Evening star., 1927-08-10
Politics at Large
By G.. Could Lincoln.

mas tIduSeuA tIlS Couh-
try party leaders were ready to nomi-
nate President Coolidge for another
term, third-term issue or no third
term issue. But President Coolidge
has taken himself out of the picture
with dramatic suddenness. Many of
the leaders still believe that he is the
logical nominee for 1928. But as the
days pass the consciousness that the
President has really eliminated him
self. barring certain contingencies,
has been brought home to them, until
they have come to realize that the
party is faced by much the same situ-
alton as 1t faced in 1920, with many
strong candidates and others less
strong, who must figure in the race
for the nomination.
X X X
The West, the far West, will make
it's bid for recognition through the
candidacy of Secretary Hoover of the
Department of Commerce. The Mid
die West will be represented at the
national convention scramble probably
by former Gov. Frank o. Lowden
and Vice President Dawes, both of
Illinois. New York Is likely to put
forward Charles Evans Hughes. the
standard bearer in 1916, and Ohio
may put forward Speaker Longworth
or Senator Frank B. Willis. Never
has the Pacific Coast had a Presl.
dent, though Senator Hiram johnson
of California made a great effort for
the Republican nomination In 1920
and lesser effort In 1924. The inter.
mountain States may give support to
Senator Borah of Idaho, chairman of
the Senate foreign relations com.
mittee.
The President by his brief and now
historic statement that he does not
choose to run for President in 1928
mas swept away in breath the issue
upon which the Democrats counted
the thlrd-term issue-though the Re.
publicaDs insisted that another term
for the President could not properly be
construed as third term" In the real
meaning of that phrase 1t is strange
however, that some Of the Democratic
leaders who set much store by the
third-term issue and declared formerly
that Coolidge would be the easiest man
for the Democrats to defeat next year
are now contending that the with
drawal Of Mr.. Coolidge is an aid tc
the Democratic cause. In doing sc
they figure that the contest which
must come for the Republican nomi
nation will cause schisms in the c.. o
p. which must aid the Democrats
Representative Oldfield Of Arkansas
chairman of the Democratic nationa
congressional committee, an indefati
gable worker and an incorrigible opti
mist, is one of those who sees the
withdrawal of Mr. Coolidge as an as
set to the Democrats. He feels that
any other candidate must face the op
nf Str1;y nf1x ~ II
publican party.
The Republicans, however, have 8
way of getting together after the,
have nominated their candidate which
the Democrats might emulate witt
benefit to themselves. The exception
to this rule came in 1916, when the
faction headed by Senator Hiram
Johnson in California put the skids
under the Republican nominee, Mr.
Hughes, and threw that State into the
Wilson column, thereby giving the
election to the Democrats. But Sen
ator Johnson has declared that he ha:
| no longer any presidential aspirations
He is expected to run for the Senate tt
succeed himself next year. What viii
happen, however, If Secretary Hoover
should be the choice of the Republi
cans in the next national convention
is a matter over which the politicians
already are speculating. Johnson ana
Hoover are old enemies in politics
dating from 1920, when Hoover was
a candidate for the Republican nomi
nation and Senator Johnson corralled
the California delegation. Will Sen
ator Johnson be willing to bury the
hatchet in 1928?
There seems little doubt thai
Mr. Hoover will be the beneficiary
of large independent vote If he be
nominated. Thousands upon thou
sands of people We're strong for him
in 1920. But he did not at that time
have the politicians with him. The
galleries at the Chicago convention
were filled with enthusiastic Hoover
supporters, but the delegates were
cold to him. Since that time, how
ever, Mr.. Hoover has been con-
stantly in the public service. He
has done much to build the great
Department of Commerce into an in
St1tut1on that aids American busi-
ness. He has hosts of admirers
among the business people and they
have their influence with the poll
ticians. More recently he took hold
of the Mississippi flood situation with
a firm grasp and brought order out
of chaos, food and shelter to the
refugees and has presented a plan
for the prevention of future floods
He will be strong candidate in the
States of the Mississippi Valley
even in some of those dyed-in- the
wool Democratic States, Arkansas
Louisiana and Mississippi, and it is
not unlikely that his nomination
would swing Kentucky and Tennessee
into line for the Republican ticket.
X X
With Mr.. Coolidge out of the race
DR.. Nicholas Murray Butler, wet. and
president of Columbia University
doubtless will renew his demand that
| the Republicans name a wet candi-
date for President. Had former SEN
ator James w. Wadsworth, jr., of
New York been victorious in his
contest for election to the Senate
last year he might have been a
formidable candidate for the New
York delegation to the national con-
vention. But Mr.. Nadsworth espoused
the wet cause vigorously in the En-.
pire State with disastrous results.
The dry Republicans upstate rose
and smote him in their wrath If
he could not carry New York State
against Senator Wagner, his Demo-
cratic opponent, what chance, say
New York Republicans, would he
have to carry the State against
Gov. AL Smith?
X II u
Gov. Smiths boom for the Demo
cratic nomination ebbs and flows.
Reports recently brought here from
some of the Southern States show
many of the political leaders, the
county and district charimen and
committee men in favor of the nomi-
nation of Smith on the theory that
he is the strongest candidate the
party can put forward. and that to
nominate any other candidate would
so incense large section of the
Dpmocra tic marty in the country n g