Evening star., 1926-03-31
Politics at Large
BY G.. Could Lincoln

The long awaited reports of the Sen
ate committee on privileges and cleo
tions in the Brookhart- -Steck contest
| for the seat now held by Senator
| Brookhart, Republican insurgent. Of
| Iowa are now before the Senate, and
| that body is expected within a few
| days to decide whether Daniel f.
| Steck, Democrat, Is to be seated and
! Senator Brookhart sent back to Iowa.
| in accordance with the majority re-
port, or whether the incumbent is to
| retain his seat. Senator Stephens of
| Mississippi, Democrat, has filed a mi
nority report, signed by himself alone.
| upholding the right Of Senator Brook
| hart to his seat
| Should the Senate vote to seat Capt
| Steck, the Democrats will have gained
| one Senator toward the hoped-for con-
| troll Of the Senate after the elections
| next Fall. In other words, they will
| have to win seats now held by
| Republicans, If Steck be seated in
stead Of 10, to take over the organiza
| ton OF the Senate. With 81 sitting
| Republicans up for reelection in No
Vember and only z Democrats-all in
! States which are solidly Democratic
! the task, while considerable. does not
| appear to the Democrats at all i'm
| possible.
Each week brings new evidence that
! the wet" and dry issue is to figure
| largely and to a much greater extent
| in the elections this Fall than in any
election since nationwide prohibition
| went into effect in 1920. One of the
latest reports is that the prohibition
! question is to play a part in the
Massachusetts campaign, with former
Senator David !. Walsh, Democrat,
on the wet" end of the issue Sen
ator William NJ. Butler, Republican
and chairman of the party's national
J committee. in 1924. when he was men
| toned as a candidate for the Senate
and before he gave up the idea Of
being a candidate for the Republican
nomination in order to run the cam
| paign for President Coolidge, an
nounced that ne was for law enforce
/ ment." Whether a candidate who
stands for law enforcement is to be
considered a dry" or a wet" is a
little obscure. If the liquor question
| is raised, Senator Butler doubtless will
| make his position entirely clear.
Senator Walsh attended a meeting
| of the Democratic State central COM
| mittee of Massachusetts in Boston
!
| Democratic candidate for the Senate.
| The statement was made more than
| once at the meeting that he would
! have no opposition in the primaries.
| Senator Walsh, in an address to the
| committee, declared that the greatest
| issue of all in the coming campaign
| was whether this country is to be
| longer dominated. controlled and ruled
! by small minority of wealthy men"
| He criticized as political larceny" the
| plan which the legislative committee
| has prepared for redistricting the
| State, saying that it was absolutely
unfair to the Democrats.
X 4 X x
The Anti-Saloon League in New
| York is now threatening to put a
| dry" candidate in the field for the
Senate in opposition to Senator Wads-
| worth, Republican, who is up for re-
| election this Fall. The drys are
| aroused over the Karle-Phelps reso-
! luton in the State legislature for a
referendum on light wines and beer,
| and are threatening that if the Re
publicans permit the resolution to go
| through, they will put their own
| candidate in the field for Senator.
The Democrats are expected to put
a wet" in the race against Senator
| Wadsworth, who was one of the op-
ponents of the eighteenth amendment
while it was before the Senate. The
| effect Of a dry" entry in this sena-
! torial race is still problematical. It
| is possible such a candidate would
| get some Democratic votes, though
| dry" Democrats in New York State
| are sai6 to be rare. The belief is
that the dry ticket would cut more
seriously into the Wadsworth vote.
| X
The Democrats are to make a bid
for the, election of Senator in Penn
| sylvania this Fall. heartened by the
three-cornered fight for the Repub.
lican senatorial nomination in which
Senator Pepper, Gov. Pinchot and
Representative W. (Standing for
"wet'D S. Ware are engaged. William
B. Wilson, Secretary of Labor under
the Wilson administration in Wash.
ington, has announced his candidacy
for the Senate. He has the backing
of Vance Mccormick, former Demo
cratic national committeeman. and
Austin f. McCullouch, former State
chairman. Mr.. Wilson's candidacy
is a challenge to Joseph E. Guffey
of Pittsburgh, Democratic national
|
State chairman. f. 3. Zimmerman
secretary of the State committee, has
filed in Harrisburg the nomination OF
George II. Rowley of Greenville. who
will oppose Mr.. Wilson.
y X X K
Senator Peter Nor eek of Soutf
Dakota, running true to form, ha:
won the Republican nomination in tina
I y, az hn f,sGt
primary election of the year. The
nomination in South Dakota is re
garded as tantamount to election
While Senator NOrbeCk is regarded a.
a Progressive, he has supported the
administration in a number of votes il
the Senate in recent months, and the
administration is by no means as an
tagonistic to him as to some Of th'
other Progressives of the Senate. The
only chance for a Democrat to win il
South Dakota would come through {
deadly split among the Republicans
and this is not Looked for.
X x x X
In North Dakota real struggle be
tween the es-Non-Partisal
ILeaguers in that State--and the regu
lar Republicans or "Stalwarts,' il
coming in June. Senator Gerald P
Nye, Progressive Republican, serving
under appointment to fill temporaril!
the vacancy caused by the death o
Senator Ladd, is matched against for
mer Gov. Hanna, who is a nephew o
the late Senator Mark Hanna of Ohio
Hanna is the candidate of the stalwar
wing of the party The election take
place June 80. There is no primar,
election for the Republican nomina
ton, and not long ago Hanna and hi
friends set up a claim to Republican
designation on the ticket in June. Blu
Senator Nye and the Progressive
made it clear to the stalwarts that
unless they abandoned this claim, the!