Evening star., 1924-09-17
Coolidge, However, Appears
Certain to Wrest Illinois
From Progressives.
OLD PARTIES CAUTIOUS
IN ASSAlLING SENATOR
Ignore War Record in Attacks.
Both Suffer Inroads by Wis.
consin Man.
BY &, GOULD LINCOLN.

CHICAGO, H., September lin
Illinois. as in Missouri, Wisconsin
Nebraska and California Of the West
ern States, the vote of the German
American citizen cuts a large figure.
German to use the NY
phenated term which fell into such
disrepute during the war, but which
is the quickest way of saying Amerl-
can citizens of German descent, In
Chicago are ridiculing the recent
declaration made by committee or
the Steuben Society to Senator La
Toilette that 100000 German Amer
lean votes will be swung to the In
dependent Progressive ticket. But,
while they ridicule this assertion of
the Steuben Society in one breath. in
the next they admit that La Toilette
is going to get a great many OF the
German votes cast in No
vember.
The American vote, ac-
cording to well informed German
American sources here in Cook
County-which means Chicago-up
until the time the United States en-
tered the World War was split ap-
proximately $3.50 between the Re
pubIicans and the Democrats. In the
State outside of Chicago, however,
the German American vote was SIS to
~ per cent III A-ooh
County the German American vote
shifted strongly to the Republican
standard in 1920. and down the State
the support OF the Republican ticke t
was even stronger than it had been.
So there seems no denying the fact
that if Senator La Toilette gets a
large number of these votes this Fall
the loss will be greater to the Re-
publicanS than to the Democrats. but
even so. German-Americans told me
today that they believed that Cool
idge Will carry Illinois. because Of
the strong Republican vote through
out the State.
To Hurt DemOcrats,
The effect of the loss of a large
part Of the German american vote
to the Republican party in Missouri
which they expected them to pre-
dict different result in that State.
Missouri. they figured, may wind up
In the Democratic column, because of
the trend to La Toilette among the
German In Wisconsin, of
course, they said, the German-Amer-
lean vote will be very strongly for
the La Follette-W Wheeler ticket. and
probably in Minnesota. Toward the
East, in Indiana and Ohio, the Ger
man n-American vote Is numerous, and
may cut a considerable figure, too.
So while the boast of the Steuben
Society in Washington may fail to
be carried out to the letter, II ap-
pears from the information obtained
here that it is not altogether an idle
boast, and that it behooves the Re-
publican leaders to stir their stumps.
The appeal that the La Toilette
candidacy makes to the German
nrto -nfo
but to many-lies in his opposition
to the entry of the United States into
the World War, in his opposition to
the Versailles treaty. in what the
German Americans believe is his
stand for the freedom of speech and
the press. Those Germans who have
been members of the Socialist party
will, of course, support La Toilette.
Business Men Conservative.
There are many German-Americans
engaged in business-big business
not few of them. These will vote as
other business men will vote-for
Coolidge, in large part. There are
some of the German-Americans who
do not like the economic ideas ad-
vanced by La Follette's platform and
who do not look with favor on his
hooking up SO strongly with or
ganized labor. These, too, will vote
for Coolidge, and there are still
others who will stick by their re-
publicanism or their democracy of
years standing and not be wooed to
the third ticket.
Davis Causes Stir.
John w. Davis, the Democratic
standard-bearer, made some Of the
German Americans prick up their
ears when, in his Nebraska address,
he declared himself for the preserva-
ton of the personal liberties" Of the
American people. personal liberties
to the man-Americans-and to
others-haS as clear a meaning as
the grave consequences" used by the
Japanese Ambassador in his note to
Secretary Hughes on the Japanese
exclusion proposal.
The phrase means to them one thing
above all others-beer. So some of
them are giving the Democratic can
didate more careful consideration.
But, on the other hand, whoever
heard of Senator La Toilette opposing
the personal liberties so priced by
his German-American constituents in
Wisconsin? The Senator's record
shows that he never voted dry" but
once, and that was on the resolution