator will
have about as much party significance
as the result in Iowa or Wisconsin.
The republican nominee here. Senator
Joseph Irwin France. Is no more
representative of the republican party
as a whole than is Brookhart in Iowa
or La Toilette in Wisconsin.
Fortunately for the opposition to
Mr.. France, this is a normally demo-
cratic state. and about the only way
for a republican ever to triumph is to
assure himself of solid republican
support and divided democracy.
This year it's just the other way
around. W. Cabell Bruce has the
whole hearted democratic support.
and will receive thousands of votes
from regular republicans who cannot
bring themselves to support Mr..
France because of his radicalism.
Bruce should Win.
Mr.. Bruce should. therefore. win
without difficulty. The size Of his
majority. however. depends largely
on how many democratic radical votes
he will take from Mr.. France. For
while the issue here is not entirely
that between an ultra-conservative
and a radical, there are some demo-
Gratis of the radical fringe who prefer
Senator France to Mr.. Bruce.
1t would take a great many demo
ITO, hlt go Ytvntt hny a.
publican insurgents who will COM
bine with the regular democratic vote.
The country districts usually give a
republican fair-sized lead and then
the city of Baltimore which Is strong
ly democratic overcomes the majority
secured elsewhere in the state. The
estimates this year would seem to in
dicate that Senator France will come
to the Baltimore line either even with
his opponent or a little behind. Sen
ator France will get heavy, vote in
Baltimore in the districts where the
foreign born or their children are
voting. Mr.. France has made spe-
cial appeal to this class OF voters.
But the business and professional
men and their wives who will vote In
publican. will tend to offset the demo-
cratic deSertions and the inevitable
result should be a democratic victory
by vote of at least ten thousand.
Republicans Outnumbered.
The republican registration is much
smaller than usual. The democrats
have a registered vote Of about 1000
more than the republicans. The rea-
son for this is partly the lack Of re-
publican organization and to a large
extent the deep-seated opposition to
Senator France as a representative
of republiCaniSm. The regular repub-
lican contributors have been indiffer-
ent about Mr.. Frances campaign.
Many of those who supported John
w. Garrett in the republican primary
race for United States senator Will
throw their support to Mr.. Bruce.
Senator France is making an unusual
campaign. He is flooding the state
out from Washington under his free
mailing privilege as United States
senator. Tons and tons of government
books and pamphlets and circulars on
cooking and what not are being sent
by mail to the individual voters. Mr.
France is counting a good deal on the
effect OF this kind of salesmanship.
But for the most part he is confident
that the states wet vote will help him.
This is a wet state in the sense that
part of it, is rather moist in its in
clinations. The democratic strength
has always been its wetness Mr..
Bruce, who is by no means bone dry.
should be able, however, to retain the
wet vote OF the democratic party.
despite Mr. frances championship OF
he wet cause. Senator France is said
o believe that this is merely his pre-
'iminary fight and that some day he is
destined to make the race for the presi-
dency on the repeal of the eighteenth
amendment
Will show Trend.
So far as party lines go. there is
no such thing in the campaign Of
Senator France. He favors about
everything that any group Of voters.
foreign born or American born
seems to want His friendship for
sovietism Is naturally held against
him by the conservatives. and alto
gether he has about as much business
running on the republican ticket, con-
sidering what that means tradition
ally, as Mr.. Brookhard in Iowa, or
the non-partisan leaguers in North
Dakota. Mr.. France is another ex-
hibit of what the primary system can
do when the political organizations
sit indifferently by and let their party
machinery be taken over bootstraps
and all by smooth-voiced orator
with political legerdemain.
There is incidentally a reaction here
against the Harding administration.
The President swept this state by
more than $4,000. Last year the
democrats turned the tidal wave the
other way and won nearly four-ffths
of the legislature. If the vote for Mr..
Bruce should be higher than 10000
it will be unquestioned evidence also
of a change Of mind on the part of
many democrats who made q 1920
excursion into the republican party.
otherwise the result would seem to
be explained almost entirely on the
ground that the republican candidate