Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-12-23
COOLIDGE DECLARES
WAR To DEATH ON
c. 0. P. INSURGENTS
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
peciaI Leased Wire to The Journal-Copy
right 1920

WASHINGTON Dec 20.-The
war on insurgency in the Republican
party is war to the hilt. President
Coolidge now has taken g step which
A demonstrates to the political world
: his absolute sympathy with the
move whereby tie Republican lead
ers ousted from their ranks the IN,
surgents of the west who in the last
campaign gave aid and comfort TO
the LaFollette candidacy.
This is the most significant hap
pening in politics since the election
and more than anything else may lay
the lines of battle for the future.
President Taft endeavored to use of
|, weapon of patronage" to fight the
enemy within the ranks but 1t
proved a boomerang to him. Mr..
Coolidge has the advantage, how
ever, of beginning the fight not in
the middle of his term when most
of the ammunition is usually spent,
but at the unprecedented time when
he has four full years to serve and
his own inauguration is more than
two months away.
The president made no public
statement when the Republican lead
ers in the senate and house read out
of the party the LaF'ollette insur-
gents. In presenting to the senate,
however, this week, the names OF
,postmasters recommended by the
7anti-La Toilette Republicans of Wis
consin, Mr.. Coolidge lined himself
up definitely with the regulars in
Wisconsin and fired the first gun
of the 1926 congressional fight when
Senator Lenroot, staunch administra-
ton supporter, will be up for re-
nomina ton.
Insurgents to Fight Lenroot
Undoubtedly the La Toilette forces
will enter a candidate In the Repub
lican primaries to defeat Lenroot
and the latter has for several months
known that he had a fight ahead of
him. The White House was urged
repeatedly before the last national
convention to make war on the La
Toilette group, but it was deemed
by the strategists to be unWise to
precipitate a controversy until aft
Ter Mr.. Coolidge had been nominated.
The action of the Wisconsin dele
cation at the convention, followed as
it was by the La Toilette candidacy
for the presidency, left the admins
tration no alternative, however, and
from that time forward the Repub-
lican national committee began to
realize that it must build up a new
organization in Wisconsin or rather
strengthen the regular Republicans
Swho had been making the fight year
after year against La F'olletism with
heavy odds.
Usually the La Toilette people
have been helpd in the Republican
primaries by Democratic votes. The
Lenroot forces know now that con-
sentative Democrats can be drawn
to a Republican ticket when a radi-
i
doubt that the Lenroot campaign
will need Democratic support.
, The use of patronage may or may
not be of value so far as actually
getting votes is concerned. But it
has a great deal to do with the spirit
of an organization. If, for instance,
the workers understand that they
can hope for no rewards at Wash
ington when they support for con-
gressmen who are not recognized by
their own party organization, and
who, of course, can expect nothing
from Democrats if the latter come
into power, the whole problem of
political organization in local pre-
| cincts is likely to be made very diff
ficult.
La FOIlette's battle-ground
The theory back of political ap
II pOlIllll6IllS is That OBSERVING WORKERS.
( get rewards. The opposition usually
attacks this theory as the "spoils"
system. That political offices are
traded for support is not a demon
strable proposition as a rule, but the
La Toilette people will not hesitate
TO develop a controversy over it in
the hope that sympathy will come to
them as they feel themselves being
punished for trying to make the Re-
publican party a progressive" in
strumentality. Already there are
signs that even friends of the adj
ministration in some western states
idoubt the wisdom of sending eastern
money to western primaries and
warnings are given that the surplus
preserved by the Republican national
campaign committee after the last
election should not be used for that
purpose.
The Lincoln (Nebraska) State Jour
nal, which supported Coolidge, says
that "westerner could think of no
more certain way than this to in
sure the nomination of these Gn-
.$urgenD senator's" and that 'if
pennsylvania and New York are to
furnish money to control western
primaries, they will need to be very
secretive about it," Senator Cap
per's own paper, the Topeka Kan
sas) Capital, adds that the national
committee has more western than
eastern men on it and will hardly
fall for such a political game-if it
should new western men would un.
doubtedly be elected to represent the
Vest"
Eastern conservatives have felt
that in order to retain a congress
amenable to the Coolidge program
some strenuous efforts should be
made and a course of action adopted
even at this early date to keep the
Republican party clear of radicals.
The move to use patronage is in
line with that program