Evening star., 1932-04-10

days for the Democrats. Al
Washington they will, in an
Il old-time Southern phrase, put
on the big pot and the little
pot" for Jefferson day dinner and in
scores of cities and towns throughout
the country similar celebrations will
beat the Democratic tocsin. If these
Jefferson dinners next week are any,
thing like the Jackson day ones in
January. they will be everywhere
largely attended.
Most of the party's important leaders
will attend the one in Washington
Gov. Roosevelt has just intimated he
may not be able to come. but in any
event he will probably attend the one
at st. Paul, Mimi, the following Mon
day
Any one who travels about the coun-
try inquiring for signs of the political
times is told by local Democratic lead
ers, as one of the evidences of Demo-
cratic hope and enthusism, that party
dinners, such as the late Jackson day
ones and the coming jefferson day
ones bring out large crowds-in nor
NAL times members of both parties take
little interest in political dinners show
a preference for the movies over politi-
cal oratory, even when the eloquence
is accompanied by meal. Democratic
leaders everywhere regard the large
attendance at current party dinners as
one of the chief of their several rea-
sons for cheer-though the humorous
or the cynical will sometimes suggest
that as to small local dinners, in many
cases most of the tickets are paid for
by the leaders and given oft on a
guest basis to those who come; a cost
less meal, these days may be an in
ducement to endure political oratory.
Cautious leaders say also, in complete
seriousness, that those who attend
party dinners are in almost all cases
the local workers rather than the gen.
eral public.
That the local workers, who hope
for the post Office and other perqui-
sites and stipends, are genuinely en-
thusiastic with the hope Of Demo-
cratic victory this year goes without
saying. 1t remains to be proved that
the voting public as whole is as yet
sufficiently impregnated with favor for
Democratic doctrines, or approval of
the record the Democrats are making,
to justify the Democratic leaders hope
for victory in November.
Biggest Guns to Boom.
At the jefferson day dinner in
Washington, most of the party's biggest
guns will boom, including Gov Franklin
Roosevelt of New York, eX-Gov. Alfred
z. Smith and Newton D. Baker of Ohio,
ex-member of Woodrow Wilson's cabi-
net-at once the party's best mind
in an exalted sense, and its most elo-
quent speaker likewise in an exalted
sense The possession of large num-
Der of such men, additional to whom
ever the party nominates for President.
Is distinctly a Democratic asset in the
coming campaign. Relatively, the Re-
publicans are poor in equipment with
such artillery of eloquence and reason.
Political oratory in the good sense is
not passe, has lost none of its effective
ness. The best one man the Republic
ans have had almost continuously their
best campaign speaker for Is years, is
Charles E. Hughes. This year Mr..
Hughes, being Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court, will be silent. Mr. Hughes
has been the best one speaking asset
the Republicans have had in the presi-
Dental campaigns of 1928, in 1924 and
1920. As far back as the presidential
campaign of 1908, a single speech by
Mr.. Hughes was alone enough to de-
molish the Democratic candidate in
that year, William Jennings Bryan.
One who sat with Bryan in Pullman
car the morning after that speech of
Hughes, saw the Commoner read the
newspaper account of Hughes speech,
saw him turn pale at Hughes demoh-
ton of the Bryan argument about big
business, saw him crumple up, emo
tionally and intellectually From that
day on Bryan in the 1903 campaign
was ineffective.
The Republicans in the coming cam
paign will not have Hughes. Had Presi-
dent Hoover been politically shrewd and
personally ruthless, had he preferred
his own fortunes over the motive of
putting. the very best man on the Su-
preme Court bench, he might have
avoided putting Mr.. Hughes on the
court and kept him available for the
1882 campaign The Republicans have
no Hughes for this campaign, and very
few approximations of Hughes, unless
It be Borah.
Democrats Have No Hughes.
The Democrats have no Hughes
either, but they have a considerable
battery OF men able to convince the
discriminating, OF 70 move the. crowd
or TO command large personal follow
ingS, including that one of the follow
ing list who may be the candidate for
President. The Democrats have: Three
former candidates for President, James
M Cox Of 1920, Jown W. Davis of 1924
Alfred E. Smith of 1923; three former
members of Woodrow wilson's cabinet,
each in his own way highly effective
and commanding personal followingS:
Ex-Secretary of War Newton D. Baker,
ex-Secretary of the Navy JoSephus
Daniels, eX-Secretary of the Treasury
William G. McAdoo; three Governors,
Franklin Roosevelt of New York Albert
G. Ritchie Of Maryland, Wilbur L. Cross
OF Connecticut: three leaders of the
party in the House. Speaker John N
Garner, Charles R. Crisp Ga bigger
asset to the Democrats for the present,
at least. than Speaker Garner, Henry
T. Rainey; several Senators, including
Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas,
Thomas j. Walsh of Montana, ex-Sen-
ator Jim" Reed of Missouri, ex-Gov.
Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, several busi-
ness leaders, business leader who is
a Democrat and who knows how to
handle himself right can have much
weight in the coming campaign.
Democrats in this category include
Owen D. Young and the Chicago bank
er, Melvin Traylor
Ex-Gov. Smith of New York, in spite
of the fact that not all his friends are
willing to follow him in his present
curiously divided participation in the
race for the Democratic presidential
nomination, will be able, by his person
ality and by his speeches, to deliver a
larger number of voters TO the Demo-
cratic candidate than any other one
man. Incidentally there is in this a
fact having potent bearing on whether
Roosevelt will or will not be given the
Democratic nomination If Roosevelt
Should be the nominee, would not Smith
be handicapped in making campaign
speeches for him, considering that a
good deal Of the public has come to feel
that Smith does not have a favorable
judgment about Roosevelt as a candi-
date? This odd condition will weigh
something in the coming Democratic
National Convention The delegates
and leaders will prefer, if possible and
expedient 10 name a man for whom
Smith can campaign whole e-heartedly
% whom Smith can deliver the whole
Df his very largo Y1arcopa1 fnllOuyinp