Evening star., 1924-10-05
LA TOILETTE HURT
BY COURT RULING
Many Votes Believed Lost in
California by Ban on
His Electors.
by q. GOCLD LINCOLN.

4.-OceS a Progressive by any otner
name lin this case Social!st) smell as
sweet to the voters of California; It
is upward of week now since the
California court handed down its
four-to-three decision which held
that Senator La Toilette could not
have his presidential electors on the
ballot and the La Toilette managers
those TO place the electors under the
Socialist party designation. So far
as can be ascertained at the present
time the court action will have little
effect on the general result Novem
Der 4.
A wave OF indignation swept the
State when the court decision was
made known. Even Senator Hiram.
johnson, who had sat !ike q su!k!.g
Achilles ~ his te-t s:.ce his ceteat
= the presidential! primaries. ca=:e
to-wa-d with a statement 6e-ounc:cg
tse action os TIE court. But TIE H.
dig3at!or IS s!-:ce-:-g dow2. TIE
statement os President Coolidge, made
with particular reference to tse
Louisiana situation. but applying
equally to California, expressing his
opinion that the citizens should have
an opportunity to vote for whom they
pleased, helped the situation, too.
The Republican leaders in the State
have disclaime any desire to keep
the La Toilette electors off the ballot.
In fact, one of them told me today he
would be very glad to have La Fol-
lette's electors on the ballot as In
dependents or Progressives, or whatever
they chose to call themselves.
Think Many VIII Bnlk.
There is feeling in some quarters,
however. that an appreciate number
of voters will balk when it comes to
voting for a Socialist. as La toilette
is labeled on the ballot here.
If the La Toilette managers are
looking longingly to Senator Hiram
johnson to come to- their support in
open statement they probably will
look in vain. After Senator Johnson 8
original statement criticfzing the
court decision on the La Follette
electors. second attributed to Sena-
tor Johnson, but much stronger and
apparently aligning the Senator with
the La Toilette group. crept into the
newspapers through a typographical
error-some misplaced quotation
marks But at the instance of Sena-
tor johnson, this second statement
was promptly denied. 1t happened
that in the present campaign many
of Senator JohnSonS very close
political supporters and friends are
to be found in the Republican or
ganization backing Coolidge. In fact,
the two factions of the Republicans-
that which supported Johnson so
vigorously in the past and that which
opposed him-buried the hatchet to
all intents and purposes to put the
Coolidge Dawes ticket across in
November. In the process of more
amicab bic adjustment the Johnson
organization men were given ptac-
tically the control of the Republican
State committee.
Tied Tight to Party.
These Johnson supporters, there
fore, are tied tight to the Coolidge
bandwagon. They say that they are
for him 100 per cent. The manager
of Johnsons campaign during the
primary campaign. when the Senator
was seeking the preference of the
voters against President Coolidge for
the nomination, is one of them. They
still insist that Johnson is a great
leader, and that his strength is un-
impaired in California. But there
are others who think differently in
this regard.
Should Johnson suddenly announce
himself against Coolidge and for La
ton might arise for the Senator with
his oldtin>e allies in the Coolidge
camp. Furthermore, when Senator
Johnson was candidate on the Bull
Moose ticket with Theodore Roose-
welt and La Follette's aid was needed,
La Toilette withheld it. Again in
1920, when Senator Johnson was
striving nightly for the presidential
nomination at the Republican ma
tional convention, there was an alb
sence of La Toilette support for the
Californian at a crucial time.
Cite La Toilette Record.
The Republican leaders both in the
Coolidge Dawes organization so-called
and the State central committee are
making a drive gaainst La Toilette
entitled The Betrayal of California"
devoted to votes of Senator La Fol-
lette in the Senate against the in
terests of California farmers. These
are being distributed by the thousand,
Stress Is laid on the value of Ford
ney-McCumber tariff bill to California
producers, and 1t showed that La Fol-
lette voted against or failed to sup
port by voice or vote, some of the
items of great moment to California.
One of these was the sugar tariff to
protect the beet sugar industry of the
State. The poultry industry of Cali
fornia, with an output annually val
ued at $4,000. 900, was jeopardzed,
the pamphlet says, by the Democrats.
The Republicans came to it's rescue
with a tariff of 8 cents a dozen on i'm
ported eggs. But the measure got no
support from La Toilette.
Schism Is Scented.
While the Repub ublicahs seemingly
have gotten together in this State in
support of the national ticket, the
La Toilette managers point to the
fact that the Coolidge-Dawes organi-
zation Is being run by the old anti
Johnson crowd, while the State COM
mittee is in the hands largely of the
Johnson organization. They scent a
schism in this arrangement and hope
for dissentions later. They say, too,
that while many Of the leaders of
the Johnson organization are in line
for Coolidge, the rank and file of the
old Johnson forces are going to be
with Coolidge on election day.
All of this and not a word about the
Democrats. But one doesn't hear
much Of the Democrats in this State.
1t is strange that on a trip extending
thousands of miles and during which
I have talked with many voters there
have only been words Of praise for
John w. Davis, the Democratic stand
ard bearer, but that st the same time
in this Northern and Western coun-
try fey, IL any, believe that Mr.. Davis
has a chance to win electoral votes
in the States.
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