The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1923-12-20
Democracy
in East for
Underwood
Ex-Attorney General Palmer's S
Support to Senator or Nc,
AdoO To Be Factor in
Pennsylvania.
No Howling Over Bonus
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

by MARk SULLIVAN.
Philadelphia. Dec. 19-The most
apparent development within demo-
cratic circles in Pennsylvania Is a
recent and strong disposition TO
center on Underwood as the con-
tender against McAdoo. This is also
true in New England and elsewhere
in the east, except, of course, in
N6w York, where Gov. AL Smith con-
1'Eiues to be assured of the delegates
from the state which regards him
in a very real sense as favorite son.
But these New York delegates
also, when and if Smith is eliminated
in the convention. will tend strongly
to support Underwood. The whole
recent tendency in the east is to see
the fight as one between McAdoo
and Underwood with Underwood rela-
lively stronger, as compared with
McAdoo, than Is the case in the west.
News Of McAdoo's formal candi-
dacy reached Pennsylvania at the
precise moment when the destination
of the rs delegates of this second
largest state is just beginning to
crystaliZe.
Who's Palmer's Choice:
For the immediate present, the
largest question in this field is: VIII
former Attorney General Mitchell
Palmer be for McAdoo or for Under
wood? Palmer has but recently re-
turned from Europe, and is described
by the local politicians as engaged in
a process Of taking soundings." The
attitude Palmer takes will not only
have weight in his own state Of
Pennsylvania, but also to some de-
gree in other states
In 1920 Palmer was himself q can
diddate for tho democratic presi-
Dental nomination. As such, during
tho first six ballots of tho 1920 con-
vsntion Palmer had the second larg-
est number of delegates. being next
below McAdoo and ahead of Cox,
who subsequently won. Palmer con-
tinued to be one of thres leaders un-
til the 3Sth ballot, when he with
.; .dEsw; , ,..,.. ,.,,..
member of Wilson's cabinet. As
against this reason for being favor
able to McAdoo, Palmer is known to
be personally close to Underwood,
and Is believed to prefer Underwood's 3
position on many public questions
rather than McAdoo's.
Fight Looms Over McAdOO.
IF Palmer enlists behind McAdoo
probably the bulk of Pennsylvania
delegates would be carried for the lat
ter. If Palmer enlists for Underwood
there will be a fight, in which Nc.
Adoo would probably be held down to
half the Pennsylvania delegation.
Other than Palmer, the strongest
democratic figure in Pennsylvania, in
some respects stronger than Palmer.
is Vance Mccormick, owner and
editor of the Harrisburg Patriot, and
chairman Of the democratic national
committee which managed Wilson's
campaign so successfully in 1916. In
past years Mccormick and Palmer
have usually been together.
Everybody regards Mccormick as
a strong Wilson man and a strong
McAdoo man. Everybody anticipates
that Mccormick will be for McAdoo,
whoever else is or isn't. Competent
judges believe that If the Pennsyl-
vania situation should develop into
n contest between Mccormick on be-
half Of McAdoo, and Palmer on be-
half of Underwood, the former could
comfortably get at least half and
probably more of the delegates for
McAdoo.
If this dispatch seems to put EN-
1r,aasis on leaders other than on popu.
lar strength, it is because of the OBJ
vious fact that Pennsylvania, being
a state where the democrats are al.
most always the minority party. It's
democratic politics are largely a mat
ter of leaders and organizations. AS
respects popular favor, the division
between, McAdoo and Underwood Is
much the same as elsewhere.
No Struggle Over Bonus.
For example, the railroad workers
are for McAdoo. while the railroad
owners are for Underwood. But the
fact, generally lost sight Of, Is that
in Pennsylvania. certainly. and prob
ably also in the country taken as
whole, the railroad owners are more
numerous than the railroad workers.
The ownership OF the Pennsylvania
railroad, for example, Is extremely
widely distributed among many tens
Of thousands of men and women who
have a few shares each.
Another tendency that strikes the
observer here is the disposition to
regard the bonus issues as not very
menacing in the political sense. Some
competent New Jersey politicians
claim that the number of ex.soldiers
who want the bonus Is less formid-
able than those who either oppose II
or take no interest in It,
Outside of politics. but destined
probably to affect politics, the most
noticeable recent development in the
east is the growth OF the Ku Klux
Klan. In southern New Jersey and
in rural Pennsylvania the khan is de-
yeloping with a speed and vitality
II.