Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-09-06
DEADLOCK THREAT
IS USED is LEVER
BY MAJOR PARTIES
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Special Leased Wire TO The JournaI-Copy-
rfrht 1921

right, 1920
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4.-Judg
ing by reports received from all
parts of the country, the voters are
discussing among themselves exact
ly what would happen if none Of the
three presidential candidates-Ccol-
idge, Davis or La F'ollette-reCeiVed
a majority Of the electoral votes,
The discussion is in part natural
as the race is three-cOrnered, but l.
is to a certain extent being stimulat
ed by the strategy of both the Cool
idge and Davis supporters. The Re
publicans already are using 1t as 4
means of getting votes and the Dem
ocrats are even more Jealous in Their
adaptation of it to their advantage.
The Republicans 2~o saying that If
the election is thrown into the house
of representatives for decision, as is
provided if no candidate receives a
majority of electoral votes, then in
case of a deadlock in the house, the
senate may choose Il vice president
by the name of Charles w. Bryan,
through a coalition of La Toilette
IAGIuDllCdlS
radica would become president of
the United States. This thought is
most unWelcome in the conservative
areas of the country, especially in
the east, where Organism for a gen
GRAFTON has been repudiated at the
polls.
Line-Up Uncertain
But the Democrats are cOntendin@
the exact opposite in talking with
conservatives, namely, that the way
to prevent the selection of Bryan is
to support Davis either at the polls
Of in the house of representatives..
For example, if no candidate has re-
Ceived a majority of the electoral
votes on November 4, congress will
be convened in regular session in De
cember or can be called into spe-
cial session even earlier. The house
has until March to pick a presi
dent.
During the three months Of discus
sion the conservatives of the coun-
try who would be opposed to the Sc
lection Of Bryan. will be urginL the
selection of President Coolidge. If
the Democrats remain obdurate
there will be a deadlock in the house
because the state delegations are
about evenly divided as between the
Democrats and Republicans and
there could be no majority of the
states cast for any candidate, as is
necessary under the constitution, I'M
less some Of the La Toilette Repub-
licans assist President Coolidge Or
vote for John w. Davis. The con-
servative Republicans could, of
will I0nn1OC.'9tG
too, and select Davis and thus pre-
vent the election of Charles w. Bry-
an to the presidency.
Three Months to Deliberate
All this may sound remote but 1t
is becoming cOncretely near at hand
about the kind of president to be Sc
lected. But the sequel of an cleo
ton thrown into the house Of rep
resentatives is not necessarily Bry.
an. 1t may be Davis and it may BIS
Coolidge. The conservative Demo
Gratis and conservative Republicans
in combination in the senate could
pick Charles G. Dawes as vice presf-
dent if they didn't want Bryan and
if the house were deadlOcked as be-
tween Coolidge, Davis and La Fol
| lette.
The country and congress will
have three months in which to think
every day as the possibility of
deadlock is visualized. The theory
that a radical will be present is based
only upon the idea that the conserVa-
tives of the country, Republicans
| and Democrats, would be so hostile
to an agreement on Coolidge or Da
Wis that they would deliberately per,
NIT the senate to make a choice Of
vice president. 1t is also based on
| the thought that the Democrats ia
such a contingency would hold their
| strength in the senate to Bryan and
would win the La Toilette Republi-
| cans to their side.
| l fthe conservative Republicans
really considered Davis preferable
to a radical they could agree to
support him in the house on the
| pledge that Charles G. Dawes would
| be given Democratic support in the
/ senate for vice president. Were there
! really a conservative combination in
! both parties the ticket of Davis and
! Dawes would not be impossible Of Sc
| lection. at all
La Follette-DavIs Coalition
| But is John ". Davis going to
/ be aligned with the conservatives
when the campaign is over? His ad-
| vocacy of certain principles close to
| the La Toilette platform may be de
signed at the moment to corral radi-
| cal votes in the general electorate
| but it may also operate to make
| him closer to the La Toilette Re.
| publicans in the house than is Presi-
! dent Coolidge. The La Toilette group
! will hold the balance of power. Ii
! they were assured of a voice in thc
/ next administration and Of a work
| ing coalition with the Democrats.
| as occurred in the last session of
| congress in both houses, they may
! prefer Davis to Coolidge
If such oVertures are Intellectual
! they will naturally help keep the
situation deadlOcked in the house in
! the hope of having Charles w. Bry-
| an selected as vice president and
| that means the presidency on March
| 4th if the house has failed to choose
a president before that date. Those
three months after November 4th
would mean a breakdown in the
party lines and a consideration by
the conservatives of whether theJ
should combine either for Coolidge
or for Davis and CheCkmate the radi-
/ cal ascendancy in the senate.
As it stands today both the Cool
idGe and Davis spokesman can make
out plausible argument to set votes
so as to prevent the election from
being thrown into the house of rep