Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-26
Politics at Large
b. C.. Could Lincoln.

| The prohibition issue cuts both ways
| and in separate sections of the country
| in this campaign. The Democrats be-
| lieve they have the best end of the is
sue in States of the North and East, In
| Wisconsin and ST. Louis. Republican
stronghold in Missouri The Republicans.
| on the other hand. are counting on this
issue to aid them In winning the cleo
| toral votes of the Middle West the West
and the border States, and even some of
the States which have always been con-
Sidered part of the solid South" and as
such safely in the Democratic column.
In effect. the issue is endangering Re-
publican States of the East and Demo-
cratic States to the South. II Gov.
Smith can hold the South in the ma
tional election-admittedly dry terri
tory-and add to 1t the Republican wet
territory OF the North, winning thereby
the election will mean little on the pro-
hibition issue per Sc, except that the
vets are strong in the industrial CEN
ters of the North and East. and that
South to swing those States away from
their Democratic allegiance.
The Republican leaders are striving
vigorously to put aside the issue OF
| prohibition in some of the Northern
| and Eastern States and to lay emphasis
! on prosperity. the tariff. immigration,
employment of labor and the like. 1t
is no secret that some of the Repub-
leans in New England and other East
ern States are upset over the continued
| drive of the drvs. among them Mrs.
Mabel Walker Willebrandt. Assistant At
torney General, to arouse the Metho-
dists and others against Gov. Smith on
the wet issue. They see in her ad-
dresses, too, an appeal to church inter-
ference in the campaign, and that, too.
is making it more difficult, they say, for
them to carry the Northern States.
Some of these Republican leaders
| would like very much to have Mrs.
Willebrandt cease her campaigning along
the lines she has followed so far. They
point out that the Republican high
command has no control over the ac-
tivities of Senator Heflin Of Alabama
and Ir. Straton, for example. but that
Mrs. Willebrandt is part of the Re-
publican Federal administration and as
such might be influenced to pipe
down."
But the Republican campaign man.
agement naturally is hesitant about call
ing upon Mrs Willebrandt to cease her
campo igning. which. whatever its effect
may be in New England, is likely to
make votes in SOM Of the States of the
Middle West and the border States
1t appears to be on the cards, how
ever, that the effort will be made to
direct the Republican campaign more
and more along economic lines, making
the tariff again dominant issue. The
protective tariff has won for the Re-
publicans in many States Of the East in
the past. New Jersey, Connecticut and
New York all have faith in the tariff
of the Republicans and have suffered
when the Democrats have tinkered with
the schedules.
! Gov. Smith is to speak tomorrow
night in Minnesota in his swing back
from Montana. Minnesota has been
considered debatable ground. with a
farming population aroused in the in
terest of the McNary-Ha bill. But
recently the Republicans have taken
heart in that State. Reports generally
are thai conditions are bettering in that
State for the G. o. P. Former Gov.
John Lind. Democrat, friend Of PreSi-
dent Wilson, Is opposing the election OF
Gov. Smith and supporting Hoover.
He has no little influence among the
Scandinavian peoples who have settled
in Minnesota. 1t will be remembered
that four years ago Minnesota was a
garded as likely to go for the late Sem
ator from Wisconsin up to the very enS
Of the campaign. But election day
found 1t safely in the Republican col
umn. for Coolidge and Dawes. The
vote in that election stood finally Cool
idge 400. 000 Davis $4,000 and La Fol-
lette $4,000. Give the Democratic
candidate the entire La Toilette vote
there. and the Republican still wins
Not all of the La Toilette votes in Min
nesota came from the Democratic
renks. of course. and not all OF them
are likely to vote this year for Smith.
X \ 4 4
The Democrats are angling and have
been for weeks for the La Toilette vote
which was cast in the States OF the
West. as we'll as that which went to
La Toilette in New Jersey and other
States of the East. There were eight
States of the West where the La Fol-
lette vote. plus the Democratic vote. in
1924, exceeded the vote cast for PreSi-
dent Coolidge. These States were Ida
no. Montana, Nebraska. North Dakota.
Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota and
Utah, and all these States gave their cleo
toral votes to Coolidge. In Wisconsin,
La Toilette won. The Democrats are
figuring that If they can pick up the
La Toilette vote in these nine States,
they can take a big block Of votes away
from the Republicans which the
Hoover-Curt:s managers have been
| counting upon.
3, 1t does not appear reasonable. how
ever. that the La Toilette vote can be
swung in anything like solid measure
to the Smith ticket this year. This Is
true for various reasons. One OF them
! is TamMany furthermore, when Gov.
Smiths campaign management was
taken over by John j. Rsskob and other
big business men came out for him on
the prohibition issue. the appeal which
he might have made to the progressives,
who supported La Toilette. was con-
siderably lessened.
It will be remembered also that these
States have a Republican habit, and
| that they went for President Harding
in 1920. when there was no divided OPP
position. Utah. for example, appears
Door hunting ground for the Demo-
cratic national ticket Utah stuck tc
President Taft in 1912 when other Re-
publican States fell by the wayside.
The reports are to the effect that
Utah is lining up strongly for Hoover
this year and that Senator King, the
Democratic nominee for the Senate,
may lose to his Republican opponent,
whom, by the way, he defeated in 1922
bv some 600 votes only. There was no
PRESIDENTIAL campaign on that year.
| If Hoover goes over big In Utah, he
is likely to carry the senatorial candi-
date, hamburger, along with him.
| X II X Y
The Republicans in Colorado, ac-
cording to Clarence Hamlin, national
committeeman. are strongly together
this year, Notwithstanding reports to
the contrary He and his faction re-
Gently succeeded in nominating their
candidate for governor. Attoc.>y Gen.
eral Boatright, but the party sores have