Evening star., 1925-08-05
WESTERN OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

At least two United States Senators
| in the Northwest, both Republicans,
| face uncertainty with regard to re-
election in 1926. One is Wesley L.
Jones Of Washington, and the other
Robert n. Stanfield of Oregon. 1t is
expected, but not sure, that both of
| them will be renominated in the sena-
torial primaries, and it is the wide
spread opinion, but not asserted posi-
| lively, that they will win at election
time. Yet each confronts at this writ
4 ing the prospect of a fight to hold
what he now has. The reasons in
! both cases are personal, rather than
political, and IL either Jones or STAN
field is unhorsed in the primaries or
in the succeeding November, 1t will be
because of failings or weaknesses of
their own rather than any sudden or
imminent collapse of Republican
| strength since the 1924 landslide.
Jones' forte is the seniority he now
| holds in the Senate as chairman of
the committee on commerce, enabling
him to WELD paramount influence in
the realm of shipping, which has be-
come Washington States principal
| industry. AS a leading member of
| the Senate committee on finance
| Jones' holds another key position
value to them. AS whip of the Sen
| ate, under the leadership of Senator
| Curtis, too, Jones Importance in the
! scheme of things on the Potomac is
| fully recognized at home. None of
these advantages either the Repub-
| lican party or the State at large
| cares to forfeit by supplanting Sen
ator Jones. Notwithstanding, you
| are told. there are grievances against
him. The Evergreen State is pretty
| wet, and Jones is pretty dry. He has
| the reputation of being almost bigot-
edly dry and generally of leaning in
| the direction of blue laws for his
| fellow men. Jones has never been
| fully forgiven in his State for failing
| to capture one of the United States
| Shipping Board commissionerships
| for Washington. That's considered
| not only objectionable, but inexpli-
cable, in the case of q Senator who
| was the author of the shipping act,
| which created the board. With great
| and ambitious ports like Seattle and
Tacoma along its coast, Washington
| has not looked with kindly eye upon
the successive bagging of Shipping
| Board commissionerships by Oregon
and California men.
Seattle has a Democratic mayor,
Edwin j. Brown, who has announced
himself a candidate for the Senate, to
| oppose Mr.. Jones or whomever the
| Republicans may nominate. Mayor
Brown is not quite SO picturesque a
| character as his celebrated predeces-
! Sor, Ole Hanson, who emulated Cal
vim Coolidge by breaking a strike and
| thereby winning national repute. But
| Brown Is something of a Hanson in
his capacity for achieving popularity,
as evidenced by the fact that he is in
his second term as Democratic chief
magistrate of a city that is more often
Republican in politics. They call him
| DOC" Brown everywhere in Wash
ington, because he is a dentist by
profession-an advertising dentist, "
his detractors point out. The latter
| further avow and aver that Brown
/ once was a barber, but, be that as it
may, he holds a Kansas law degree,
runs Seattles best riding academy as
a side line, and is giving that mag
nificent city one of the most aggres-
sfve administrations 1t has known in
many a day. Brown is particularly
strong with labor. The longshoremen
and the lumberjacks like him, and
they have thousands of votes in Wash
ington. Seattle just now is applaud.
| ing Mayor Brown for his insistence
| that a number of outlying towns
which have been getting gas, water
and other public utilities at Seattle S
| expense shall become part of Greater
| Seattle and help pay the freight, or
be cut off from enjoying gratis the
advantages they now purloin.
n X X
| All Americans who visit Seattle for
the first time emulate President Hard
| ing and make an excursion to Van
couver, British Columbia. This OBJ
server was no exception to that COM
lmendahle rule. Victoria. the, island