New Britain herald., 1924-07-03
THE MaDoo STRUGGLE

THE M'aDOO STRUGGLE The high water mark of the nomin.
 ation struggle al the Democratic con.
 vention is centering around William Gibbs McAdoo's battle for suprema.
 cy. struggle that has gone further
 in his favor in forty odd ballots--the
 total at this writing--than had been
 anticipated. Considering the spirited
 nature of the attacks that have been
 made against Mir, McAdoo, in which
 the cry Of "oil" and alleged Kan
 support have mingled, it is indeed sur
 prisng that he has done so well in the convention.
 The same forces that have relent-
 lessly attacked McAdoo have been
 equally vociferous in buttressng the
 cause of Gov. Al Smith. who it must
 be confessed, is not doing as well as had been expected, although his back CTS may be holding back for a drive later on.
 The alignment against McAdoo has been headed by that pallidum of Dem ocratic journalism, the New York World. which has been equally staunch in it's support of Gov. Smith. The alignment for McAdoo has been l. ipr who has been equally active in his opposition to Gov. Smith. The World is in high favor with eastern Demo- crats, while Bryan appears to remain in favor with western and southern Democrats. The struggle has turned into a sectional contest, actuated by such bitterness and vituperation that it is difficult to see how the contestants can join hands in an attempt to elect after somebody is nominated.
 The World charges Bryan with making forays in every convention since 1898. A survey of hEs record in- dicates that his chief foray was at the Baltimore convention, when he caused the nomination of Woodrow Wilson and the defeat of Champ Clark. In laying that Bryan lis the most unsuc- cessfu leader and the worst adviser the party. has known in this genera tion," the World must mean that the nomination of Wilson was d mistake. It is such hectic criticism as this, hurled at the delegates during the convention, that failed to annihilate McAdoo support. Much as we dislike Mir. Bryan and his record of grape juice politics, cross roads economies and egotistic domiqeering, it is not well to deprecate him before his friends. Bryan is regarded as nincom- poop in the east but every time the World throws hook into him at the wrong time and in the wrong way, it reacts as boomerang. Southern Democrats don't appear to like it. Their mental complex is something like Bryan's, and it ought to be well to take little of this into consider ation. One cannot very readily change a mental habit by hurling insults.
 The World printed in large type an editorial from the St. Louis Post-Ds- patch attacking Bryan. St. Louis is in Missouri, where Champ Clark came from. The purpose of the reprinted editorial was not for the benefit of the public as much as it was intended to influence the Missouri delegates. The only practical result was that the Missouri show-me crowd Topped back to McAdoo, after Bryan had talked to them. If the World had not centcred it's Influence" on them as it did they probably would have remained off McAdoo. It appears they resented the Worlds preaching more :. than they disliked Bryan. Conditions | being as they are, a little more suavi- | ty by the World might gain results for | Smith and fewer for McAdoo.
 The forces that did not succeed in | iniuring MoAdoo naturally did not | help smith materially. Right or wrong it appears that too many oi the dele gates seem 10 think that they should not allow themselves 10 be in in New York by the New Fork newspapers. These ''rustlcs' from he "hinterland' provinces have been coached 10 be on guard. A suggestion from the World is more likely to be ,purned merely because it originated n New York With this apparent state ,f mind to combat, the proponents Of smith naturally have a difficult time n the race with McAdoo. New York s convinced that smith would be the trongest candidate the Democrats .ould nominate. He would carry New fork. New Jersey and probably Com lecticut, the three states having a otal of 6s votes in the electoral col-