Evening star., 1932-08-22
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS

The Maine election on September IL
will be eagerly watched and, in &C
cordance with time e-honored custom
and tradition, the Maine vote will be
hailed as foretaSte of what the fates
have in store on November |. The
"hailing" will be done by the Repub-
licans, if the Republican plurality Is
as large as ever, and by the Demo-
Gratis if the latter register gains over
1923. Because of its accepted sig
nificance as political barometer, and
because in population and area it lends
itself well to intensive campaigning.
inch of the ground. This year is no
exception. The oratorical artillery of
the highest caliber is already unlim-
bering and going into action there.
In 1928 the Republicans piled up the
largest plurality in Maine in the history
OF the State: Hoover, $4,000; Smith,
81 900. 1t was a real Republican land
slide, plurality of almost 100000. In
the Coolidge year OF 1924 the story
was the same Coolidge, $4,000;
Davis. 41,0OO. with La Toilette, 1000.
In 1920 Hardings plurality was little
short of 10000. In 1916, when Wilson
defeated Hughes, the Maine vote was
Republican, $1,000; Democratic, $4,000.
was PAAOA W giving tAAC
to women, hence the smaller totals.
II Mr.. Hoover carries Maine this year
by less than $4,000 the Democrats will
jubilate.
Customarily the acceptance address Of
vice presidential nominee does not
matter. Mr.. Garner, for instance this
year has dispensed with the formality.
But Vice President Curtis acceptance
speech, besides attaining wide publicity,
has clearly served a useful purpose. 1t
has demonstrated the universally of
the Republican liquor plank. The plank
static affair. Mr.. Hoover in his own
acceptance speech has headed 1t in one
direction Mr.. Curtis has done no less,
but headed it in the opposite direction.
| They are both standing on the same
platform. and the platform supports
them equally. An irreverent Capital
wisecracker calls the plank Mr.. Hoover s
"three-point prohibition plan" for sub
mission-for revision and for retention
of the eighteenth amendment. Mr..
Curtis, faithful Kansan that he Is,
ardently believes in temperance by law.
With him prohibition has never been
an experiment. noble or otherwise. 1t
is the greatest moral achievement Of
| wants it preserved intact.
%* xx
More than half million dollars has
been spent by one organization in pro-
noting the development of the Great
Lakes-St. Lawrence seaway, which has
just now finally reached the treaty
stage after two decades of agitation.
For more than ii years Charles p.
Craig of Duluth, as executive director
of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Tide
water Association, has been camped in
Washington agitating the construction
Of this navigation and power project,
while such proponents as former Gov.
w. p. G. Harding of Iowa and former
i Senator Henry j. Allen of Kansas have
been campaigning through the country.
The funds for the associations work
come from appropriations by State
Legislatures. Twenty-three of the forty
eight States of the Union are now listed
| as association members, though only
seven States actually contribute to the
expenses. No contributions from private
sources are accepted. No public reports
have been issued since 1926 of the as
! sociation's receipts and expenditures.
%Nx
Currently reporting on the status Of