Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-03-20
WITH LA Toilette
IN RACE. HOUSE MAY
ELECT PRESIDENT
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Ncased Wire Service to The Journal
Copyright, 1920


Gcased Wire Service to The Journal.)
Copyright, 1924
WASHINGTON, March 19.-Sena-
tor La F'ollette's determination to
head third party if the Republican
national convention dominates Pres
ident Coolidge on a conservative
platform will affect the entire course
of the campaign.
The senator's announcement is
not unexpected The demand that
the party platform shall not be con
servative will not be satisfied be-
cause Mr.. La Follette's idea Of con.
sentative differs materially from that
of his fellow Republicans. Indeed
nothing short of radical program
will appease the La Toilette group
who are planning to use the plat.
form controversy merely as an ex-
cuse to wage their campaign not on
personalities, but on the dignified
basis of issues and principles.
To Change Party Strategy
The immediate effect, of course,
of the entrance of Senator La Fol
lette into the campaign will be to
change the strategy or the two old
line parties. The politicians have
thought it al out and it looks as
the Republican argument will be
this:
First, the casting of any cleo
toral votes for La Toilette will mere
ly mix up the election and possibly
prevent any of the three candidates
from receiving a majority of the
electoral votes, thus throwing the
election into the house of represen-
tatives. The election of third party
candidate would not carry with it
control of congress, so the legislative
situation would be a constant wran-
gle without progress.
Second, the Democratic argument
will be that the regular Republicans
are too conservative and the La Fol
lette Republicans are too radical and
that a liberal pOlicy-a compromise
between the two Xtremes-Would
be adopted by the Democrats. The
claim would be made that election
of a Democratic president would
carry with it the election of a Dem
ocratic congress so that all branches
of the government would be able to
proceed in harmny.
The third party ticket is likely to
have two effects-either force the
election of a Democratic president
as in 1912 by splitting the Repub-
lican vote, or else forcing the cleo
ton into the house of representa-
tives, which body chooses a president
whenever no candidate gets a ma
/ jority Of the electoral votes.
Strong in West
The strength of the La Toilette
group is in the west. These states
are normally Republican. If Senator
! La Toilette wins them, Mr., Coolidge
would be vitality affected in the final
! tally. The Democrats have hopes of
| carrying certain western states, too.
! Between the La Toilette effort and
/ the Democratic campaign, Mr.. Cool
/ idge would have to carry nearly ev-
! erything east of the Mississippi
river as we'll as certain Pacific coast
/ states to get a majority. The west,
therefore, will be real battle-ground,
/ for the strength of the regular Re
publican party in the east is its con-
! serVatism, the very thing the La Fol
/ lette Republicans will be lighting in
the west. If MIR. Coolidge could be
/ conservative to the east and radical
to the west, the task would be easy.
If House Elects
Already the discussion of what
would happen if the house were
compelled to select a president
something that has only happened
once in American historS-has be-
gun. The procedure is prescribed by
! the constitution which says that eV-
cry state delegation has a single
vote. Whether the vote shall be cast
for Republican or Democrat de,
ponds upon whether the majority oil
the elected representatives. to con-
Sress for each state are Republican
or Democratic. Using the unit rule.
/ and examining the political complex
ion of each delegation in the present
/ congress which would be the con-
/ gress to decide the issue, since it
would come up if at all in January
1925, the table shows that the total
number of states having Republican
/ delegations is twenty-five while the
/ Democrats control twenty-one states.
Five states have a tie, in which
/ case no voting is permitted, though
Of course a break in the tie can al
/ ways be accomplished by winning
/ over a single vote in that state dele
/ "a tiO1