Evening star., 1928-11-11
Party Sees Lapse in Pros
perity as One Hope for
Success Later On.
DISCIPLINE OF B0LTERS
is BELIEVED UNWISE
Many Leaders Hope to Win Back
Anti-Smith Group in South.
Roosevelt Outstanding,
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

What has the next four years in store
for the Democratic party?
The party has just gone through a
terrific defeat at the polls. 1t is true
that the national ticket, headed by
Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York,
has polled probably 100000 votes,
more votes than were ever before cast
for Democratic candidate for Presi-
dent. But it is equally true that the
Hoover-Curtis Republican ticket re-
ceived more than 21,000,00O votes, or
far in excess of the popular vote ever
cast for any President, Republican or
Democrat. and some 100000 in excess
of the Democratic vote this year. This
is a sizable plurality. Further, the
Democrats won only 81 votes in the
electoral college which names the
President and Vice President, while the
Republicans took 444.
Future Depends on Conduct.
What happens to the Democratic
party in the next few years will de-
pend upon two things: How the Demo-
Gratis conduct themselves and what the
Republicans do. The fate of the Demo-
cratic party, so far as success at the
polls is concerned, is beyond doubt
bound up also with the economic con-
ditions which will prevail in this coun-
try in these coming years. Some Demo
cratic leaders have about reached the
conclusion that only hard times can
give them victory: that the country is
not going to rock the boat by chang
ing to a Democratic administration
when prices are good and labor is well
employed.
For many years there have been
conflicting elements in the Democratic
party. Generally speaking they have
fallen recently into two groups-the
Southern group, dry and rather con-
servative, and the Northern and East
ern group, inclined to be wet and pro-
gressive in the sense that Smith Is
progressive. =.
In 1924 these two groups fought it
Democratic national convention of that
wear. The religious issue was raised
in that convention also which has lived
to plague the party For in the North
and East there has been a strong
Catholic element in the party, while
in the South the party has been
Protestant. Four years ago, these two
elements in the convention fought a
draw and a compromise candidate,
John w. Davis of West Virginia and
New York, was nominated for Presi-
dent. Mr.. Davis was decisively beaten
in the ensuing election by President
Coolidge.
Four States Switch.
This year at Houston, the North and
the East, aided and abetted by a
skeleton party in the West, were in the
saddle. Gov. Smith, Tammany. man,
wet and a Catholic, was nominated.
The rest is too recent history to de-
mand retelling. Probably the Demo-
cratic party would have been better
off now if it could have had its recent
experience four years ago.
What's the party going to do now?
Is the strong group of Democrats in
the North and the East going to bow
to the Southern group when 1T comes
to writing a platform and nominating
a candidate four years from now? -Four
Of the 10 Southern States which have
consistently gone Democratic since re-
construction days, Topped over to the
Republican column this election, Vir-
ginia, North Carolina, Florida and
Texas. The Democrats carried the
other six, plus Massachusetts, and
Rhode Island, the sole contribution OF
the North and the East to the national
ticket. When 1t comes to fixing the
blame for failure in this election, the
North and East wing of the Democrat
ic party has no more cause to criticize
the Southern wing of the party than
the latter has to criticize that of the
North and East. If all the Southern
States had remained in line for Gov
Smith, with only Massachusetts and
Rhode Island to aid them, the Demo-
cratic ticket would have lost just as
decisively. When the Democrats of the
North and East failed to deliver New
York, Smiths own State, they left
themselves no grounds on which to
criticize their colleagues of the South.
It seems quite clear that the Demo-
Gratis will get nowhere by fighting
among themselves, or by recriminations
The attitude of some of the most astute
of their leaders is to bind up their
wounds as best they can and adopt a
policy of watchful waiting. These
leaders believe that the best chance OF
the Democrats is so to conduct them
selves in Congress and in the State ad-
ministrations where the Democrats are
in control that the country will be will
ing to turn to the Democratic party in
the event that the Republicans fail, or
that hard times come upon the country
Party Not Likely to Die.
1t does not seem on the cards that
| the Democratic party is to die. Any
party which can muster 15,000,000 OIL
more votes in national election seems
to have some life left in it, notwith-
standing its defeat at the hands of its
rival There is talk of a realignment
! 1continIed on PAGE 8. Column q