Evening star., 1924-01-27

A T last the 1924 presidential
~ campaign seems to be in
~ full swing. and politics Is
the paramount topic of
discussion in all tho forty-eight
states. Neither party has a mo-
nopoly Of activity, according to
dispatches from correspondents of
The Star. but there is one marked
distinction between the republican
and the democratic contests.
Whereas the former seems to be
at or approaching the point Of d.
minishing interest, the latter is
just getting well under way and
promises to increase in interest
and activity as the weeks go on.
or course. there still is time for
an upset in the republican cam
paign and the possibility of a real
contest at Cleveland, but all the
dope today is SO strongly pro-
Coolidge that it is exceedingly diff
ficult for the hackers Of Senator
Hiram Johnson to arouse any gen.
eral interest in the fortunes of
their candidate. Unless all the or
dinary political signs are unrelia-
Bile In the present case, Coolidge
VII! be nominated on the first
ballot. 1t looks like a Coolidge
band wagon, and with the average
wagon Is ''the fondest thing he is
OF: Therefore, they are scram-
bling to get aboard.
+ + y 4
With the democrats it is entire
ly different. 1t Is wholly impossi-
Bile, at this stage. to tell which is
a band wagon and which a dump
cart. To the impartial observer
McAdoo seems to be setting the
pace WI out in front, but he is by
no mvans far enough in the lead
to prevent It's being a "hoss race"
II would be a bold man who would
assert today that McAdoo has any
assurances of obtaining even a
majority vote in the New York
convention, and with the two
vote is a long ways from first un-
der the wire. Even with the lead
McAdoo now seems to have there
Is ttndency to form combines
against him, and the farther out in
front he gets the stronger this
tendency will become. 1t looks,
therefore. as If interest in the
tanned until the convention has
finished its balloting.
New York state has claimed the
political spotlight during the week
just ended. The Albany corre-
spondent of The Star wires that
the political pendulum. which has
mad a decided republican slant.
n In,
direction. and in consequence dem
ocrats have enlarged their hopes
and increased aggressiveness.
Gov. Al Smiths grapple with the
corporate interests" and his vic
tory in the matter Of charges
have given Smith presidential
stock big boom. and his hackers
now are confidently claiming that
with Smith as the presidential
nominee New York state could be
safely counted for the democratic
ticket. That is a consideration
that Is bound to have weight when
developments of the week. the
corre@ndent says. lead to the
belief dhat the New York delega-
tion nj stand by Smith until a
nomination has been made.
In this connection 1t is interest
riS - Hote reports or growing
Smith sentiment in New Hamp
shire. where hatred of all things
alcoholic goes back to a time when
Eolstead was in knickerbockers
1t is true this sentiment is said
TO be confined largely to the
manufacturing centers, with Nc
Adoo the favorite in rural parts.
but that there should be any New
Hampshire support at all for a
wet" presidential candidate &c
worthy or more than passing
That McAdoo appears so far in
the lead may be due in some meas
ure to the slowness with which
systematic work in behalf Of other
candidates has got under way, but
the Underwood managers are ef-
fecting organizations in a number
of states. and the McAdoo lead
may be cut down. Senator Brous-
sard. on a trip home from Wash
ington. launched the Underwood
campaign in Louisiana, and the
boom now Is developing rapidly,
with prospects OF a solid delega-
ton for the Alabama senator. Nc
Adoo managers are making q fight
in the state. but with the odds
against them. One OF the hottest
and most picturesque McAdoo VS..
Underwood campaigns is on in
Tennessee. with chances regarded
as about even. McAdoo formerly
lived in Tennessee and Underwood
both have strong followings The
John :" Davis presid enfia1 hoor,