Evening star., 1927-10-12
Politics at Large
By C. Could Lincoln.

The Democrats are on the horns of
dilemma. They can nominate Gov.
AL Smith of New York for President
next year aand throw into jeopardy
Democratic control of certain States
thereby. They can turn aside from
Gov. Smith and throw into the discard
all chance of electing a President.
Those who favor giving Smith the
cold shoulder say that even with Smith
as the party standard bearer the
chance Of electing democratic Presi-
dent would be so small that 1t would
not warrant his nomination. With
any other Democrat but Smith as the
party nominee for Chief Executive,
they figure they can win in the State
elections In all the Southern States. in
Indiana, where the Republicans are
gasping for air since the unearthing
of political scandals, in the border
States, and possibly In still other
States. With Smith at the head of the
ticket. these Democrats see Republt-
can gains, even in the solid South"
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The Smith boom, however, has made
rapid strides in recent weeks. So
rapid, indeed, that many Democrats,
hungry for the pie counter, are really
in favor of giving the New York gov
ernor run. They are found in the
West and even in the South. as well as
in the North and East. No one quite
knows how strong the Smith candi-
dacy is, or how we'll Smith will run If
he be nominated. He has against him
the drys and the anti-Catholics. On
the other hand, Smith has the appeal
of the man who has come up from the
sidewalks of great city--an appeal
which will have influence with millions
of other men and women who are
either still pressing the sidewalks of
American cities or, like Smith, have
gone upward. He makes a strong ap-
peal, too, to the liberal sentiment of
the country. Here again no one knows
exactly how strong the sentiment is
today. The "wets" have upset cal
culations of the drys during the last
year.
1t comes down, therefore, to the
question whether the Democratic
party should place all Of it's eggs in
one basket and gamble on the election
of Gov. Smith to the presidency, or
whether the party should be content
with victory in a considerable num-
ber of State elections. With Smith
denied the nomination, it Is admitted
by the Democrats themselves, they
have little more than a ghost Of a
show to win the national election.
Smiths friends in the great States of
the North and East will resent Bit
terly the failure of the party to nom-
mate their idol. They say frankly
they will not support other candi-
dates. They say, further, that IL
Smith Is to be turned down because
he Is a Catholic, and by the South.
they want to know it. and they will
then be able to map their future
course.
A canvass of sentiment in North
Carolina shows that Smiths nomina-
ton would be signal for a political
uprising there. Men and women who
have voted the Democratic ticket as
regularly as they have risen in the
morning and gone to bed at night are
to vote against the New
Yorker. What is puzzling Senator
Furnifold Simmons, the Democratic
boss of the State, is whether this up
rising would be sufficient to throw the
State into the Republican ranks.
Some observers say that the Smith
nomination would result in electing
Republicans in half the congressional
districts next year and in throwing
the electoral vote of the State to the
Republican candidate for President
Others declare that the State would
vote for Smith in the end. AS q mat
ter of fact. the number of Republican
voters in North Carolina is no negli.
gible factor. The State goes Demo
cratic by 100000 votes or a little
more. This is margin which real
revolt among the Democrats might
wipe out entirely.
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The suggestion comes from these
Tar Heel opponents of Al Smith that
a third, independent Democratic tick.
ct, with dry and a Protestant at its
head, would be put in the field soon
after the Smith nomination. Such a
ticket, giving the Democratic oppo-
nents of Smith a rallying point, would
SO split the party as to make Repub.
lican success sure in a number of
States which ordinarily might be ex.
pected to go Democratic.
\ **
If the Democrats are puzzled, their
Republican opponents are not so en-
tirely free from problems as they had
hoped to be. The recent gathering of
Republican national committeeman in
Washington to confer with Chairman
William M. Butler has failed to clear
the atmosphere 1t can be said, how
ever, that, enormously cr not, some
of these committeeman have gone
their ways still believing that Presi-
dent Coolidge, IL nominated by the ma
tional convention, will accept. Fur
thermore, it is said on high authority
that number of States will send
delegations, either uninstructed or in
structed for one of the presidential
possibilities, ready to jump to Cool
idge at the earliest possible moment
after the balloting has begun. 1t is
possible, of course, that the President
may let his friends know that under
no circumstances will he accept the
nomination, and in that event this
plan for a stampede of the conven-
ton to Coolidge viii not be carried
out. That word has yet to come from
the President, however. Party lead.
ers feel that the President should let
them know in time to prevent a STAN
pede IL he is unwilling to make the
race IL the nomination comes to him
in that way. They point out that if
he turns the nUminat ton down after
the convention has actually voted for
him the second choice of the conven.
ton will look rather like small po-
tatoes." To be left in that position,
they say. would be unfair to the
party.
Despite their efforts to get together
on another candidate for the Repub-
lican nomination, the committeeman
are still at sea. Reasons were ad-
vanced why they did not care for
Hughes or Hoover, Lowden or Dawes,
or Longworth. The arguments ad.
vanced against these various eandi-
dates make the leaders turn their eyes
more and more to Mr.. Coolidge as the
solution of their troubles. They still
believe they can "win with Coolidge.
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