Evening star., 1926-11-25
Boosts for Smith.

Gov. AL Smith Of New York has two
more boosters for the presidential
! nomination in 1928 Senator Oscar
w. Underwood of Alabama. a Demo
crat and a wet, is one. and Senator
Simeon d. FesS of Ohio, Republican
and dry, Is the other 1t may be
presumed, however. that there are
different hopes and purposes behind
| the expressions of these opinions.
Senator Underwood doubtless believes
that Gov. Smith, if he could be nomi-
mated. would be the strongest candi-
date the Democrats could put up in
1928. He believes in the wet cause.
He is strongly antiKu KluX Klan. In
fact, 1t was the supporters of Senator
Underwood who precipitated the now
famous row over the Klan in the 1924
Democratic national convention.
Senator Fess, on the other hand, be.
lieves in the dry cause. He visualizes
it as the major issue of the coming
national campaign. with the Repub-
licans nominating President Coolidge
on dry platform and the Democrats
nominating Smith, a wet With faith
in the cause of prohibition, Senator
Fess would be delighted to have the
campaign waged about that issue.
Perhaps he, like some of the other
Republican leaders, would be glad to
see the wet and dry issue dwarf the
Issue of farm relief, which affords the
one particular cloud in the sky cast
ing shadow over the popularity of
the present administration. He may
reason that the agricultural States of
the West and Middle West are so
strongly dry that they would hasten
to support the Republican nominee
on a prohibition platform against a
wet Democrat. He may reason, too,
that the dyed-in-the- wool Democratic
States of the South are also so dry
and SO anti-Catholic> that if Gov
Smith were nominated, some of those
States might break away from their
Democratic allegiance
In his statement declaring Gov.
Smith the logical candidate of the
Democrats for President in 1928.
Senator Underwood expressed IL
doubt that the Democratic party
could be brought to nominate him.
Possibly Senator Underwood is cor
rect in this conjecture. Gov. Smith,
it now appears. will go into thesnext
Democratic national convention with
greater support than any other can
didate for the nomination. y ma
him. But unless the time -honored
two thirds rule Of Democratic ma
tional conventions be abrogated,
Smith may never be nominated. The
greatest chance for Gov. Smith
would lie, it appears, in the adoption
of the majority rule by the conven-
ton and his nomination on the first
ballot after the rule had been
changed. But to accomplish this end
it would be necessary for Smiths
friends to control a majority of the
committee on rules, in which each
State and territory has a representa-
tive. or to be In such strength on the
floor of the convention that they could
overthrow q report Of the rules COM
mittee calling for continuance Of the
two thirds rule and substitute for
it the rule of the majority.
Senator Underwood. a Southern
man, expresses the view that Smith
would carry the solid South If he
were nominated. Notwithstanding the
prohibition and church issues. This
is the view of other Southerners of
prominence who should know the
temper of the people of that section.
1t is probable. however, that this
question could only be answered by
an actual trial, by the nomination of
Smith.