Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-10
Politics at Large
By C. Could Lincoln.

LOUISVILLE. KY. october 9.-The
| border States. Kentucky, Tennessee
West Virginia and Maryland, with q
; total of Al electoral votes, may YET
| play a part of great importance in the
| presidential election this year. Sup
| pose for a moment that Gov. Smith
| holds the solid South" including
North Carolina; picks up several
! Western States, including Missouri
| wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada,
and runs we'll In the Northeast. Sup
pose Mr. Hoover takes Pennsylvania
| Illinois. Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kan
| sas, and other great States of the West
| and Pacific Coast. Under such con-
} ditions what becomes of the four
! others is a matter of grave importance
At the present writing 1t appears that
J Hoover has the better of 1t in three
| Of these States, Maryland. West Vir-
| ginia and Kentucky, and that the result
: in Tennessee, while much in doubt, Is
likely to favor Smith.
| It is little wonder that. therefore,
| in this last month Of the campaign
| both candidates and their party mana
gers are giving attention to these Dor
der States-border merely because they
| have stood between the Republican
North and the Democratic South
Gov. Smith this week will visit the
principal cities of Virginia. North Caro-
| lima, Tennessee and Kentucky. If his
present plans are adhered to, he will
speak only in Louisville, Saturday
night Whether this is good policy Is
question. These people Of the South
and border States are intensely inter
ested in the Democratic candidate. The
Democratic leaders feel that he could
do much to help them if he would
agree to address crowds in all these
cities.
The same strain of opposition to
Gov. Smith runs through all this terri
tory and extends down into Alabama
and Florida. 1t is partly because he
represents the new immigration to this
country and these people are from
the older stock. 1t is due also to the
fact that the South is politically in
tensely dry and Protestant. The re-
ligious issue is cutting both ways IN the
South and the borderland. however,
for not a few Democrats are voting
for Smith to prove they are not 'in-
tolerant" So far as the liquor ques-
ton is concerned, Smith has all the
worst of it in these States, excepting
perhaps In Maryland, where much wet
sentiment exists.
* =
In 1924 the Democrats sought to pre-
vent the election of President Coolidge
through an alliance, tacit, if no more,
with the La Toilette Progressives. Ihey
did not hope to elect their own ticket,
Davis and Bryan, but to throw the pres
idential election into the House OF Rep
reSentatives, as provided by the Con-
Stitution, If no candidate should receive
a majority of the electoral votes Tney
believed that If the election went into
the House the Democrats would have a
chance to put their man in oft1ce. so
the Democrats held off" in some OF the
States, in the hope that La Toilette
would carry them against Coolidge, and
the La Folletteites were expected TO
"hold off" in certain other States and
throw their strength to the Davis ticket.
These tactics, however, did not work.
The La Toilette Progressives, some OF
the Democratic leaders have insisted,
did not play ball" In other words,
they polled as many votes as they could
in all the States they could. Perhaps
the Progressives figured that they would
Just as soon have the Republican ticket
elected as the Democratic. 1t was Ger
tainly true that the late Senator
La Toilette would never have run for
President as an independent Progress
sive in 1924 had he considered that the
Democratic ticket was Progressive.
Now the Democrats are seeking to
play the game with Progressives again.
This year, it is true, there is no indie
pendent Progressive ticket in the field
for President, but there are Progressive
Senators up for reelection, among
them Senator La Toilette, jr., OF Wis
consin and Senator Shipstead, Farmer
Laborite in Minnesota. The Democrats
began by nominating senatorial cand1-
dates in both States In the last day
or two Miles K. Reilly, the Democratic
nominee for the Senate, has Withdrawn
from the race in Wisconsin, leaving the
field to La Toilette, and State Senator
w. H Markham. a "stalwart" Repuo-
lican, who entered the contest as an In
dependent week or so ago. The DEM
ocratic candidate got out OF the race In
Minnesota, declaring for Senator Ship
stead. No more open bids for the sup
port of the Smith Robinson ticket by
La Toilette and Shipstead and their fol-
lowers could have been made. Whether
these gentlemen will rise to the Demo-
cratic bait remains to be seen. 1t would
also be interesting to see how the late
Senator La Toilette would play the game
this wear if he were alive and the con-
ditions the same Senator La Toilette
seems assured of reelection. Senator
Shipstead has much more of fight on
his hands.
Down in the tenth Kentucky congress
sional district Mrs. Langley. Republ1-
can, one of the few CongreSswomen, Is
seeking reelection. Her district has been
nd a
fail, she will win again this year. Her
husband is former Representative John
Langley, who was found guilty of vio-
lations of the law in connection with
liquor permits Mr.. Langley served a
jail sentence, Mrs. Langley was elected
in his place and kept the place in the
House which her husband had held Tor
so many years. Now Mr.. Langley has
been released from prison and is serving
as Mrs. Langley's campaign manager.
X X X
On an express train which runs from
Ashville, N. c., to Knoxville, Tenn.
and points farther West. a poll on the
presidential race is taken daily by one
of the railroad men. The day / travel
ed over this route the poll showed 80
votes for Hoover and % for Smith. This,
it was said, was the first time that the
Smith vote had approached so nearly
that cast for Hoover in this straw ball
loting Usually Hoover ran is to 90 votes
ahead of his Democratic opponent.
X X x
AS the election more nearly approach
es, the Southern Smith leaders are
making more and more Of the race is
sue, in an effort to check the defec-
lions from Democratic ranks in States
like North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
and Kentucky They are dragging out
old stories about the force bill, which
the late Senator Lodge introduced in