The Washington times., 1924-04-16

| 4uS COHV0FSaglOu OF the ClLlZenS
OF Ohio betrays scant interest in
the sublime question OF who should
be president, and the news columns
and editorials OF Ohio newspapers
are at any rate not overfloWing
with that theme.
| Perusing larget'number of Ohio
newspapers, this writer found as
the one clear generally established
piece Of news conveyed today in
Ohio newspaper readers the fol-
lowing incident:
Ex-Governor James E. Campbell
OF Ohio has written a letter to all
gentlemen and ladies engaged in
running to be delegates to the
Democratic national convention on
behalf Of James M. Cox Of Ohio,
and he has implored them to be
active and diligent and to get out
as large a vote in the Democratic
presidential primary for Cox, as is
possible.
Only Thrill Offered.
That letter is the only political
! thrill Of the day for the newspaper
/ readers Of Ohio, and not only the
only thrill but also pretty nearly
the only chunk of mere plain in.
formation which, seems to have
been deemed worthy of publication
by the editors of Ohio in the realm
Of national presidential politics dur
ing the last twenty-four hours.
Several times in recent dispatches
this writer has alluded to the diff
! ference between the theory regard
ing the peoples interest in the pres
| emit grave crisis in Washington and
the apparent fact regarding it. The
apparent fact is that out Of the
present grave crisis in Washington
the people have gained no added
interest whatsoever in the choosing
! Of delegates to national presidential
nominating conventions or in the
performing of any other common
place task Of national citizenship.
Virtually all political observers
here in this city, which is the cap
ital city OF Ohio, are in agreement
in believing and saying that seldom
has there been less interest in the
primary contests for the presidency.
| No Close Contests.
1t Is to be noteu, on the other
hand, as possible excuse and ex-
| PLANTATION Of this lack of interest,
that the contests for the presidency
| in this State are not commonly re-
garded here as being close, and are
therefore perhaps not regarded as
being worthy of much activity or
excitement.
On the Republican side it is cur
rently believed that Coolidge will
easily and readily walk far away
into the dim and remote and unin-
teresting distance ahead of Hiram
johnson in the Presidential primary
election contest on April 20.
On the Democratic side a SINH
lar impression prevails regarding
the distance which will separate
James M. Cox from William Gibbs
McAdoO.
James M. Cox, Of Dayton, Ohio,
owner Of three newspapers in Ohio
and of one in Florida; Congressman
twice at Washington from the Third
Congressional district of Ohio, gov
ernor three times of Ohio, Presi-
dental nominee once of the Demo
cratic party, is running now in
Ohio to be the Democratic party's
Presidential nominee twice.
Cox Sure Choice.
He is by now an old-time figure
/
that will be presented to the Demo
cratic national convention in New
York as Ohio's candidate for the
job of producing in Washington an
alleged new age of something or
other, somehow different from what
has gone before.
| THE fact seems to be that Cox
is supposed to possess the old
fashioned qualities Of common hon.
esty and common humanity which
are the only remedies so far
thought out by the American people
for any OF the new-fangled evils at
| Washington.
| This being so, and Cox being a
citizen Of Ohio, there is only a
mild and subordinate interest here
In the candidacy Of William Gibbs
McAdoo, Of California.
In only five Congressional dis.
trtcts here Is 1t thought by the best
local political opinion that McAdoo
delegates for the Democratic ma
tlonal convention will have any
chance against the Cox delegates.
AS for the delegates-at.large- from
the whole State, and as for the
Presidential preference vote by the
whole State, it is believed that Nc
Adoo will be utterly helpless against
Cox.
| Cox today, in the office Of his
newspaper in Dayton, seemed much
more interested in his new presses
and in his new autoplate casting
machines than in the Presidency.
This writer has interviewed few
Presidential candidates who knew
less about the work that was being
done for them than Mr.. Cox.
| Up-tO-Date Plant.
Mr.. Cox has just built in DAYTON
for his Dayton newspaper a print.
ing plant which in every detail is
as modern and as full Of clever and
ingenious machines and devices as