Evening star., 1928-04-06

With 244 Houston delegates declared
definitely IN sight Al Smith Is officially
TO proclaim his candidacy for the presi-
dency on April II. That claimed total
works out at almost exactly one-third
of the 734 two-thirds the New Yorker
will need to capture the Democratic
nomination. Arizona, Idano. Louisiana,
Maine, Michigan, Minnesota. New
Hampshire, New York, North Dakota,
| wisconsin. Alaska. the Philippines and
| the Virgin Islands make up the 344
| labeled INSTRUCTED for, or otherwise
committed 10. Smith" A column headed
Favorable to Smith" counts up another
339 for the idol of Manhattan. Anti
| Smith on sentiment" accounts for only
| l33 votes. Embraced In that opposition
| total are the votes of Alabama. Florida,
| Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, South
| Carolina and Tennessee. The Smithltes
are able to tabulate only 226 doubt
| fur votes.
| Will the formal pitching of AIS
| brown derby into the presidential ring
be accompanied by some chapter-an
verse indication of his national views?
| Or is Smith To continue--like Hoover
to trade on his personality and record?
Old-time politicians have difficulty In
| re- Cling a re-convention campaign In
which the leading figures In both par
| ties were so non-committai on issues.
| Barring prohibition In the cases OF
Smith and Hoover. and, In Hoover's in
stance, his general adherence 20 Cool
| iige policies" and Republican princi-
pies" the country Is pretty much III the
dark as TO what the two leading candi-
| dates stand for. Their views on con-
| troyersial problems like farm relief. tax
alton, Government ownership national
| defense, World Court, League of Ma
tions, European debts immigration, mer-
chant marine. tarin revision and all
points West can only be guessed st
The country as matter OF TACT, isn't
very agitated over issues. 1t is q
common belief that the American elcc-
| torate will 60 to the polls next Novem-
Der and vote for men, rather than
| measures,
! Chauncey M. DepeW Is entitled to
special wrcaths from the newspaper
men OF this geneTation--or a couple Of
| generations. At the turn OF the cen-
tuly. and for many years before, the
statesman capitalist wit was the pre-
nier interviewer of the American press
| Whatever Depew had to say, anywhere,
at any time. on any subject, was
first page stuff. He loved to be in-
terviewed, and no reporter ever left
him without good copy" Depew was
the first big man" this observer ever
tackled as a cub reporter. II was a
moment Of great awe. He did no see
the venerable New Yorker again until
1921, when Depew was at st. Angus
tine, where President -elect Harding
was cabinet building. A group of Wash
ington correspondents tackled Depew
and asked II he expected to be- a mem-
| ber Of the incoming administration.
Yes" he replied, i've Just been in
Vited To be secretary OF the exterior" :"
II was Depew, a railroad man, who said
that Bryan was all right but lacked
terminal facilities"
y y y
Manuel Quezon leader Of the Filipino
independence movement, Is still confned
| To a sanitarium al MonTovia, Calf,
near Los Angeles. with disconraging
progpects of recovery for many months
10 come Senator Quezon has recently
suffered additional distress In the ILL.,
ness Of his wife. who has just been
operated on al Philadelphia. His phy-
aIeians have prescribed for the tamoua
"politico" q period OF pr0tracted rest,
Some doubts are expressed as to wheth-
er he will ever again be able to take
the aggressive part IN politics at Manila
which he has so long and brilliantly
played. Hhe independence cause would
be heavy loser II Quezon's leadership
should disappear He is stlll on the
sunnyside OF So
y
Newton y, Baker, World War Secre-
tary 0f War, Is being groomed by a
group of friends and admirers for the
presidency af Johns Hopkins UnlyeTv
sity, Al Baltimore. The once viii ne~
come vacant july |, when the Tesisna.