Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-02-16
PRESIDENTIAL POSSIBILITIES
TOLD OF BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by FREDERIC ]. Raskin

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16:-Indiana
has something that none of her sister
states can boast Of when it ONE to
presenting talent for the big time
political vaudeville,
Several states offer stars Of greater
or lesser NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., mono
logists, jugglers and sleight-of-hand
artists. One or two present teams.
One-Ohio-has a trio. But 1t re-
mains for Indiana to produce a quar-
tet, the Hoosier Harmony -Four
Albert jeremiah Beveridge, lyric ten
or; Thomas Riley Marshall, second
and James e. Watson, bassl.
The act of these vocalists extra
ordinary opens with con The Banks
of the Wabash" includes 1.-THE Pres
idential Blues" and closes with 1--WE
Want to Co." And the place where
each and every of them wants to
go is not back to old Virginia, or
down in Dixie Land, Or to the beach
ii, but is none other than
No. 1900 Pennsylvania avenue, N.
..p Nasnlngton, ID. G., the majestic
mansion now tenanted by the Hon.
Warren G.. Harding.
1t should be added, of course, that
every member of this quartet is a
| soloist and artist of varied accom-
| plishments, perfectly capable OF put
ting on the act by himself If any,
thing should happen to his associ-
ates. Thus 1t is clear that If Indiana
does not furnish 1t least n of the
headliners when the presidential
possibilities are given their try-out
next year it will not because of a
dearth of talent, or because the tai
ent does not try.
A1hapt Tpparpiah RpVpridpa who
| has been out of public life for some
time, undertook to stage a come
| back last year when he sought a re-
| turn to the United States senate over
the politically dead body of Harry s.
New. He defeated New in the Re-
publican primaries, and he had
everybody sitting up and taking no.
tice of his prospects. 1t was rather
taken for granted that he would be
elected, which would place him in
an admirable position to make his
bid for the presidency, but the mex
pected happened and when Harry
New takes off the senatorial toga 1t
will be to drape it about the ample
form of Samuel NJ. Ralston. BeVe-
ridge came back only half way.
However, recent reports from
Hoosierdom anent a meeting of the
Indiana Republican Editorial Asso-
citation indicate that BeVeridge does
| not regard himself as eliminated as
a presidential possibility. He has
served notice that he will fight to the
death for the preservation of the
! state primary law, and this is inter-
preted as meaning hal he intends to
| be Indiana's faVortte son at the next
| Republican national convention or
know the reason why.
Watson May be the Reason
That reason he nay discover in
the person of the Hon. James u.
| Watson, who is understood to have
| presidential notions of his wi II
| BeVeridge can defeat Watson In the
| presidential preference primary in
| Indiana he will earn the right I'M
questionably to be considered seri-
ously in the national contest. Watson
not only controls the Republican
state organization, but has demon
strated time and again that he IS a
~vote-getter par excellence. lie is
\ rated as one of the greatest cam
paigners in the country, he has Few
equals and no superiors on the stump
and when it comes to mixing he can
take a voter by the hand and tell
him he Is glad to see him in words
and tones such that the average clti-
zen can only regret he a but one
ballot to give to the Hoosier hypno-
list. This last is one of the reasons
everybody out Indiana way calls the
senator Jim.
Also 1t should be borne in mind
that Senator Watson knows a thing
or two about politics. When the In
diana primary comes around he may
not figure as a presidential candidate
himself. He may appear as an az
gressive champion of the renominay
ton OF President Harding and insist
that the state delegation should De
made up of men who will support
the President. II that should be the
play, and II 1t were successful, II Is
obvious Watson would occupy an en-
Yiable strategic position in the ma
ttonal convention in event anything
happened to Harding.
On the other hand. Watson may
ask that the Indiana delegates be
instructed for him in order to make
sure that the states vote is given "a
Harding az first choice, with the I'm.
derstanding that Watson's name viii
be presented If the President is out
of the running, or events may have
so shaped themselves that Watson
will decide to make a straight out
and-ont fght as q tavorite son How
gzs1 tbs game 10 played. it VIII bs