Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-02
PRINCE GEORGES
CLAIMED BY BOTH
NATIONAL PARTIES

Continued From First Page.)
how they may afiliate with local party
organizations. There is q large mum.
| Der of colored voters in the county
especially in its southern portion. In
most previous national campaigns they
have been counted as safely Republf-
can. This year there are some signs
that the colored voters are going to
split up between Smith and Hoover.
Prince Georges County, in 1920, gave
Harding $500 votes and Cox ASA. The
vote of the county for President in
1924 was as follows: Coolidge, 1868;
county belongs to the fifth Maryland
congressional district, which is now
represented in the House of Repre-
Sentatives by Representative Stephen
w. Gambril, Democrat, of Howard
County, but for many years before
Mr.. Gambrill was first elected, in 1924,
it was represented in the National
House by Republican Representatives,
first by the late Sydney E. Mudd, and
after an interval by his son, of the
same name, who died after several
terms.
From a detached viewpoint. The
Star correspondent, after talking with
men and women in official position and
members of the rank and file of both
major parties and all the various fac
tons in almost every section Of the
county, gained the impression that,
unless there is some unexpected turn
over, Hoover will carry the county
such turnover IN favor of Smith, or,
of looct fhnu GoVNfo r91u hNYinC
for it.
Many viii Scratch Smith.
In the last congressional election
Representative GambFill carried the
county, receiving 607l votes, while his
Republican opponent, Thomas B. r,
Mudd of La Plata, in Charles County,
brother of the late Sydney E. Mudd,
jr., received in Prince Georges total
of 4,879 votes. The Star correspondent
discovered many Democrats who intend
to knife" Smith for President and vote
for Cambria for Congress.
This year Representative GambrillS
opponent is oliver MetZerott, who lives
in the Chillum election district OF
Prince Georges County. and is well
known in Washington. Whichever way
the fifth congressional district, as
whole, may vote in the congressional
race, present indications are that Mr..
Metzerott'S home county will give him
a majority.
The Democratic National and State
tickets in Prince Georges are gaining In
the opinion Of the regular Democratic
leaders of the county.
George N. Palmer of Seat Pleasant,
chairman of the Democratic State cen
trail committee for Prince Georges
County, takes that view Of the situa-
ton.
Prom what hear" said Mr.. Pal
mer to The Star, conditions from the
Democratic standpoint are getting bet
ter all the time in the county. The
big registration, believe, will help our
ticket, both National and State. I am
not greatly worried over the So-called
anti-Smith Democrats, as I am conf
dent that many, who few weeks ago
planned to vote for Hoover, will come
back into the Democratic fold Novem-
Der 6. I have personal knowledge OF
several such cases"
Duckett Sees Victory.
T. Howard Duckett, whose home is in
HyattSville, and who is an organiza-
ton Democrat and chairman Of the
OQUulbdlA 0uAAl1dAy WIN
mission, said. 81 think we will carry
Prince Georges County for Smith by q
small majority-from 200 to 500."
The organization Republicans are
more than usually confident of a Hoo
yer victory.
There is no question about Hoover
carrying Prince Georges County" said
Mrs. Lulu A. Bickford of Berwyn, acting
chairman of the Republican State GEN.
trail committee for the county, from the
reports that have received.
1T is merely question as to how
many votes we will win by. Some OF the
best workers the G. o. P. has are the
So-called Hoovercrats. For the most
part these are not only supporting Hoo
yer, but the whole Republican ticket"
There are evidences everywhere The
Star correspondent went in this county
of substantial anti-Smith sentiment
among Democrats, but so far as has
been ascertained the only Hoover-Cur-
tbs Club to be organized in the county is
that at Seat Pleasant. j. j. Klock is
president of this club. He says the club
has about $50 members. all but one OF
whom are Democrats. MIR. Klock says
the Democrats in this club are not bolt
ing their party as a whole, but are
merely opposed to Gov. Smith fer Pres
ident, because they believe him to be
generally unacceptable"
A prominent Democratic leader and
organization man, who lives near Upper
Marlboro and Is well acquainted with
conditions all over the county, told The
Star correspondent & few days ago that
the county was then Republican, but
that the Democrats were making gains.
He said the real issue was religion, al
though it was camoufiaged by the liquor
question in many instances.
Some Farmers IncenSed.
This writer made a personal inveSti-
CATION of conditions in the extreme
southern and rural sections of the
county this week, talking to many
voters. He found several farmers, who
are standing stanchly b ythe presiden-
tial nominee Of the Democratic party,
incenSed because Protestant ministers
were using their influence against Smith
or giving notice at Sunday church seTv-
ices of political meetings to be held
during the week in the interest OF HOO
yer. These men are Protestants.
On the other hand, the wives of these
same men said openly that they were
for Hoover. One of them, however, said
that her husband felt so deeply on the
subject that she might refrain from
voting in order to keep the family peace.
It was stated as q fact by several pro-
Smith Democrats in this Section-the
Auuasco district-that SIS per cent o