The Washington times., 1924-07-02
IA Toilette To
FIGHT both
PARTIES
Announcement BY Him Is Ex-
pected IN 40 HouTsWiIl
Run as Independent
BY WILLIAM HARD.

~SASbt AOAs1AS 0N4G 60 Nd cOAASbSO
today in Washington was working
on the announcement which he ex.
poets to send out to the public
within the next forty.eight hours
declaring himself to be q candidate
for the Presidency ana declaring
the issues on which his candidacy
will be based.
This fact became known here
today from the most authoritative
sources and Is beyond contradiction.
If La Toilette does not change his
mind and does not see some reason
for departing from his present In
tentions, his candidacy win be q
declared and settled matter events
before the convention OF the ma.
tiOnal conference for progressive
political action begins its sessions
In Cleveland day after tomorrow.
The La FOllette announcement
will be made In the form OF q reply
to citizens who have requested him
to run for the Presidency and 1t win
analyze the political situation which,
as Mr.. La Toilette contends. now
jugtifies him In putting his name
forward before the voters on a
nationwide scale.
Wide Warfare Planned.
The Senator VIII run in all Of thu
forty-eight States Of the whole union
II the present plans OF his most init
mate hackers and advisers are car
ried out.
He win not confine himself to
activities In the Republican States
Of the Northwest. He viii carry
his warfare also into States like
Indiana and Ohio and New York
where the Democrats have high
hopes OF victory this fall.
He will endeavor to take votes
away from both old parties i'm
partially.
He will not commit himself to
the idea Of organizing new party
at this time, He win indicate, In
deed, that he has no personal OBJ
lection to. q new party; but he will
maintain, in his usual manner that
new parties are born and not made
and that he himself does not In
tend, at this time to try to make
one.
His candidacy win be q personal
Independent candidacy on q plat
form which he himself will mako
and publish before the convention
at Cleveland can make q platform
for him.
He win imply that he intends to
be the candidate Of no convention
and that he intends to bind himself
to no platform except him own.
Defiance To Unions.
This whole state Of mind on his
part and the whole public utter
ance which he ID about to deliver
can be regarded as q defiance hurl-
ed by him at the railroad trade
union leaders here In New York
who have been asserting that Il
the Democratic national convention
here in New York would nominate
William Gibbs McAdoo, why, then,
they would proceed to Cleveland
and prevent the Cleveland conven'
ton, which win be controlled by
the railroad trade unions, from
nominating La Toilette.
La Follette's coming utterance II
the equivalent Of saying to these
gentlemen that he IL not concerned
about being nominated by them and
that he Is proceeding to run on
his own nomination by himself.
Z =
that the rank and file of railroad
employees win vote for La Toilette
no matter what their leaders In
Cleveland may do.
This contention Ii emphatically
disputed by these leaders. They
say that In preferring McAdoo to
La. Toilette, in case McAdoo can
get the Democrat nomination. they
express the actual wishes Of their
rank and file as shown in recent
conventions Of railroad workers.
The La Toilette organization, on
the other hand, Is determined not
to go before the country as the
representative Of any organization
except itself.
1t does not wish to get stamped
as q railroad trade union affair
and still less does It wish to get
stamped as an affair belonging to
any outfit OF third partyites.
Off His Gown Bat"
La Toilette il going to conduct
the unique experiment OF running
for President Of the United States
with no party behind him and with
no convention controlling him be-
hind him. He is going to try to
be President Of the United States
just simply and merely of his
own bat. His behavior 10 char
acterized here az sublime courage
and Is also characterized here as
outright political lunacy.
1t can be stated that among HE
followers and managers there are
those that actually believe that he
will run second In the race between
him and Coolidge and the Demo-
cratic candidate.
It can be also stated with abso-
lutte confidence that while La Fol-
lette is not planning personally to
try to organize q third party this
year he nevertheless hopes and be-
lieves that his candidacy this year
will break the ground and blaze
the path for a new party later.
He conceives himself as giving the
last supreme effort Of his political
life to breaking down the present
party situation in America and to-
ward creating q new party Situa-
ton from which he personally will
not profit, but which win survive
him as his monument.
That Is the view which he him.
self takes OF his own present action.
An opposite view IL now frequently
expressed here in the New York
Democratic convention to the gem
eral effect that La Toilette. like an
aged Samson. 10 putting his arms
about the pillars Of the American
political temple to pull It down, IRE
spective Of the consequence, provided
only that before he dies he can have
the satisfaction Of the sensation Of