Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-15
The Political Mill
By G. Gould Lincoln.

torial and senatorial candidates in Mas
sacfusettS became still more complex
last week when John p Fitzgerald,
Honey FitZ." withdrew from the con-
test for nomination for Governor. CIV
ing i'll health as the reason. Despite
the fact that it has generally been be-
Heved that Fitzgerald could not dsieat
Gov Allen. the Republican nominee,
in the November election. it had been
generally conceded that Fitzgerald
would be nominated by the Democrats.
His eleventh hour withdrawal leaves
two candidates in the field for the NOM
nation. Joseph B. Ely and John j.
Cummings.
Mayor James F. Curley of Boston.
who has been backing Fitzgerald in the
primary campaign, has come forward
with the novel suggestion that the
Democrats of Massachusetts, go ahead
end nominate Mr. Fitzgerald and that
the nominee withdraw after the pri-
mary election. Then the Democratic
State Committee will be in a position
to name the candidate of the party for
Governor. This suggestion has been
violently attacked by Ely and Cum
mings and other Democratic leaders,
who insist that Curley is seeking to
set himself up as an overload" and
dictate who shall and who shall not
be nominated for office. They say that
the voters themselves are entitled. to
pick their candidates. Curley has coun-
tered by publishing a list of fifty men,
any one of whom, he said, could be nomi-
mated and elected by the Democrats.
His list, of course. does not include the
names of Ely and Cummings, to whose
nomination he is violently opposed In
the list of fifty put out by Mayor Curley
are half a dozen Republicans. among
them Gen. Clarence r. Edwards.
x X
With Fitzgerald out of the running,
it locks as though Ely may win the
nomination. Ely is an out-Stater--
not a member of the Boston democracy.
He is a Yankee" too. and not one of
the Irish-American Democrats of the
Old Bay State. The fact that Ely
may now win the gubernatorial nominal
ton is complicating the senatorial race
for the Democrats
1t has been strongly urged by many
of the Democrats that the party not
nominate an "all-green" ticket, with
the gubernatorial and senatorial noml-
nees both Irish Americans. When II
appeared that Fitzgerald would be the
nominee for Governor, the argument
was advanced that Marcus A. Coolidge
of Fitchburg, Yankee" should be
nominated for the Senate, thus balanc-
ing the ticket. If Ely is named for
Governor now. are the Democrats to put
another Yankee and nom BoStonian at
the head of the ticket in the person of
Marcus A. Coolidge? With Ely and
Coolidge holding the key positions en-
the ticket. Boston and the Irish
American democracy of the State would
be without representation.
The primary in Massachusetts comes
off tomorrow The campaign has been
bitterly fought both en- the Republican
and Democratic side. The Republicans
are going to renominate Gov Allen
without much difficulty. But the race
for the senat orial nomination has been
heated, to say the least, with William
M. Butler running as dry and Eben S.
Draper standing en- a wet platform, and
Andrew J. "Bossy" ellis, mayor of
Newburyport, providing the comedy.
Butler looks to be winner. There are
believed to be more dry Republicans in
Massachusetts, than wet.
X X
The Democrats insist they have
wonderful chance to win in MaSsa-
chusetts this year, because of the in
dustrial depression and because of the
liquor issue, with the Republicans. for
the most part, taking the dry side of
the question. If they lose, it will be
largely their own fault. and because
Of the desire of the Boston democracy
to gobble up all the high offices. Sen
ator David J. Walsh has warned his
party colleagues that winning elections
in Massachusetts, over the Republicans
is no easy matter. Senator Walsh is
right. The idea that the Democrats
can nominate ANY one" for the SEN
ate or Governor this year and win, held
by some of the local leaders, may get
them into trouble. Senator Walsh has
been able to win, not because he gets
all the Democratic votes, but because
he receives the votes of many indie
pendents and Republicans, and good
bit of the so-called high brow" vote
Al Smith had much of the same sup
port two years ago in Massachusetts
that goes to Walsh, but he carried the
State by only some $4,000 votes.
X =
Wisconsin tomorrow stages one of
the most interesting primary elections
of the year. Young Phil" La Toilette
is matched with Gov. Kohler, the bath
tub king, for the Republican nominal
ton for Governor. 1t is a desperate
gressive wing of the G.. o. p and the
"stalwarts," as the regular Republicans
are called in the Badger State. If Phil
La Toilette loses. it will be the first
time a La Toilette has been defeated at
the polls in Wisconsin in more than
quarter of century. He is the son Of
the late Senator Robert NJ. La Toilette
and brother of the present Senator
phil La Toilette is little more than
so years old. His candidacy for Gov
ernor this year is a desperate eXpedient
,Il l.
back the control of the State House in
Madison Since the death of the late
Senator La Toilette and the election of
John Blaine to the Senate the progress
SiVeS have not been able to win the
governorship, although they have twice
tried it. If the younger La Toilette
wins the Republican nomination he is
sure of election in November
If he wins, the La Toilette progressives
will be strongly in the ascendancy again.
If he lcses, the progressive organiza-
ton will be left weaker than it has been
in the past. The regular Republicans
are making strong effort to re-elect
Gov. Kohler. They hope by so doing to
further weaken the grip of the progress
sives on control of the Republican party
and the State machine in Wisconsin.
X X X
The drive to nominate Franklin d.
Roosevelt, Governor of New York, for
the presidency in 1882 is definitely on
And just as definitely the attempt of
the Southern democracy to prevent the
of the wet Mr.. Roosevelt
has been launched, with Senator Joe"
Robinson of Arkansas as the probable
selection of the Southern dry Demo-
Gratis as the man to head off the New
York Governor. The New York Times
has undertaken to poll the members of
the Democratic National Committee all