Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-30
MANY DEMOCRATIC HEADS
PESSIMISTIC ON FUTURE
Private Conversations Show Leaders
Fear Party Split on Prohibition and
Religious Lines i'm 1923.
BY G. GOULD IINcnI.N.

By G. GOULD LINCOLN.
" oR two and half years Demo
- Gratis have hoped for party
peace in 1928. They have
Il hoped to be able to present al
least a united front to the Re
publican enemy in the next presioen
tial campaign. But these hopes have
grown DINNER and DINNER in recent
days.
Democratic leaders here in Wash,
tngton admit it in private converse
ton. 1t would be unreasonable to ex.
poet them to announce publicly and
from the housetops they had no hope
for 1928. 1t is to be expected that
when they speak for publication they
will insist that the country in 1925
will elect Democratic President as
a. rebuke to the Republicans for the
failure of the administration and be-
cause the Republican party and ad.
tniniStration has sold out to big bust.
ness" But down underneath many
of the Democrats are thoroughly pes.
sinistic.
Three occurrences within the last
month have about convinced the Dem.
ocrats here that the jig is up, and
unless a miracle happens within the
next year and a half, they might as
we'll prepare for another knock down
snd-drag-out battle in the party con-
vention.
Basis OF Split Seen.
The, first of these occurrences was
the throwing Of the Al Smith hat into
the ring in the governors inaugural
address The second was the row in
the Senate, when Senator Helm of
Alabama. a dry Democrat, aSSailed
the knights of Columbus and charged
them with seeking to force the United
States into war with Mexico to aid
the Catholics in Mexico. The third
was the address delivered by William
Gibbs McAdoo. former Secretary of
the Treasury in the Wilson admins
tration and son-in-law Of the late
President Wilson, Friday in Toledo,
Ohio, before the Ohio Bar Association.
Mr.. McAdoo's address was regarded
as the opening of his campaign as a
leader Of the dry element in the Demo
cratic party to defeat Smith for the
nomination and TO bring about his
own nomination, IL that be possible,
but, at all events, to block Smith
These occurrences demonstrate be-
yond a doubt, Democrats themselves
saw, that there are to be desperate
party clashes between the wet and
fn-y elements, between Protestant ard
Catholic, and between men VINO are
seeking to advance their personal am
bitions And when these clashes have
pccurred--if they do-the chances or
Democratic success in 1928 viii be ex-
actly nihil.
ts a view expressed by the Democrats
themselves It has been written a1ter
talking with Democrats and without
talking with Republicans.
See Chance to Divide g. o. r.
The Democrats. while. REVEALING
their own situation. declare tnaL
events apparently are WorHng 70
bring about the denomination ana re-
80 tl,e chance OF splitting the Re
rs,hl,can party. with the Western agri-
rs,Itl,ral Republicans and the Eastern
ind,strfaI Republicans In connect, ana
: chance for the Democrats 10 WIN
vanishing into thin air. because the
Democrats cannot hold their own
lines. Y,s,,,o,
Gratis would like to unite the SCUM
sr5 the west along dry lines and
fayn, relief. The Eastern Democrats
-a,.d =. very few of the western
y,sn,ocrats-would like to go to the
r>cIIr an the wet -and-dry issue, TAX
tns. the wet end Of the fight.
Tx,e rreat difficulty about the union
cfsfhe west and the South and VIC
tory for a dry farm ticket hes IN
the fact that The Republican party
generally speaking Is DRY, ana l,s
party nominee undonpteoiy VII 70
,,ledged to enforcement of the pro
i,ih;fion laws and in the fact that the
western States are strongly Repup-
1ican. M
VETS Would Cause Conflict.
rba trouble over the proposed wet
ras,npaign OF the Democrats OF the
T,rst is that 1t would lose the party
Hundreds Of thousands OF ory voCes
a. tI,e, west and the border States.
ard perhaps many in the solid south
itself. :. .,,,or
pr,oy,r Democrats here as to whetner
the wet-and-d dry issue or the rengious
s.s,,a presents the greatest problem
far the party to meet. Gov. Al smith
an HIS candidacy for the presidential
termination brings both these issues
fntO play He is q. wet ana q CaInolic.
Protestant and dry Democrats
%.srliv admit that Gov. Smith is the
~,,tstanding figure in the Democratic
-ar+v today. II that were not the
csse his candidacy might be SIDE.
s-~cEad and both the issues avoided
MT they see no possibility of heading
an the smith candidacy. Nor 90 they
see any possibility on the other hana
- heading off the candidacy or WI,
i,aro Gibbs McAdoo. They know that
80 nor1Ination of either Of these
,rsn would ALLEVIATE hundreds or
9hol,sands, probably millions, OF Demo
cretic voters from the party ticket,
The alternative Ii, Of course, the
,,,Yaiuation OF some other Democrat.
ant as things stand now. such noIni'
nation can happen only after hii-
benny cat fight in convention, opening
nId sores and making the nomination
almost worthless
southern Candidate Opposed.
rrha South has strong Democrats
.x,ko might well be nominated Tor
T9residenf. But paradoxically the
an,,fherners themselves are opposed
~ Nominating q. man from below the
Mason, Dixon line. believing that no
go,Itherner could be elected PRESIDENT
Next TO Smith and McAdoo the men
most prominently mentioned FOR the
Ts~n,ocratic nomination are Senator
Isr,ee A Reed of Missouri, Gov. Al
I.s~t q. Richie Of Maryland and Gov.
vic Uonahey of Ohio. The first
4.,,o are regarded as vets and the
lasf as a dry. All three are Prot
eetants 49,,
Coy. Smith is gong lnto the nsA'
national convention WITH more aeie
zatax. Il is expected. than any other
Sandi6ste. He may be nominated
Msny OF his supporters assert that he
vii be nominated and that he can be
"isrted They are enthusiasts, moi
10 say optimists IL he could carry
he solid south and Kentucky, Mary
Sand West Virginia, oklahoma, Ten
nassee and New York, New Jersey
Connecticut, Rhode Island. Dea"art
80 seachusetts. he could win, and
Ir.e tin Nest ont Of the ptcf ure