Evening star., 1924-12-24
Politics at Large
BIZ N. o. MESSENGER.

While there is much academic dis
cussion among Democratic leaders
over the reorganization OF the Demo-
cratic party and reference to possible
presidential candidates for 1928, some
of then. find time for speculation as
to what the Democratic party will
consist Of in that year. Reference to
the figures of the last election dis
closes that in IL States the Demo-
Gratis ran third in the presidential
race. Senator La Follette's party
polled moro votes than the Demo-
cratic party, The States in which the
Democratic candidates for President
and Vice President ran behind La
Toilette and Wheeler were California,
Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana
Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South
Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and
Wyoming. In States north Of Mason's
and Dixon's line, which are regarded
as fighting ground for the Democrats
in presidential elections in the past,
| there was an appalling falling-on In
November's Democratic vote. COM
pared with some other presidential
elections In Indiana Coolidge received
703.s42 and Davis 4s2.245 votes: in
Illinois, Coolidge. 1,453,321; Davis,
| 576.975. New Jersey, Coolidge, 676,-
| 0s2; Davis 29s,013. Ohio, Coolidge,
1,176,l30; Davis, 477,sss. West Vir-
ginia, Coolidge. 2ss,s35; Davis, 257,232.
But hope springs eternal in the
Democratic breast, and the unterrt-
fed Democracy will spend the inter-
vening years in girding for another
| whirl with the enemy. The friends
of William @. McAdoo, Franklin d.
Roosevelt, Gov. Smith OF New York
and Gov. Silzer Of New Jersey will
busy themselves in behalf of their
favorites. There is a new national
leader looming up in New Jersey in
the person Of Mayor Hague of Jersey
| City, who promises to be a force In
Democratic politics of the East.
George Brennan Of Illinois will con-
| tinue to lead the forlorn hope in the
Middle West. The Democratic party
OF the Northwest and the Pacific
coast Is almost extinct, and the lead
ership is, not worth contesting.
r II
Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York
will be inaugurated January /, and
will commence his tussle with the
legislature, which may have an in
| f1uence upon his presidential aspira-
! tionS four years hence. The governor
will find himself in a position which
will have It's advantages. He is sure
| to be in deadlock with the Republi-
can Legislature. This will relieve him
of responsibility for failure to enact
the measures OF State reform which
he will recommend. thus averting the
! possibility of making any blunders
and leaving his political slate clear,
| while he can hold Republicans up to
censure. He will still have control
of patronage. and can keep his per-
sonal machine intact.
Already the various elements in
the State seeking legislation are pre-
pairing to move on Albany with their
demands to be incorporated in Gov.
Smiths annual message. The. State
Federation Of Labor presented its
case to him this week. Labor wants
recommendation in favor OF the
llegalization OF light wines and beers.
| and is opposed to any proposal to re-
enact State prohibition enforcement
Labor also wants recomm endation
favoring State and municipal distribu-
tion at cost to home. farms and work
shops of electric light, heat and pow
er generated from water power owned
by the State. 1t also presented
formidable list OF recommends tions
on general legislation under some
two-score heads, covering almost
, everything from a demand for free
dental treatment and furnishing of
lunches at cost to school children to
the restoration of direct primary
! nomination Of State offices, United
States Senators and State and dis
trict judges. The governor is cer-
tain to lock horns with the Legisla-
ture on many of these demands, 81 not
! the majority of them. There will be
| bitter fight over the control Of
| water power of the State beyond a
doubt.
* y X
The work OF Legislatures of other
| is expected by sociologists to include
/ consideration Of a great mass of leg
| islation along sociological lines de-
rnanded by labor and by woman vot-
ers. Politicians say that the last
| election showed that the woman vot-
ers got their first real taste OF political
power vested in them under their en-
| franchisement and that they showed
evidence of relishing II and enlarging
its use. They will use II along the
| lines of benefting women and chill
dren and the reform of social laws
and conditions. New York State wom-
en- will probably set the pace in these
| directions and furnish a model in
| their demands for the women of other
States to follow.
The woman voters stand, of course,
in a solid phalanx ready to go to the
| front and "over the top" whenever
| the prohibition law is assailed, but
| they seem to be less fearful, the
politicians report, of attacks upon it
| In the near future.
| The question of what is TO become
Of the third party is now being de-
bated among the leaders who headed
| that movement. 1t will be decided
! at a meeting of the Conference for
Political Action to be held in Cleve-
land in February. Many OF the prom
inent men in the movement feel very
dubious of the future of this political
enterprise. When they glance over
the popular vote of last November
they have occasion to look down the
nose. When they see those Repub-
lican votes to the number OF Ia
| 1879; with those Democratic votes
to the number Of s,37s,ss2. and con-
trast them with the 4,S22,319 third
party votes, things do not look good
! for them.
Political leaders of all factions be-
lieve that 1t is certain that there will
be no combination between labor and
any proposed third party in the fu-
ture. The experiment of 1924 was so
| disastrous as to be convincing that
labor cannot. be consolidated into a
unified political force. 1t is said that
the late Samuel Gompers, who is re-
ported to have cast the vote which
decided tie in the executive coun-
ell at Atlantic City. was against the
proposal to turn labor over to the
Democratic candidates, but allowed
himself to be overpersuaded by the
radical faction in the executive coun-
| ell.
X X X
1t is thought that the Conference
| for Political Action at its Cleveland