Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-05
Republicans Declared to
Have Close Fight to
Garry State.
PARTY LINES DESTROYED
BY VARIOUS SENTIMENTS
Wet Issue, Religious Feeling, Racial
Antipathies and Industrial Con-
ditions Big Factors.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
Staff Correspondent OF The Star.

MANCHESTER, N. H, September o.
Republicans in New Hampshire must
watch their step during the next two
months If this States four electoral
votes are to be cast for Herbert Hoover
in the presidential election. The Re-
publicans have the edge, but the Demo-
Gratis feel they have a fighting chance
for Al Smith, and any misplaced over
confidence on the part of the Republi-
cans and a failure to get the full vote
out on November might be disastrous
to the Republican national ticket here
New Hampshire was the last New
England State to cast It's electoral
votes for a Democratic presidential
candidate-and, as it turned out. for the
last Democratic President, Woodrow
Wilson. In 1916 President Wilson
carried the State by So votes over
Charles E. Hughes. All five other New
England States that year voted for the
Republican candidate. -Four years
earlier New Hampshire and all the
other New England States voted for
Wilson, except Vermont, which re-
manned faithful to its Republican ira
ditions and gave its votes to Taft. New
Hampshire elected a Democratic COVER
nor as late as 1922. 1t is true that to-
day New Hampshire has a Republican
governor two Republican Senators and
Republican delegation in the House,
and an Overwhelmingly Republican
state Legislature, but there are currents
at work in New Hampshire today that
make the State battle-ground more
1e f1n knn swN zay
election since 1916.
Party Lines Being Destroyed.
These currents are difficult to meas
ure accurately. They are the same
currents, however which are destroying
party lines in other New England States
this year and are due to wet sentiment.
religious feeling, racial antipathies and
industrial conditions and to the fact
that the Democrats this year have
nominated a man who makes q strong
appeal no the people of the cities and
to labor
The so-called normal Republican ma
jority IN New Hampshire in national
elections is about $4,000 to 10000. This
is Sizable majority in a State which
casts a comparatively small total vote.
But it is not a majority which cannot
be overcome. as evidenced in the 1916
election. It is true that conditions were
not normal in that year. due TO the
World War and the plea for Wilson
that "he kept us out Of war" But
neither are the conditions normal today
In the industrial centers, like Man
chester and Nashua. the wet sentiment
is strong In these same industrial
centers the conditions for the mill and
shop workers are by no means condi-
tions to boast about. Many Of the mills
are not operating at anything like their
capacity. and thousands of the workers
are working two, three or four days
week. instead of full time. Here In
Manchester, for example. is one of the
largest textile mills in the country. 1t
is capable Of employing perhaps $4,000
maximum employed is between 5000
and 10000 and they are not employee:
fun time III many cases.
French American Vote Shrinks.
Here in Manchester. as in parts OF
Rhode Island, there is q very large
group of French-American voters. This
group Is smaller than it was q few
years ago, for thousands Of them have
gone back to Canada, and indeed, the
population of Manchester has Shrunk
by 5000 or 10000. Many OF these
French-American voters are RepubIi-
cans. though they have been more even
~ divided between the two major poIiti-
cal parties than in Rhode Island where
the Republican strength has been great
er among the French But the French
Americans are inclining today to the
wet cause, sponsored by Gov. Smith,
the Democratic nominee for President.
1t is true that here as in Rhode Island
the French have not worked in harmony
with the Americans in things po-
litical. and this racial antipathy is
giving the Republicans hope here as il
does in Rhode Island. No one seems
able 70 estimate with much accuracy
lust how the French-Americans in this
State are going TO vote In the national
election. But it seems pretty clear that
many of them viii vote Democratic for
one reason or another.
There are other foreign groups
foreign as distinguished the Yankee
stock~-including German. Belgian,
Greek and Irish. and many of them
are workers In the mills and shops. The
vet issue and the comparatively hard
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