Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-07

When the sidewalks of New York
| went back on their legendary hero, Al
| Smiths doom was sealed. Till 1t was
certain they had failed him, the COVER
| nor's chances always f1ickered with
| flame of possibility. When it became
apparent, as election night proceeded
upon its relentless way, that neither the
East Side nor the West Side nor any
where else around the town was rolling
I'M Smiths Anticipated New York City
majority. his fate was no longer in
doubt. For the Democratic candidate,
it was a case of las goes New York, so
goes the Nation" New York was lost,
and so was Smith. Whatever else he
failed to win was only piling up the
dimensions of his disaster. The Re
publican torpedo which sank him with
out trace was New York State. The
entire Smith ampaign-even and espe-
cially his fight for the Democratic nom
ination--was pivoted upon his ability 10
take New York into the electoral column:
To have been defeated here is, beyond
the shadow of doubt, the bitterest PHI
Gov. Smith has to swallow. Unques-
tionably it removes him from further
consideration as national Democratic
figure.
It is this observers Judgment that it
was "the three P's" which mainly en-
comprised Smiths overthrow--Proh1bl-
ton, Prejudice and Prosperity. The
| ignoblest of the trio, as well as the
probably most potent factor, was
prejudice. Certainly 1t was principally
responsible for the outstandingly his
| toric aspect of the 1928 election-the
| first breach in the Democratic wall
know as the solid South. In Dixie re-
| ligious prejudice was masked beneath
| the prohibition issue, but 1t was the
| candid Judgment of all political OBJ
servers that Smith was fought in States
like Virginia, North Carolina and Flor
| ida preponderantly on grounds OF Ro-
man Catholicism. Everywhere below
Mason and Dixon's line, the governor
faced the triple handicap of his creed,
his wetness and his Tammanyism. 1t
was terrific combination to overcome,
and the results in at least three South
| 1t was inSurmountable.
| II X X X
His victorious foes are certain to be
among the first to concede that Gov.
Smith waged brave, q frank and a
persuasive campaign. Whatever may
have been done In his name or the
Democratic party's name, Smith him.
self never departed from the finest
thing will have to be said of him: He
never pretended. He essayed no new
AL Smith in presenting himself to the
people. He went to them his plain,
homeSpun, ungranlmatical, East Side
self He offered his record as governor
as his main qualification for the presi-
dency. He plainly expected that rec
| concentration to serve as a guarantee
for his capacity to tackle certain ma
tional and international issues, regard
ing which he revealed somewhat made
quate knowledge. Smith entered the
lists against Herbert Hoover with dis
advantage not hitherto mentioned in
these reflections. That is the fact that
the New Yorker was not like his oppo-
nent, nationally advertised product.
To the overwhelming majority OF his
countrymen, Alfred E. Smith, prior TO
Houston, was merely name. He had
to spend the whole Summer and FAN
converting himself into character OF
presidential stature.
& X 4
Hoover becomes the thirtieth Presi-
dent Of the United States under a
variety of circumstances which will en-
shrine him in the Hall Of Fame, no mat
ter what the next four--or eight-years
may have in store for him. His sue
cessful invasion of the solid South
would alone assure him political i'm
mortality. He's done something no
other Republican before him ever &C
complished - he, the aspirant Tor ms
partys nomination eight years ago,
whom G. o. P. bosses s:orned as
rank outsider. The Californian's other
primary claim to distinction this amaz-
ing day is the ferct that he vaults into
the presidency o. the first occasion OF
his candidacy fos any public office.
Barring perhaps the founding fathers,
no man ever reached the White House
who had not previously run the CANT