Evening star., 1932-06-22
CHICAGO OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC HILLIAM VILE.

most as an eventual heir to Roosevelt
strength. Newton D. Baker-with
Owen D. Young irrevocably out of the
picture-holds high favor with the
Smith group.
Things may liven up and loosen up
when the Democratic clans are gath
cred, but to date 1t must be recorded
that Chicago, as a convention city, has
been amazingly and incredibly dry
Let 1t not be supposed that no
corks are popping at all. But let
it be chronicled to the citys eternal
credit that drunkenness is conspicuous
by its absence, liquor all but pub
licly invisible, and the whole atmosphere
Of the town one of utter scbriety. Con-
sidering that Chicago politically and
habitually is one of ths Wettest spots in
tie country, and popular sentiment here
is Overwhelmingly prohibition con-
ditions strike most cunventionists as
bordering on the phenomenal Perhaps
old man depression has got in his work
in this direction too. He is held re-
sponsible for almost everything abnormal
nowadays.
From Waterloo, Iowa. the Tribune
has a communication which suggests
that if Henry Field succeeds Smith w.
BroOkhart in the Senate it may be a
case of jumping from the frying pan
into the fire. The nomination Of
Field" writes the Tribune's correspond
ent, was keen disappointment to the
interests that organized the campaign
to defeat Brookhart. For radicalism.
Henry Field is out in front of Senator
Brookhart, and he has Endorsed even
more of the radical legislation proposed
or pending in Congress than Brookhart
did. The very crowd that put Henry
Field into the campaign cannot con-
sistently support him next November.
and it is an even bet that Murphy, the
Democratic candidate, will show up the
winner at election time"
Demands for tickets to the Democratic
convention outstrip the requests for
Republican pasteboards more than two
to one. The explanation, of course, is
that next weeks events will bristle with
scraps from the word Co. The tip is
out that the Democrats will squander
all their energy on the presidential
nomination flsticuffs. The row over the
prohibition plank Is to be settled in the
Resolutions Committee, which buckles
down to work tomorrow. No minority
iEHUtt, SuCli - tAiC~ llie ". 3. CUll-
vention into a row, is expected.
Jack Gamers declaration in favor of
repeating the eighteenth amendment is
sensation No. for the Democratic con-
ventipn. Many interpretations are
placed upon the Speakers action. One
of the commonest is that it Is a move
toward an anti-RooSevelt alliance with
Smith.
American politics has produced
shreWder fighters than John ]. Ras-
kob, but never a more modest and re-
firing one than the Democratic national
chairman. A pompus politician would
utilize his waning hours of glory for
personal aggrandizement and fade from
the picture in blaze of ballyheo. Ras-
keb submerged himself from the mo-
ment of his arrival in Chicago yester-
day, stunning interviews, radio talks
cameras and everything else capable Of
dragging him from the ohscurity which.
he says, most becomes him. When he
has finished the task of formally de-
claring the Democratic convention as
sembled on June 81 Raskob will take a
long but fond adieu from politics. HIS
friends declare that he has thoroughly
enjoyed his expensive experience.
Copyright. 1892