The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-09-30
PARTIES line
UP SQUARELY
UPON TARIFF
Many Other Issues Exist But
for the Main Part They At
tach Locally to Senators
and Congressman.
CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
By MARK SULLIVAN

with the one exception OF hnOQe Isl
and, all the party primaries and party
conventions have been held; all the
candidates for senator-in the 33
states in which there will be senator
ial elections-have been selected; and
all the nominations for congress in all
the states have been completed. -
We are therefore fully launched on
the campaign, and it is possible to
make preliminary survey of the con-
ditions and personalities involved, the
issues which will figure in the cam
paign, and the states of public feeling,
Partly local and partly general, more
than anything else, will determine the
election.
State of Business.
First of all, the state of business!
For the moment, with some excep-
tions to be mentioned later, this is ia
yorable to the Republicans. Labor is
generally employed, and at rising
wages.
Some months ago, when the Repuli-
lican party managers first surveyed
the situation and dug into conditions,
they said among themselves that by
election day there would not be an un-
employed man in the country who was
willing to work.
A little later on. when the two
strikes threatened to effect fuel and
transportation in such a way as to
throw industry out of joint on a large
scale, these same Republican mana
gers had some fear lest this hope of
theirs might not be fulfilled.
Labor Employed.
Now, however, the strikes are out
of the way, and labor is as fully en-
T,lo nfc IN hp fart
large employers of labor are finding
it necessary to raise wages in order
to keep their men.
Just last week, indeed, some of us
in Washington observed one of those
fugitive but pregnant incidents-in-
dexes of Industrial conditions-which
we had not noticed since the war;
namely, the agent of northern corpo-
ration passing through Washington on
his way to Alabama, to try to steal
away the negro labor and take 1t
north.
Employers Uneasy.
So far as labor is concerned, its
condition is such as to make alto
gether unlikely that kind of unemploy-
ment and discomfort which would
cause it to vote against the party in
power. But it is chiefly of labor alone
. that this is so.
The employer of labor has a diff
ferent story to tell. His mines, and
factories, and railroads are for the
most part busy; but they are busy at
rising wages Employers and heads
of big corporations are not confident
that they are making money, and are
apprehensive about the final net re-
suits of their current operations.
Tho aaISp6 bV the IN
terruption of fuel and transportation
viii! show its effects on the books OF
corporations for months to come.
Farmer Unhappy
Another element In the industrial
situation is the farmer. The farmer Is
unhappy. He has rather more tang
ible reason for his unhappiness than
the business man. The prices which
the farmer is getting for wheat, oats
and other commodities, is below what
he calculates to be the cost of pro-
ducing them. Whatever is the cause
of this does not matter. In politics
the blame is put on the party in power
In some sections of the country
notably California, the producers o'
certain commodities, like fruits, have
been injured by the interruption o.
train service. and the results have
been disastrous.
Apart from what has been caused
directly by the railroad strike, there
are deep causes for the troubles O.
the farmers-not only deep causes, bu
causes that will last considerable
time But these causes are too large
a subject for discussion here.
FeelirU About Harding.
Next to these various aspects of the
industrial situation, the most impor
tant factor bearing on the coming cleo
tion will be the state of feeling abou
President Harding.
Considerable numbers of voters viii
want to express their approval or theil
disapproval of the head of. the part!
in power There would be more O
this kind of voting il the Democrat!
had some personality TO contrast witt
Harding But the Democrats have NJ
such leader. no one man of outstapd
ing personality who is accepted at tht
responsible leader of the Democratic
party.
BY virtue of lack among the Demo
Gratis, the Republicans will get a goot
many votes on Nov that they woul,
otherwise lose. Nevertheless. ever
SO, a good deal of the voting will b
determined by popular feeling abou
the president
Split on Tariff
There remain number of specifi
issues But it is the unprecedented
anomaly of this years politics that o
all the issues current there is onl,
one, namely. the tariff. on which tn
parties are lined up squarely on OF
posite sides
On the soldiers bonus we had Re
publican president opposed to it, Will
it was advocated and supported by tn
Republican leader of the house. the Re
publican leader of the senate. and
Republican majority in each chamber
Also, in each chamber, the Democrat
supported the bonus as generally a
the Republicans did. So far, there
fore, as the soldiers bonus figures i
the campaign, it will be wholly an is
sue attaching locally to individual ser
ators and congressman.
In the same way the wet an
dry issue will be, not one betwee
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