Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-18
The Political Mill

II primary election figures mean any
thing, Massachusetts, Is still q Repub-
lican State. Take the returns in the
primary Tuesday. With only seven
voting precincts Of the total l,s4o in
the State still missing, the count showed
that for the three Republican candi-
dates for the senatorial nomination q
total of S37.53e votes were cast, while
for the five Democratic candidates for
the senatorial nomination the total
vote cast was 200,759. In the guber-
Material contest the two Republican
candidates for the nomination polled q
total of ,991 votes, while the three
Democratic candidates received a total
vote of 214,594. In other words, APP
proximately $4,000 more votes were
cast for the Republican nominees for
Senator than for the Democratic, and
$4,000 more votes for the Republican
gubernatorial candidates than for the
Democratic.
Any one who visited Massachusetts in
recent weeks will admit that there was
as keen a struggle for the senatorial
and gubernatorial nominations on the
Democratic side as there was on the
Republican Indeed, the contest among
the Democrats for the gubernatorial
nomination was far more severe than
for the nomination among the Repub-
licans It had been conceded months
ago that Gov. Allen, the Republican
incumbent, would be renominated. His
only opponent, the former mayor of
Maiden, a wet, received only some
IS, 900 votes.
Primary figures are sometimes de-
ceptive. The party organizations sup
porting candidates are largely RESPONSE
BILE for getting out the primary vote.
Sometimes they function and some
times they do not. Occasionally the
voters of one party go into the primary
of another in considerable numbers,
for one reason or another. The vote
in general elections almost invariably
is much larger than in the primary.
y X X
With the campaign just starting for
the general election, 1t would be bold
prognosticator who said finally how
Massachusetts, will go this November.
Massachusetts,, generally speaking, has
been a Republican State since the Civil
War. Only twice has its electoral vote
been cast for Democratic presidential
candidate, once for Wilson in 1912,
when the Republican party was badly
split, and again in 1928, when AL
Smith, the wet candidate of the Demo-
cratic party, was the nominee of the
Democrats. And at the same time AL
Smith and David l. Walsh were carry
ing the State in the presidential and
senatorial elections, Massachusetts, elect
ed Is Republican congressman and only
3 Democratic, not to mention Re-
publican Governor and Q whole State
ticket.
The Democrats have named this year
Marcus AureliuS Coolidge, no relation
to Calvin, for the Senate, and Joseph
B. Ely for Governor. They are both
VETS" although Mr.. Coolidge has not
yet gone beyond IA per cent alcoholic
contents for beverages.
1t is this same wet issue that is caus-
ing the Republicans the greatest
amount of woe this year in MasSa-
chusetts. Butler, their nominee for
the Senate, only won over his wet OPP
ponent, Eben S. Draper, by about $500,
while the clown of the contest, "BosSy'
ellis, who called himself a moist"
polled $4,000 votes. 1t Is obvious that
If the vets and the "moists" had voted
together, the dry Mr.. Butler would have
been defeated. The question now Is,
can the wet Republicans support Butler,
and will they? II they swing in large
numbers to the Democrats, Buffers
goose is cooked. The Democratic can
didateS are likely to make the most of
the wet issue. Furthermore, Butler has
number of political enemies in the
state, among the old Lodge following.
and he has also to meet the issue of
depression and unemployment. The
Republicans might have had q better
chance had they nominated Draper,
the wet. But that is mere surmise.
No one knows how the dry Republicans
would have reacted in that event. The
primary demonstrated, however, that
there are as many wet Republicans in
the State as there are dry, If the fig-
ures mean anything in the senatorial
primary. On the other hand, Gov.
Allen, a dry, had upward of 400, 900
votes and his wet opponent only $4,000.
It is apparent that a lot of vets must
have voted for Allen in the primary.
Perhaps they will vote for Butler In
the senatorial election in November.
If ever the Democrats OF Massachu-
sets had an intraparty row OF ma or
proportions, they had 1t in this primary
campaign. Mayor James F. Curley, Bos-
ton leader, and the State chairman,
Donahue, practically came to blows,
though 1t was a supporter Of Donahue
who received the blow which Curley is
said to have aimed at Donahue. Curley
attacked Ely, the Yankee Democratic
nominee for Governor. on the ground
that he was antagonistic to the Irish
Americans. And so it went. Can the
Democrats heal their wounds any more
readily than can the Republicans, after
this primary? On that, and on the will
ingness of the vets in the Republican
party to follow Butler and Allen, will
the election this November turn In large
part.
II the Butler and Allen victories In
the Republican primaries in MaSsachu-
sets are to be considered administra-
ton victories, since President Hoover Is
standing by strict enforcement of the
dry laws, the victory Of Philip La
Toilette in the Republican gubernatoriaf
primary In Wisconsin is certainly a
crack at the regular, administration
Republicans in the Badger State and
as such, a blow to the administration
The ProgressiveS Of the Republican
party in the West have been generally
successful in the primary contests this
year. Norris of Nebraska won renomi-
nation to the Senate, and so did Schall
OF Minnesota, McMaster of South Da-
kota, Pine of Oklahoma and Borah of
Idaho. None of them have been de-
feated at the polls in spite of their
opposition to the administration in some
of its major policies.
Young Phil Ia Toilette, If he is
elected and makes Beod as Governor of
Wisconsin, Is practically sure of re-
election In 1882. 1t seems inevitable
that he should be elected Governor
next November. The Democratic or
ganiSation In Wisconsin amounts to
nothing today. If 1t puts a candidate
in the field, the expectation is he will
get nowhere.
II
Senator John j. Blaine of wiscon-
sin comes up for reelection in 1892.
Dispatches from Wisconsin have limited