Evening star., 1928-11-14
Politics at Large
By G.. Could Lincoln.

Gov. Alfred E. Smith. defeated DEM
ocratic nominee for President, retains
his titular leadership of the Democratic
party. His address to the American
people over the radio last night was,
in effect, an act of leadership. The
fact that Gov. Smith is keeping his
hand on the throttle docs not neces-
sarily mean that he is contemplating
a fight for the presidential nomination
in 1882. Indeed. he has said in inter-
views after the election that he did not
intend to seek public office further.
But Gov. Smith Is the idol of millions
of Democrats, no matter what some
of his party followers think of him. He
received the votes of some 100000
men and women on election day. He
could not, If he would, drop the leader
ship of his party. to which he was
elected at the Houston national conven-
tion, the day after election Certainly
he has shown to advantage in his hour
of defeat. The country loves a good
loser and Gov. Smith has shown HIM
self all of that.
1t is noticeable, however. that In
his address last night Gov. Smith did
not say that he would never again be
candidate for President. In this he
showed a sense of the proprieties as
we'll as wisdom. To decline a nomina-
ton that is far in thc future and not
yet offered him would scarcely be proper
or wise. No man can foresee the condi-
tions that may exist in this country in
1882.
The ramifcations of the recent cleo
ton the victory here and the victory
i,1 hi Hnh
coming to the surface. Out in Illinois
the reform forces. under the leader
ship OF Senator Charles S. Deneen.
elected their candidate for States at
torney in Cook County, Chicago. The
new States attorney is the same man
who was nominated over Grove last
Spring. when real political revolu-
ton took place in Chicago, much to
the surprise of the old Thompson and
Grove Barrett factions. Swanson. the
States attorney-elect. was picked to
clean up Chicago's crime situation. 1t
was quite clear that the people who
rose in their might last Spring would
continue the work and elect Swanson
to Office this Fall, although the Demo-
Gratis had put forward good candidate.
too. Senator Deneen's faction in Chi
cago also carried many of the other
county offices. though it lost the sheriff
Mr.. Deneen is left sitting on the top
of the heap in Illinois. Whether his
leadership will be challenged later by
the newly elected governor or the new
lv elected Senator. or Mrs. Ruth Hanna
Mccormick. newly elected Congress
woman -at-large from Illinois, is a thing
for the future to determine. Mrs. NC
Cormick is credited with having ambi-
tions to come to the Senate, perhaps to
be the first woman elected to the SEN
ate One woman was appointed from
Georgia several years ago, but served as
Senator only few hours. Mrs. McCor-
mick is the widow of Senator Medlll NC
Cormick. who lost his seat to Senator
Deneen In 1924. Senator Deneen comes
up for reelection in 1880.
X X 4
Representative Franklin Fort Of New
Jersey. one of the campaign leaders
for Mr.. Hoover, has an ambition to be-
come governor of his State. His father
was governor and a great-uncle also
was a chief executive of New jersey.
Mr.. Fort is taking vacation trip. after
his arduous labors in the recent cam
paign. But some OF his trlenoS al
ready are talking of organizing Fort
for-Governor" Club.
Louis Ludlow, former president of the
National Press Club and a Washing
ton correspondent for Ohio and In
diana newspapers for years, Is receiving
hundreds of messages of congratulations
upon his election to the House from the
seventh congressional district OF IN
diana. Mr. Ludlow is a Democrat He
defeated Representative Updike, Re-
publican, in the, recent election, and
MIR. Updike is undertaking to contest
the election of Mr.. Ludlow. The latter
won by some 1000 votes over Updike.
however. He had the support of prac-
tically all the newspapers IN Indian
apolis, irrespective Of their party
leanings.
Mentioning his long list of congratu-
latory messages In letter, Mr.. Luo-
low said:
IF my manager, Kin Hubbard, could
see this mountain of letters and tele-
grams he would cease to worry. In re-
cent interview Kin said his problem now
il to get his candidate to stop walking.
If he could see this epistolary deluge
he would know that force OF circur1-
stances already has compelled me 20
exchange the speedometer for the type
writer. I can't peck on typewriter
and walk at the same time and I shud-
der when think of the amount OF
pecking that remains to be done.
Whatever some of the Democrats may
think of Gov Smith as titular leader
of the party and as possibility for
the next presidential nomination, Bishop
James Cannon. who headed the anti
Smith Democrats in Virginia and the
South generally. takes the view that
Smith has been cast aside by the
Democratic party. He says in a state
ment to The Star:
THE unprecedented defeat of Gov.
Smith. the wet Tammany candidate for
the presidency, is an indignant, over
whelming reputation OF the proposal
by the people of our country to place
the National Government in the hands
of representatives of the wet sidewalks
of our cities. aided and abetted by
selfish. so-called liberal element of high
society life.
This insolent challenge Of a sordtd,
unpatriotic Tammanyism and its self
indulgent allied forces has met with a
response which has shown to the world
the genuine idealistic, truly progressive
Americanism of our people. This re-
sponse in the Southern States has as
sumed the proportions of a political
revolution. Positive. explicit warning
was given more than year ago that
the Southern people would not commit
both political and moral suicide by
supporting wet Tammany candidate.
But Tammany. in absolute control of
the Houston convention, ignored all
protests and danger signals and NOM
mated its wet candidate.
X
Faced by such a situation. men and
women of the South who placed prir-
ciple above party deliberately organ
lied to preserve Southern Democracy
by the Overwhelming defeat of the wet
Tammany candidate. 1t is political
tragedy that so few Southern Demo-
cratic leaders recognized the nature