Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-12-05
Politics at Large
By C.. Gould Lincoln.

Congress is back. and so far is
strangely quiet after a bitter political
campaign. No one has undertaken so
far to discipline or verbally chaStize
Senator Simmons of North Carolina
and Senator Heflin of Alabama on the
Democratic side of the Senate chamber
for uplifting their voices against Gov.
Alfred E. Smith in the campaign. Nor
have the regular Republicans attacked
Senator Norris of Nebraska, who
sought to swing his State to the Demo-
Gratis in the presidential election, or
Senator Blaine of Wisconsin, who made
similar attempt, but in vain. The
'1-told-you-so club" has not yet lifted
up its voice in the halls of Congress.
How long before an outburst of political
oratory will be delayed remains to be
seen. 1t is as likely as not it will break
forth when Democratic member I'M
dertakeS to criticize the Republican
administration. Then there are plenty of
Republicans ready to tell the Democrats
what the country thinks of the Repub-
lican administration and what it thinks
of the Democrats who sought to win
control.
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Senator Simmons, veteran Demo-
cratic leader in the Tar Heel State, is
confident that his State will swing back
to its old Democratic adherence in the
next election. That is, provided, of
course, Gov. Smith of New York is not
the party nominee for President. Nor
does Senator Simmons believe that Gov.
Smith will have another nomination for
President from the Democratic party.
Certainly not as long as the two-thirds
rule of Democratic national conventions
prevails. The Southern States, he
believes, would never permit the nomi-
nation of the New Yorker again. They
would not have done so at Houston, in
his opinion, If there had been a clear
conception of the attitude which Gov.
Smith would take on prohibition during
the campaign and on other issues.
AS a prophet Senator Simmons must
be ranked high in this recent election.
He predicted that four of the States
of the solid South" would go Repub-
lican, and his prediction was made on
the eve of the election. He predicted
that North Carolina, Virginia, Florida
and Texas would be found in the Re-
publican column. He was 100 per cent
right. His own State gave Herbert
Hoover 63,388 lead over Gov. Smith
Mr.. Hoover carried So counties and
Gov. Smith carried only 81. The anti
Smith sentiment was strong enough to
make certain the election of two Re-
publican members of the House of Rep
resentativeS in North Carolina-Charles
A. Jones in the ninth congressional
district and George M. Pritchard in the
tenth district.
The result of the gubernatorial cleo
ton, however, rather indicates that Sen
ator Simmons is correct in his Judgment
that the Republican successes last
month in North Carolina were due en-
tirely to the displeaSure of the Demo-
Gratis with their presidential candidate,
and that the State is to swing back to
the Democratic column, at least for a
time. Gardner the Democratic NOM
inee for governor, carried the State over
H. F. Seawell, the Republican nominee,
by 1884 votes. The Democrats retain
control of the State Legislature, with "a
members Of the House to So Republican
members and IS members of the Sem
ate to is Republican members.
X X X
AS the election returns are finally
completed, the individual strength of
candidates in various States is more
easy to estimate. For example, Wis
conSin gave Walter j. Kohler, its new
"stalwart" governor-elect, 1883 more
votes than it gave Mr.. Hoover. The
State went strongly Republican. The
vote given Kohler is the largest eyer
given candidate for governor in the
Badger State, but SO was the vote given
Mr.. Hoover the largest vote ever given
presidential candidate. The interest
in the election was intense, as it was
in other States. Some new election
records were hung up.
The total of 1851 polled by Senator
Robert M. La Toilette is the largest
ever accumulated by candidate in this
State.
However, when 1t is considered that
Senator La Toilette was without either
Democratic or Socialist opposition, the
feats of State Treasurer Sol Levitan in
polling 628,678 votes and of Secretary
of State Theodore Dammann in polling
627, 244 votes are more remarkable than
that of the young Senator.
X X **
Mr. Levitan and Mr. Dammann had
both Socialist and Democratic opposi-
ton, and the record established by the
State treasurer is the greatest total
ever cast for candidate for State Of
flee in Wisconsin. It exceeds by more
than 100000 the previous high-water
mark of 509,771 established by Fred r.
Zimmerman when he was reelected
secretary of State in 1924.
There were 1,016,872 votes cast for
President, 989,143 for governor, 903, 104
for secretary of State, 898,792 for State
treasurer, 876,792 for attorney general,
and 742, 645 for United States Senator.
Sol Levitan's reelection to the office
OF State treasurer is matter OF con-
graduation. Mr.. Levitan entered Wis
consin years ago as peddler with a
pack on his back. His steady advance
to the position of trust he has now held
for many years was due to his unfailing
good nature, his attention to business
and his capability, his friends all say
X 4 X
Representative U. S. Guyer, Republic
can, reelected in the second congress
sional district in Kansas, received the
largest lead over his Democratic oppo-
nent Of any of the successful cand1-
dates for election in the Kansas con-
gressional- delegation. He LED ms
Democratic opponent, Lee r. Hettrick,
by 1888 votes. 1t remained, however,
for Representative w. A. Ayres, Demo-
crat, of the eighth congressional dis
trict, to register victory again wnile
his State was going Overwhelmingly 1or
Hoover and against Smith. Mr.. AyreS
plurality was 1885.
X y X i