Evening star., 1924-10-23
NEW JERSEY HELD
SURE FOR COOLIDGE
La Toilette Strength Comes
Largely From Democratic
Sources.
by DAVID LAWRENCE.

by DAVID LAWRENCE.
NEWARK, n. j.. October 23.-New
Jersey is not n doubtful State. There
are circumstances under which ii
might have been. Perhaps, if La Fol-
lette had not entered the race, or IL
Al Smith had been the candidate, but
facing the situation as it is, presi-
dent Coolidge Will carry it by a ma
jority over both candidates, which
may be from $4,000 up, though his
lead over John w. Davis will be
larger than that ngure.
The days of Mckinley and later of
Roosevelt, when the manufacturers
went down the line for the Republi-
can party and persuaded their en-
pIoyes to vote the Republican ticket,
viii be recalled as one examines
closely the situation in this State.
Critics might call it coercion or
intimidation. and defenders of the
practice m@ say that only a small
number of voters is affected by the
persuasive arguments of employers
but, nevertheless, the various Note'
taken in factories ana plants indi-
cate that the workingmen have been
scared away from La Toilette and
into the Coolidge camp with genuine
effectiveness.
In a chemical plant in this sec
ton, about sol votes were cast. All
but one voted for Coolidge. The lone
ballot was for la Toilette None
was cast for Davis. Now these things
sometimes happen in u small group
where there is an opportunity for an
argument TO h" made which VIII
sway the group. But when 1t happens
in large numbers it means that some
me has told the workngmen why it
is 10 their interest 10 vote "a GER
tain way.
The employer I'm question made no
bones about it. He felt he did nothing
more than exercise his American
right to advise his employees how they
ought TO vote. And he sincerely be-
lieves that a vote for La Toilette is
vote for chaos. He is convinced
that an election thrown into the
House of Representatives means busi-
ness uncertainty, the stoppage Of
credits and "A general restraint which
may mean shutting down his plant.
Feeling that way. he wants La Fol-
lette beaten and Coolidge elected.
Seek safety I'm Coolidge.
What happened in the plant refer
red to has been happening throughout
the State. The writer heard the same
story in Industrial Trenton. 1t is
quito common in manufacturing z
States on some occasions. But it did
not happen to any extent in 1920, nor
in 1915. This year the La Toilette
bogey has done more to stimulate the
conservatives and the manufacturers
generally than any one thing. The
I tariff has been trotted out as bearing
upon the wages of the workmen, and
af
would be adversely affected if the
tariff were tinkered with.
Apart from the strength of the
Coolidge Dawes ticket in manufac-
turing circles. the banks have gone
into the campaign most energetically.
Again the fear of La Toilette has
been raised. Davis is not talked of.
There is no antagonism to him 1t
simply IS reiterated that the safest
way TO vote is for Coolidge. Among
professional men and others who
think their pocketbooks may be af-
fected by the throwing of the election
into the House, the drift to Coolidge
has been noticeable for several weeks
La Toilette Hurts Davis.
But while there are affirmative rea-
sons why many voters are going to
vote the Republican ticket nationally.
there are negative reasons why many
are not going to vote the Democratic
ticket. In Hudson County, for instance,
where the population is largely of
Irish descent the immediate reac-
tion after the failure of the Madison
Square Garden convention to nomi-
nate Al Smith. was to desert the
Democratic party. When Davis in his
SeaEirt speech denounced the Klan
by name, he recovered lost ground.
When he came out later for the
League of Nations. he lost some that
he had gained
Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City
who bosses Hudson County, has roll
ed up his shirt sleeves and is really
working hard for Davis. He will
save him the bad beating he might
have gotten, but even the resource
full Hague will not recover the votes
that have been turned toward La
Toilette. The third party candidate
will cut into the Democratic vote
more heavily than into the Republi-
can vote.
President Coolidge's attitude on
the klan-silence-is not helping him
here, but those who feel resentful
about it are more likely to vote for
La Toilette than Davis. though there
Will be some acquisitions to Davis
from the Republican ranks on this
score. For the Democrats have not
succeeded in showing a definite rela :
tionship between the Coolidge policy
of silence and the klan itself. The
letter given out by G. Bascom Slemp
the Presidents secretary, saying the
President was not member of the
Khan nor in sympathy with it's OBJ
jects is being used wherever the klan
| question appears vital in keeping Re-
| publican votes
Edge Victory i'm Doubt.
Mostly the State Is in the grip of
! conservatism-th doctrine of things
as they are. The contest for United
| States Senator is stirring up even
more interest than the presidential
race. Walter Edge, former governor
and present possessor of the sena-
torial toga, won a bitter primary
fight, in which he took 1.-The wet" side
There appears no doubt that Demo
Gratis of the wet" variety went into
the Republican primaries and helped
him win. -
The Democrats nominated Mayor
Donnelly of Trenton, who is wringing
wet" compared to Edge. He de-