Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-17

By Herbert Hoover's own admission,
in his opening words on Massachusetts
soil this week, his visit to the Coolidge
zone" was of critical Importance. The
Bay States IS electoral votes, in other
words. are all-eSsential to Republican
success in November. Hoover rendered
woman service to his cause by crossing
Massachusetts,, looking conditions In the
face and stirring the enthusiasm OF
G. O. P. workers. Probably the last-men-
toned achievement was the most e1ec-
tive of ALL Republican leadership IN
Massachusetts, has been at SKIES ana
sevens since the astute hands of w.
Murray Crane and Henry Cabot Lodge
were removed from it. Even though a
Bay State Republican since 1928 has
been the national head Of the party,
its Massachusetts affairs have drifted
from bad to worse The defeat of Pres
ident Coolidge's own political lieutenant
by Democratic candidate for the SEN
ate tells its own story. When Hoover
was in Boston on October Is he was
assured that Massachusetts Republicans,
for the first time in years, are band
of battling brothers.
LII dQQlblOIl w 1ldA lIlOAAAOQo POI W
machine, "the Hoover Volunteers" are
proving a tower of Republican strength
in Massachusetts, They number $4,000
uncommonly willing workers, about
equally divided between men and
women, and have perfected SO far-f1ung
an organization that there is a "Volun-
teer" on the job for every 20 Republican
voters in the commonwealth. Their
campaign task has been to whip up
Hoover sentiment Their election day
assignment is to get out the vote. AS
elsewhere, Massachusetts, registration
figures foreshadow the largest presiden-
tial poll on record. Women are work.
ing like Trojans for Hoover all the way
from Boston to the BerkShireS. The
Democrats concede that If Smith loses
the State, "Hoover's women" will be
mainly responsible.
Some master of political Snowman
ship is entitled to a Phi Beta Kappa
key for arranging the Hoover caravan
across Massachusetts,. Between his ar
rival at Springfield in the extreme west
of the State, and his appearance on
Boston Common at midday the Repub-
lican nominee must have been seen and
acclaimed by more people In one day
than any other presidential candidate
before him. Half million Is perhaps
an underestimate of the total number.
Fifteen minute stops at Springfield and
Worcester were followed by a motor
cavalcade which took the Hoover party
for an hour and half through the
populous suburbs which encircle Bos-
ton. Then a drive through Common
wealth avenue and the crowded busi-
ness district, winding up with the mon
ster open-air meeting on the Common.
Cheers--mingled with jeers-greeted
Hoover every inch of his triumphal
way across the State. The jeers for the
most part were those of rollicking
schoolchildren in regions which are
evidently strong Smith territory. Nine
tenths of the time Hoover had mag
nificently enthusiastic reception.
X X X
This observer made conscientious eff
fort at Boston to obtain a reliable fore
cast of Massachusetts, election pros
poets 1t is like trying to unscrew the
inscrutable. The PLAIN truth is that
nobody knows. The State is doubtful,
with big D. Republican and Demo-
cratic estimates are as far apart as the
poles. On the Republican side they
range from the superoptimistic pledge
of Gov. Fuller that Hoover's majority
will be upward of 100000 to conserva-
tiv1 fears that the Californian will not
win by a fifth of that margin. The
Democrats assert Smith will capture
Massachusetts,, though they know they
have their work cut out for them to
carry q State normally Republican in
presidential elections by anything from
$4,000 up. In IS elections the Bay