Evening star., 1924-11-07
DEMOCRATS BLAME
DEFEAT ON errors
Will Not Admit Coolidge Vic.
tory Was Due to Con-
Servatism.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Hope springs eternal in the Demo-
cratic breast, and nothing appears more
significant than the recurrent talk of
William G. McAdoo for 1928. Instead of
accepting the defeat of Tuesday as a
verdict for conservatism, the Demo-
Gratis are regarding it as the result of
their own bad tactics.
This has more than passing impor-
tance as post-mortem. It shows what
the Democrats are likely to try to do
next. For the more they examine the
election returns the more they are con-
vinced that La Toilette was the cause
of their defeat. Just as Roosevelt in
1912 proved the nemesis of the Repub-
1ican party. so La Toilette, without per-
haps intending it. assisted materially in
placing a conservative in power.
mmediately after 1912 the Repub-
Hcans, especially those who support
ed Roosevelt. saw the unwisdom of
keeping the party divided and they
reunited in 1916. Even Col. Roose-
Welt was SO anxious to defeat the
Democratic administration in 1916
that despite the appeals of a staunch
battalion of Bull Moosers, he refused
to be third party candidate again.
Watch La Toilette Course.
Will Robert NJ La Toilette and his
followers still stick to their plan of
forming this Winter a third party
organization? The railroad brother
hoods and the American Federation
of Labor and the other groups
which lent their support to La Fol-
1ette now see that a continuance of
their struggle against conservative
doctrine will be futile unless they
ebsorb the whole Democratic party
Or permit themselves to be absorbed
by it
There is always a momentum to the
Established parties. In both Ohio and
New York, where there were no out
Standing third party candidates for
governor. the Democratic candidates
Gov. Donahey and Gov. Smith--won
out by comfortable majoritieS. not
withstanding the tremendous plurali-
ties given Coolidge. In New York the
vote given Norman Thomas, Socialist
candidate for governor, would have
gene to Al Smith, as in previous cleo
t1onS, and the only lesson of the New
York State contest is that Smith, if
beaten. would have been able to at
tribute his defeat to some extent to
the loss of the few votes that might
otherwise have gone to him.
McAdoo Would BE 81.
Labor stands at the close of this
campaign defeated in it's first serious
attempt to back a presidential candi-
date. Friction inside labors ranks
throughout the campaign. when so
many of the leaders insisted on going
to Davis, indicates that some of the
chieftainS recognized that the La Fol-
lette campaign was merely dividing
their own ranks.
The talk of McAdoo for 1929 may
never mean his nomination. He will
be 81 years old then. and as rule
candidates for President do not win
the nomination at that age, though
La Follette's advanced age was not
often talked about in the campaign.
The mention of McAdoo does mean
that the Democrats are already dis
cussing the necessity of choosing a
leader who will win for them the sup
port of the voters who cast their bal
lots for La Toilette. together with
those who may at the end of four
years want a change from Republican
rule
To the average man the mention of
1928 may seem premature and aca-
demic. But unfortunately it isn't
Members of Congress look far ahead