The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-04-05
READY To
BACKNEW
PARTY
Hard Believes State Would
Rally Round Candidate
Like La Toilette.
By WILLIAM HARD.


OMAHA, Neb., April 5.-Here
in Nebraska the central sentiment
Of the prairie West comes into
full view, and it can be illustrated
in one statement. Virtually no
political candidate here, no matter
how conservative, and no matter
how "reactionary," is willing to
stand up in front of an audience
of voters and defend the Esch-
Cummins Transportation law
La FoIlette's Target.
This law, which is the favorite
target of the hostile invective of
Robert Marion La Toilette, finds
many courageous and convinced de-
tenders in the East. Here to de-
fend it in public is to place ones
self quite outside the pale of sue
cessful running for office. Ne
braska overwhelmingly attributes it's
agricultural troubles in a certain
considerable part to the high freight
Rates which in turn it attributes
to the Esch- Cummins law. Nebraska
overwhelmingly is in an anticon-
servative frame of mind: and If
La Toilette were running against
Coolidge in the Republican Presi-
dental primary here, he might
quite possibly give Coolidge a
beating.
If Hiram Johnson, who actually
is running against Coolidge in the
Republican primary here, should fail
to give Coolidge beating it will
not be because Nebraska is con-
sentative, 1t will be because John
son is regarded by a large part of
Nebraska as having gone over in
. many ways to the conservative side
and it will be because a large part
of Republican radical Nebraska
thereupon will not take the trouble
to go to the polls to vote for John
son against Coolidge.
Nebraska in it's country districts,
which dominate it, is anti-conserva-
tive because Nebraska has been suf-
fering. The agricultural depression
has now extended itself to financial
institutions and even to manufac-
turing institutions. This week the
Avery Implement Company, which
sells agricultural implements of a
large scale to Nebraska farmers,
and which has had offices in Omaha
and in Lincoln, was shut down and
was obliged to seek the courts.
Bank Fails for 100000.
This week also the First National
Bank of Pilger, bank within the
Federal reserve system, failed for
100000; and the total number of
banks, national and state, which
this year have failed in the six
states Immediately surrounding
Omaha now has mounted to more
than six hundred.
Considerable multitudes Of people
here are facing genuine adversely,
They would like to see the Esch-
Cunmins law repealed; and they
would like to see farm relief legis-
lation at Washington; and, accord
ing to ex-United States Senator
Hitchcock of this State, they would
in many thousands of cases like to
he allowed to repent of having
voted for isolation" from Europe
in 1920 and would like now to vote
for international cooperation" in
order to try to get a large market
for their crops abroad.
Hitchcock will head the Demo.
cratic delegates at large from this
. State to the New York Democratic
national convention. He has been
a strong McAdoo man. Speaking of
changes of sentiment in Nebraska,
he said today:
Would Help Selves.
Many farmers voted for Harding
and isolation because they were
not moved by the plea of being
helpful to Europe. They now are
moved by the plea of being help
full to themselves. They want
larger markets abroad. There is a
strong swing here away from isola-
ton and toward Cooperation I
will not say it is toward the League
Of Nations, but it Is toward co.
operation In some form"
In other words agricultural Ne.
braslSa is looking for some way out
and it is quite considerably seeking
it by being somewhat radical" at
home and somewhat increasingly
co-operationist" abroad. 1t expert.
ences considerable difficulty, how.
ever, in carrying out these ambi.
lions. Throughout the prairie West
the basic fact emerges that La Fol.
lette Is not physically well enough
10 organize a genuine going CO.
herent radical" movement. with an
organized set of ideas and with an
organized set of workers, and that
without him the "radicalism" of
these parts is incoherent and pro-
miscuous and uncentered and hit
ting all out doors and in the end
hitting almost nothing effectively.
In the absence Of a truly organ
lied "radicalism," it devolves that
even George w. Norris, present
radical Republican Senator from
Nebraska, runs a certain chance of
getting defeated in the Republican
primary next Tuesday by a rela.
lively conservative opponent. Nor.
ris has stayed in Washington and
mas not been campaigning here and
his enemies have been using ablv
contrived arguments against him,
and there exists no really competent
radical machine" to work for
him while he is away. If without
Nah &c.,. LII. y