Evening star., 1928-10-22

The elections of 1916, 1920 and 1924
are fresh in the minds of present-day
voters, yet in the excitement of the
present campaign many interesting and
important points which have been de-
veloped in these campaigns will prob
ably be forgotten. The electoral sys-
tenn ought to function properly this
year. with but two parties likely to
share in the electoral votes. yet feeling
may run high enough and the result be
close enough to place some strain upon
the peculiar system under which We
operate our presidential choice.
In 1916 the Republican party. split
asunder four years earlier, showed re-
markable ability to reunite its scattered
elements. While Bryan kept the Dem
ocrats sundered 1for many campaigns,
Roosevelt split his party wide open and
saw the breach healed in record time.
Indeed the defeat of his party in 1916
is generally attributed directly to the
one outstanding instance where the
harmony program between conServa-.
tives and progreSsives failed to func-
ton.
The nomination of Charles E.
Hughes a justice of the Supreme
Court. was an effort to select man
who had been aloof from the trying
events of 1912. On him the two ele-
mcnts could. and largely did. unite.
President Wilson Renominated.
Wilson'S denomination was fore
gone conclusion. His administration
had been popular and close fight was
foreseen. Hughes made long trip
around the country. and in California
fx,n
breach Senator Johnson, who had
been the candidate for Vice President
with Roosevelt. was seeking reelection
to the Senate. The old guard party
leaders frowned on him, although he
carried the party label. He was not
invited to meet the presidential candi-
date in his home State. The Johnson
supporters felt sighted. and in the
election johnson carried the State by
a wide margin, but it was lost to
Hughes and the national ticket. Thus
one little group of stubborn leaders,
refusing to forgive and forget, had lost
presidency. Wilson won by mar
gin so narrow that any one large
State would have changed the out
come.
The 1920 campaign saw another
demonstration of clever convention
management by the Republicans and
helpless blundering by the Democrats
under their tWo-thirds rule A group
of Senators, led by Penrose of Penn
Sylvania, planned careful campaign
to control the Republican gathering.
Offering favorite-Son candidates in
many States, they prevented any of
the outstanding popular favoriteS from
ginning majority of the delegates
L zen million-dollar pre-convention
drive, and wartime popularity and
great support from the old Roosevelt
following, could not swing the needed
votes to Gen. Leonard Wood The
senatorial group held too many little
observation-disclosures for Sproul. New
York for Butler, West Virginia for
Sutherland, Ohio for Harding, Wash
ington for Poindexter, and so on.
Small Group Names Harding.
After few preliminary ballots.
small group of men ''in a smoke filled
room in the early morning hours"
united their forces and named Hard
ing. PenroSe, the guiding genius, was
i'll at his Pennsylvania home and di-
rected proceedings by telephone advice
to his followers.
time in national party convention on
the Pacific Coast, balloted for 10 days
at San Francisco, and finally chose ex-
Gov James M. Cox Of Ohio. Bryan
again had sought to direct the plat
form policies and TO have a voice in
the nomination. He lost at every point,
his New York and other enemies finally
united on Cox, and he left the conven-
ton, saying MY heart is in the grave"
His party hopes lay with it. Cox car
ried only the South and lost even two
States of that
The election of Coolidge four years
ago was so overwhelming that already
many people have forgotten how seri-
ously the chances of an election with
no majority were considered during
the early part of the campaign. AS
in 1912, the break of the Progressives
from the party created this possibility.
The La Toilette group, uniting with the
Socialists and other discontented ele-
ments and naming two Senators. La
Toilette, Republican, and Wheeler. a
Democrat, appeared at the outset to
have serious likelihood of splitting the
electoral vote and throwing the cleo
tion into the House. Oddly enough, as
in 1912, that body was almost evenly