Evening star., 1926-10-13
OHIO HAS, CHOICES
FOR PRESIDENCY
Odds Favor Donahey as De-
feat Looms In Senate Race
for Pomerene.
Continued from First PageJ

organizations have attacked the Dem
ocratic governors. And, finally, in both
States, the odds are the two Demo-
cratic governors-both possibilities for
the Democratic presidential nomina-
tion-Will be returned victorS in the
coming election.
Here in Ohio the political makeup
of the State Legislature is even more
overwhelmingly Republican than in
New York Out Of a total Of 35 State
Senator'S, 33 are Republican and 2 are
Democratic, and out of total of 13O
members of the House, 110 are Repub-
lican and 20 are Democrats.
Gov. Donahey and the Republican
State Legislature have been at it
hammer and tongs for years. The
governor has vetoed SO many bills
that it is almost impossible to keep
count. In the last session the
Legislature passed no less than 48
measures over his veto. Incidentally,
it may be mentioned that the Re-
publicans have cut taxation and the
Democratic executive has had to take
the cuts. The Democrats point to
this as one reason it is necessary
now to borrow money to pay some
Of the bills. Gov. Donahey has stood
strongly for highway development
and under his administration the
roads have been greatly improved.
This makes a hit with the farmers
and the rural districts generally. The
road expenditures are the main rea-
son for the depletion of State funds.
The Republicans are whispering that
contracts have been let at prices
axorbitantly high, but they have made
no open charges of graft.
Public Utilities Issue.
Gov. Donahey's main issue in the
campaign is the Public Utilities Com
mission Of the State. The members
Of the commission, three in number,
were appointed under the last Re-
publican governor, Harry L. Davis.
Two are Republicans and one
Democrat The governor charges
they have been favoring the public
utility corporations of the State.
Their terms have expired and he has
sought to appoint their successors,
but the Republican Senate has twice
refused to confirm his appointees,
once in '23 and again in '25. The
last two nominees of the governor
for appointment to the commission
were James w. Huffman, a son-in-
law of the governor, and Earl Bloom.
The reasons given by the Republi-
can Senate for turning them down
were that they were not qualified by
experience to serve as public utility
commissioners.
The utility corporations, which are
very numerous, Gov. Donahey says,
are taking $350,000,000 a year for serv-
ices from the people of the State.
which is S100, 100000 more than the
total taxes paid in the State. The two
corporations which he attacks par
ticularly are the Bell Telephone Co.
and the American Gas and Electric
New York concerns" He insists that
their rates are too high and there is
no chance of reductions as long as the
present utilities commission remains
on the job.
Case Goes to Court.
Once the governor sought to remove
a member Of the commission, George
r, Poor, charging that he owned stock
in a public utilities S~corporation, the
case went to the courts and it was
held that the stock held by Poor was
not such as to warrant his removal.
Cooper and the Republicans insist
that the governor could, if he really
wished to go through with the matter,
remove the members of the commits
sion under law which empowers the
governor to discharge such officials
for malfeaSance, negligence or inef-
ficiency. But the governor replies that
the courts again could interfere and
that it would be futile for him to take
such a course. He also insists that
the Republican State legislature has
so manipulated that he is powerless
to make recess appointments. The
present commissioners hold on under
the law which provides they shall
serve until their successors are ap-
pointed and confirmed.
Gov. Donahey is widely known
the State. Cooper. on the
other hand, has never before held
public office or run for office. He is
not generally known to the voters.
Cooper. although from Cincinnati, a
wet center, is a dry. He is president
of the Ohio Council of Churches.
Donahey also is a dry. But he had
the invasion of homes under
the dry law of the State. Both men
have been declared acceptable to the
Anti-Saloon League. The league in
this State is held to be Republican,
however, and to be really favoring
Cooper.
Liberals Prefer Donahey.
The Liberals in the State prefer
Donahey to Cooper, fearing that if
the latter is elected, racing and other
forms of amusement now permitted
will be stopped. While Donahey,