The Republican., 1924-09-18
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
Republican Victory in Maine Is
Regarded AS a Victory For
President Coolidge.

actually victory for Coolidge and as
presaging a sweeping victory for the
Republican ticket in November. The
Maine election was a great surprise
to the leaders of both parties. Both
believed the Klan issue would out
weigh all other considerations and it
would have occasioned no great sur
prise to the Republicans had Dem
ocratic governor been elected. Rep
resentative Chindbloom of Illinois,
who has been campaigning in Maine
and who is, perhaps, better able to
judge of the results than citizen of
the State, has brought to the Presi-
dent the most emphatic assurances
that "the Maine election was essenti-
ally a Coolidge victory"
That the system of claiming ev-
erything in sight" has been carried to
deplorable point by campaign man.
ayers is becoming more and more OBJ
vious. To such extravagane predic-
tions do the chairmen of the national
committees, irrespective of parties
lend themselves that it has made their
statements worthless. It is a reason
able assumption that because of their
vantage points these gentlemen
should be in a position to give the
country the most accurate informa-
tion-and probably they could, if
they would. But they won't. They
content themselves with claiming ev-
erything, declaring that the opposing
candidates are through" and each
insisting that his particular candidate
will "sweep the country" Such fool
ish predictions are a reflection on the
intelligence of the public and accom-
plish nothing. Very few Washington
correspondents will burden their
wires or impose on their editors with
the nonsense the campaign managers
hand out. To paraphrase a declara-
ton of a once famous governor of
Wisconsin, "Its facts, not boasts, the
people want"
From sources other than the cam
paign chairmen your correspondent
learns that Mr.. Davis is making a sad
mess of his campaign; that he is prov
ing a woeful disappointment to his
political hackers and to the party
which made him its candidate; nor
are the reasons hard to find. John
W. Davis is a conservative, at heart
far more conservative than Calvin
Coolidge. At heart no man has a
greater contempt for Bryan and all
that Byran represents than John W.
Davis, and yet, because he thinks it
will win him votes, he is posing as
radical and going up and down the
land saying things he does not be-
lieve and advocating policies in which
he has no faith. The result of this
insincerity stands out in his every
speech and takes all ''the punch" out
| of it. Every good salesman knows
that the first essential of good sales
manship is firm belief in the merits
of the article he is selling. And as
salesman of himself and the Demo-
cratic party John W. Davis is fail
ure simply because he cannot believe
either in himself or in the Democratic
party as that party is represented by
the platform on which Davis is fore
ed to stand This is not the individ-
ual view Of your correspondent, but is
a composite of the views of many men
who have come to Washington from
all parts of the country, many of
whom have heard Davis speak and all
of whom have been at some pains to
ascertain the political sentiment in
the communities in which they live, or
of which they have visited.
While John Davis is proving fail
ure as a presidential candidate on
platform which, no doubt, at heart he
abhors, there is no warrant for the
continued declaration of the Republi
can chairman that "its all over but
the shouting" 1t is perfectly evident
that many Democrats with radicalten-
denotes are going over to LeFollette
and there still remains the danger
that the third party candidate may
gain a sufficient number of electoral
votes in the electoral college to pre-
vent MIR. CooEdge's receiving the 266
votes necessary to a choice. That
means, of course, that there is still
the danger of throwing the election
successively into the House and the
Senate and of the latter's being COM
PEELED to choose between Dawes and
/ Bryan, with every likelihood that it
would choose the latter. That is what
LaFollette is working for-and all
that he expects to get out OF the
election. 1t would mean that he and
the little group in the Senate who
vote with him would be able to cast
the deciding vote and put Bryan in
the White House and also-and this
is most important from LeFollette'
standpoint-that he could dictate