Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-09-27
DISCONTINUED VOTE
E.AF0I..II .E:TTE:'S ONLY
CHANCE IN OREGON
BY DAVID LAWRENCE


Special Leased Wire to The Journal-Copy-
right. 192i.)
PORTLAND, Oregon, Sept. 20
This is in many respects the home
Of proGreSSIViSm.
The initiative and the referendum
and the primary and other measures
Of reform had their first cordial
welcome here. SO Oregon may be
regarded as q good place in which
TO test out whether Senator La Fol
lette is entitled to the label pro
gressive" in the viewpoint Of the
voter.
First of all IT should be recalled
that La Toilette was a close second
here to Roosevelt in the primary
days of 1872. Butt cannot be said
that the same type of Republicans
who fought for Roosevelt then are
today supporting La Toilette.
In the contest between President
Coolidge and Hiram Johnson this
year, the voters of Oregon register
ed their preference for Mr.. Coolidge
by three to one. Nothing has hap
pened since the primaries to make
such a large body of voters turn
from the president. The only CUES
ton here is whether the discontent-
ed vote has grown.
Grain Bill a Sore Spot
Undoubtedly there is some dissat-
isfactiOn here over the president S
unWllllngness to come out flatly for
| the McNary Haugen bill last spring,
and there are farmers who still feel
aggrieved because the federal gov
eminent instituted no relief meas
ures to boost the price of certain
| farm products. But this disaffec
| ton is not SO widespread as to en-
| danger the chances of Republican
| success.
The La Toilette vote in Oregon
! will be large. 1t may even exceed
| the Davis vote. But it is not com
| ing from the sO-called independent
Or progressive voters. 1t is coming
| from the people with a grievance,
| the people who vote against particu-
| lar candidates rather than for 9th
| ers
There are groups, of course, who
will vote for La Toilette because of
his radical views, groups who will
support him for his friendliness to
| the railway employees, and groups of
| Germans who think the Wisconsin
| senator stood by them in the period
| of alleged hysteria over the war.
| But the Independent voter who con-
| siders himself hardly a partisan
| will for the most part stick to the
| two major parties and the vast mum
| Der who will vote for Davis or Cool
| idge would never admit that the
latter are not progressive.
No Local Issues
There are no local issues in this
! state to confuse the issue. It's a
| straight out presidential contest.
| The regular Republicans appear to
| be we'll financed and their organiza-
! ton is beginning to function. The
| Democrats are making polls and
! canvasses and they deny that any
| considerable number of their voters
are going to La Toilette. But the
| evidence would appear to indicate
| the La Toilette movement will draw
| large percentage from the Demo
cratic vote. The Republican vote
| is so heavy, however, that the third
| party would have to draw almost 40
| per cent of the vote from the Re-
publicans before it could be a Sc,
| rious contender for the electoral
vote. Oregon is not radical state
| but 1T is rock ribbed Republican
| stronghold. 1t stood in the Repub,
| lican column in 1922 when most of
the states west of the Mississippi
and even neighbors like Washing
! ton, California and Montana voted
| for Wilson against Hughes. In 1910
| Oregon did not run up anything eX-
traordinary in totals for Harding,
but gave him big majority.
While many things may happen
| between now and election day, it
would appear that Davis will from
now on recover some Of the Demo
cratic votes which have been slated
to go to La Toilette and that Presi-
| dent Coolidge will be the beneficiary
| thereof. On present indications
President Coolidge may be expected
to carry Oregon by plurality of
! from ten to fifteen thousand. This
in itself is an indication that the
race is close, for if the contest were
| between Coolidge and Davis alone,
| Republicans could feel reasonably
sure of at least a 10000 majority for
Coolidge.