Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-12
REPUBLICANS HOPE
TO WIN MISSOURI
"0ut-State" Opposition to
Smith May Counteract
st. Louis Wet Vote.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

4
ST. LOUIS. October 12.-Just as the
Democrats are counting on st. Louis
the wet Republican stronghold, to pull
the chestnuts out of the fire for them
in Missouri, the Republicans are rely
ing for victory on the dry. Protestant,
but hitherto strongly Democratic out
State" to sweep the Hoover ticket to
victory.
The Republican leaders insist that
there is an amazing state of affairs in
rural Missouri and in Kansas City, the
metropolis of the western part of the
State. They assert with every conf
dence in the world that Hoover will
come down to st. Louis about $4,000
votes in the lead over Smith, and that
| If the Republicans can get anything
! like a Stand-of in wet ST. Louis they
will win by big margin In the entire
State.
To back up their claims they point
to surveys which have been made by
correspondents of hostile st. Louis
newspapers, and to careful check -lpS
which they themselves have made in
these districts. The rural districts.
they say. are aflre with anti-Smith
sentiment. There are other wet spots
in Missouri besides st: Louis, it is true,
and a considerable German-American
population scattered through the State,
which may be expected to vote as does
| the German-American group in St.
Louis. But, taking all that into con-
S1deration, I find the Republican lead
ers. shrewd politicians who are not in
| clined to fool themselves, every whit as
confident of carrying the State as are
the Democratic leaders
The Democrats say that Missouri Is
normally a Democratic State. The Re-
publicanS counter with the statement
that those days are past. and that in
every truth Missouri must be reckoned
a Republican State, particularly in
Presidential elections. They base their
claims on the election results in the
last six Presidential campaigns. The
Republicans have won in four and the
Democrats in only two of these con-
tests.
Republican Victories.
In 1904 Roosevelt beat Parker in
Missouri, and Taft, four years later.
defeated Bryan by less than a thou
SAND votes. Wilson won in 1912. when
the split came between Taft and Roose-
velt. Their combined vote was a little
In excess of the Wilson vote. with
the slogan HE Kept Us Out of war"
Wilson defeated Hughes in 1915. But
the last two presidential elections have
seen big Republican victories. with
Harding winning by $4,000 and Cool
idge by $4,000 over Davis. La Toilette
polled $4,000 votes in 1924, largely be-
cause of his stand against the United
States entering the World War. Fur
thermore, the Republicans have elected
governors with considerable regularity.
The Democrats, however, have TODAY
Two Democratic Senators from this
State, and OF the Is members of the
House the Democrats have II and the
Republicans f.
| With this picture Of past political
nne-ups, 1t might be comparatively easy
to forecast what is going to happen this
year were 1t not for the cross currents
currents which cut deeply into party
lines In the present campaign.
Currents Are Mixed.
These currents are due to the met
issue and the church issue. with fine
farm issue mixed in, though to a con.
siderably less extent than the first two
issues: The Democrats are inclined to
lay all their troubles to the fact that
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