Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-09-20
Ia TOILETTE HOME
STATE VOTE To Be
GREATLY CURTA|LED
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Especial Leased Wire to The Journal-Copy
right, 1924

! MILWAUKEE,, Wis, Sept. IS
Anyone who simply crosses Wis
consin off the political map of doubt
full states with the confident asser
| ton that Senator LaF'ollette will set
the electoral vote is missing muco
of what is happening in these parts.
| For there are two factors which,
when the ballots are counted, will
| tend to reduce the vote cast for Rob-
ert M. La Toilette in his home state
One is the Democratic party, which
mysteriously enough is displaying
more activity than Is customary. and
| the other is the fact that under the
Republican eagle where thousands
| Of voters have marked their ballots
| traditionally, they will no longer find
La Toilette as of yore.
The senior senator from Wisconsin
| has been running for office in this
state for a generation. He has
| always been a Republican. His
| enormous vote two years ago was
due to the fact that he won the Re-
publican primaries and there were
thousands of regular Republicans
who disliled La Toilette but voted
the straight Republican ticket Also
| In those primaries there were thou
sands of Democrats and Socialists
who helped La Toilette capture the
machinery of the Republican party.
Different Situation Today
But today the voter faces a diff.
ferent situation. The regular Re-
publican has Coolidge and Dawes.
Many voters who are not particular
~ perturbed about La Follette's
radlcalIsm and who at the same time
nave the lifelong habit of voting q
Republican ticket, will vote for
| Coolidge.
Unquestionably Senator La Fol.
lette will poll less of a Republican
vote by a good deal than he did two
years ago. To offset his losses he
hopes for some acquisitions. as he
Will nave Socialists and Democrats
| too go
Indeed, it is difficult to conceive
that there We're many voters who
refused to vote for La Toilette two
years ago and who would vote for
MIN now. He reached his maxinuo,
IN 1922 and undoubtedly has lost
some since then.
AS II in confirmation of this. the
democrats have taken on hone ana
behave as if they think thew had a
chance. For the first time in a lone,
While, they have nominated com.
plete tickets throughout the cour,.
ties, and that is significant. Their
strategy evidently is to hold the
Democratic vote in line and to re-.
gam much of it that has been in the
haolt of assisting La Toilette. The
question is whether such tactics will
help Davis or Coolidge. 1t surely
doesn't help La Toilette and it can
not be of much aid to the Democrat +
lc national ticket, for by subtractino
from La Follette's vote, the chances
| of President Coolidge carrying the
state are improved. The Democrats
have not been polling enough votes
TO assure them of anything but thir /
| place in a three -cornered race such
as the presidential contest this wear.
If, therefore, they make an active
campaign, they will take away votes
from La Toilette.
Unique Condition
Privately, there are regular Repuh.
leans who are happy over what the
Democrats are doing. The regulars
are not well organized and they
have division IL their own ranks. but
they have little influence with the
large Independent body of voters
which has been the main pillar of
La Follette's strength, and if the
Democrats can tempt them, so much
the better for Coolidge prospects.
Wisconsin presents a unique sit
uation. The Republican state ma
chinerv is in the hands of La Fol.
lette. The Republican state conven-
ton has just fulfilled the promise
of the La Toilette managers that
they would play fair by leaving the
Republican label to Coolidge and by
seeing to it that the requirements
of the statute were met in selecting
electors who were really Coolidge
men. For a time it was thought
the La Toilette group might take
advantage OF the situation and con-
fuse the issue by sticking to the Re
publican label. But as if to make
matters worse. the La Toilette man
ayers have selected Coolidge electors
and handed them to the regular Re-
publican party-a humiliating situa-
ton IN pOllt1cS. Inc electors CHOSEN
are Coolidge men all right, but their
very names on the ballot in some
cases will only make some of the La
Toilette voters, especially some of
the Germans, irritable. Some of the
names will make controversies that
otherwise might have been CLOSED
over had the Republicans been able
20 select their own electors.
Dawes Speech a Misfit
The speech of Charles G. Dawes
may have created a good deal OF
comment outside of wisconsin, bur
III Milwaukee it didn't fit. The peo-
pie here are not receptive to talk
about the horrors of socialism, espe-
cially after they have just reelected
by an overwhelming majority a So
cialist mayor. Socialism is popular
with a large element in Wisconsin.
Hence attacks on it in more or less
general terms are not so very eff
fcctive. Nor has the Dawes plan
been received by many of the Ger
man voters as yet as anything but a
new burden for Germany.
Senator La Toilette will get big
vote in Milwaukee as usual, anE
present indications are he surely
will carry the state, but by reduced
plurality over previous years.