Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-15
Buffers Hat in the Ring.

former Senator and former chairman of
/ the Republican national committee is
to seek Republican nomination for the
Senate in Massachusetts comes as no
I surprise to Washington. 1t has been
clear for some time that such an an
| nouncement was to be expected and
| that some of the party leaders in the
Bay State looked with favor on the
| entrance of Mr.. Butler into the sena-
! torial race. Mr.. Butler himself has been
| credited with ambitions to stage a
comeback" in the world of politics and
particularly comeback to the Senate.
He was defeated in 1926 by Senator
David I. Walsh. If Mr.. Butler wins
the nomination this year it remains to
be seen If any other Democrat in
Massachusetts, who may be selected by
the Democratic party will be able to
defeat him.
Mr.. Butler has long been prominent
in Massachusetts, Republican politics.
He reached the topmost rung when he
became Republican national committee
man for the Bay State and was selected
by former President Coolidge to act as
Republican national chairman. He IS
business man. He gave the Republic
can national organization a business
administration and he was entirely
successful in building up that organi-
cation.
The situation in Massachusetts, today
is giving the Republicans real concern.
There are three reasons particularly
why this is so. They are liquor, in
dustrial depression in some of the
manufacturing enterprises and wran-
Cling among the Republicans themselves.
Massachusetts was carried by the wet
Democratic candidate for President in
1928, Alfred E. Smith. At the same
time, the State reelected a Democratic
Senator. This was an almost unheard-
of political turnover in the old Bay
State in presidential year. The peo-
pie of Massachusetts, in a referendum
dealing with prohibition, in 1928, went
wet" by plurality of something like
100000 votes.
The Republicans face a real difficulty
on the wet and dry issue. If they NOM
mate a liberal, which is another way
of saying "wet," from the prohibition
point of view, they may arouse the hos
tility of the rural drys, almost all of
whom are Republicans. On the other
hand, If they nominate dry, they may
lose heavily in the industrial centers
where, up until 1928, they were strongly
supported by the French-Americans and
other groups Of foreign blood. When the
Republicans in New York State put up
for reelection former Senator James w.
Wadsworth, who had announced him
self a wet, the drys placed an inde-
pendent Republican candidate in the
field, who drew enough votes to effect
the defeat Of Wadsworth.
The election this week of a wet
Democrat in the strongly Republican
second congressional district has caused
great CONSERVATION in Republican
ranks. They attribute this reversal
both to the strength of the liquor ques-
ton and to unemployment and the I'M
rest which follows unemployment. If
Mr.. Butler is able to rally the Republic
cans strongly behind him in the COM
ing race, it is possible that the G. o. P.
may yet be successful in Massachusetts,
next November. They need some one
to rally them. There has been no such
figure since Calvin Coolidge retired
from politics. Efforts have been made
to get the former President to take
the lead in his own State, and even to
run for Senator. But Mr.. Coolidge, up
to the present, has preferred to re-
main extremely quiet.
In his announcement of his candi-
dacy, Mr.. Butler said he would within
month make statement on the pro-
hibition question. This announcement
will be followed with the keenest in
terest outside of Massachusetts as well
as within that State. The wet and dry
issue continues to force itself into poll
tics. Already one wet Republican
candidate has announced for the sena-
| torial nomination, Eben S. Draper, for
mer State Senator. Mr.. Butler has de-
clared that he will, If elected, go to the
Senate to work to build up New Eng
| land industries, which have suffered
from competition in the West and
South.
-S-@S~-S-
For the brief purpose of a vacation