Evening star., 1924-11-09
BROOKHART HURT
BY RAPPING DAWES
Viewed as Radical and
Bolter by Many Voters,
Iowa Editor Says.
Bl W. ". WAYMACk.

lDES MclNES. Iowa, November y
Iowa has been on crazy teeter
board since Tuesday night, when the
unexpected cloSeness of the race for
the senatorship became evident. As
Senator Smith w. Brookharts pros
poets aScended. half the voters of the
state went down into a condition part
gloom and part fury. As Daniel
Steck' s vote seemed to assure him the
election. that same half OF the voters
went into eXultant JOY.
No man in recent decades has been
more hotly hated or. in some quarters,
so warmly supported as Senator
BrOokhart. Interest in the national
election has been as nothing in com
parison with the savage interest of
faCtionalists in the Brookhart Steck
fight
The reasons for this bitterness are,
of course, the reasons for the sur
prising showing of Steck 4 political
unknown. nominated by a hopeleSsly
weak party in Iowa, with no thought
whatever that he might be elected.
And the reasons may be given in this
order:
Attack on DAVE S1under.
First, Brookhart. after winning
the Republican nomination and going
through half the camUaign under ?
sort of flag of truce with the regular
organization. made the hlunder Of
publicly insisting that Dawes get
off the national ticket and Coolidge
get on the State PLATFORM" PraC-
tically. that was bolt from the
Republican to the La Toilette side.
And the fury of the regular party
leaders. going down into even tn"
county jobs. was such as could be
expressed only by biting ten-penny
nails Despite BroOLhart's farm
strength, his holt Was 4 blunder.
The Republican habit in Iowa IS
strong. Even the farmers would not
stand firmly behind tht boltcr. And
of course all the regular Republican
strength was thrown behind SteCE.
Second. business" throughout the
State, large and small, has come to
regard Brookhart as a horned and
hoOfed ogre. Rotary and kiwanis
and Lions Clubs We're practically unan-
imouS against him-and not only
animouS against him-and not only
unanim Gus, but amazingly fervent.
The fear of Broukhar: IN business
circles is not so much specific as vague
and general. The feeling iS that he
stands for agitation for throwing bricks
through windows. for telling people that
ali is not right with the world. and for
wanting To substitute Russian com
munism for the kind Of political and
economic order We have here.
Brookhnrt Called BoEhe,ik.
Erookhdrt visited Russia a coupe
of years back an. when he return. ID
was so taCtleSS as to say that the
government there was stable. lie
was dubbed a Loishcyik from that
moment, and he is sincerely believed
l. n la
Of doubtful American PATRIOTISM de-
spite his military service.
Third hetterment of some agricul-
tural prices. while il has not by any
means satisfied the farmer, has taken
some of the edge off his discomfort
This cause should not lie overempha-
sized. The East should not assume
that the West is all over its fret
som" leaders of the Farm Bureau
Fedora ton. more conservative than
the farmers union, are Supposed tc
have worked for Steck
Fourth, SteCk was supp ,rted with
real effect 10y American Legion en-
thusiastS, though Brookhart is a
lcEionnaire. too. Steck has been a
State commander of the legion. and is
extremely popular with the veterans
The Russian bogey was used to
Brookhart's detriment very vigorous
y in legion posts.
Summing up. it was primarily
Rrookhart.s own errors of Judgment
that nearly caused his defeat He
overestima ted his own strength, as
against the combined strength of
Coolidge's popularity. the habit of
party regularity. the hostility of
business and Steck'S own potential
power as a popular legionnaire
II. as has been publicly alleged he
c'unseied with Judge Kenyon, either
he didn't take the judges advice or
tine judge guessed wrong. too.
Uopyrgit. 1874