The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1936-10-08


take about that. If they are only
about half wrong. the election is
close. In fact, any substantial move
ment of the negro vote one way or
the other will throw the election.
For instance, Harlem has been
pretty thoroughly Tammanyized.
The Black Belt in Chicago, which
used to send Oscar de Priest to con-
gress, now sends a Democratic ne
gro to the house. The big negro
wards in Philadelphia, where once
the Wares held sway, are now in
Democratic hands. The same holds
true of Pittsburgh, and Cleveland,
and indianapolis. And in New Jer-
sey.
So that the string of northeastern
states, virtually all of which Landon
must carry to have chance to be
elected, depend on the vote OF the
colored brother and his missus in
November, whether they bite the
hand that's been giving them more
recognition than they have had UNI
der any President since William Nc
Kinley or whether they are un-
faithful to the memory of Abraham
Lincoln.
See Their Danger
The Republicans are no unmind-
full Of their danger. They are doing
their utmost in number of ways to
| get the negroes back into the fold.
But the Democrats are overlooking
no bets either. Some remarkable
stories are leaking out as to offers
made to negroes known to be in
f1uential with their race.
Nor is it as easy to play fast and
| loose with the negro vote as people
who have never gone into the sub
ject imagine. In the first place, it
is unthinkable in handling the negro
vote to do something, say in New
York, and do precisely the opposite
in California, figuring that the ne
groes in New York will no, know
about the California maneuvers, and
that the California colored voters
will be ignorant of what is being
done in New York.
Not only is there a curious free
masonry among the negroes, but
! there is a curious Wirelessing of
news across the country, as potent
and speedy as the war drums that
convey the word in African jungles.
Nine-tenths of the negroes in the
country know all about certain
development in a remote town with
in few days, though it may have
been virtually ignored by most of
the press of the country.
Then, too, there are the negro
newspapers, many Of which have
wide circulation-wide more in
thu sense of territory covered than
in actual size of circulation. Most
white people have never seen one.
The average white person does not
even see the one printed in his own
city. Few Chicagoans with whom
this writer has talked even knew
there was one printed in their city,
which not only has big circulation
there, but which the writer has seer
in the hands of negroes as far from
Chicago as Denver and Memphis.
Both parties, incidentally, have
been doing their best to cajole the
| fifty odd key men in the negro news
paper publishing field.
Lodge to Win
Election OF Henry Cabot Lodge,
Jr., to the United States senate tc
occupy the seat held down until his
death by his grandfather, who LED
the fight which kept the United
States out of the League of Nations
seems assured by returns from the
Massachusetts primary.
When only half of the returns were
in Robert E. Greenwood, mayor Of
Fitchburg, had piled up SO, 900 votes
running in the Democratic primary
against Governor James M. Curley
1t is reasonable assumption, tt
all familiar with the peculiarities o.
Massachusetts politics, that nearly
every man and woman who vote6
for Greenwood will take walk, as
far as his party's senatorial candi
date is concerned
The interesting point is that no
body thought Greenwood had the
slightest chance of winning the sena
torial nomination, least of all Green
wood Nor did he waste any of hi.
time during a very vigorous cam
paign trying to tell the Bay state
voters what a good senator he would
make if they would send him Il
Washington. He devoted all his at
tention to telling them just what h,
thought--to the best of his ability
considering legal Handicapped jim
Curley.
So that vote for Greenwood wa
not really vote for Greenwood
it was a vote against Curley. Ant
the theory is that nobody VIII,
thought so badly Of Curley as t,
vote for Greenwood would think 0
voting for Curley in Novembe
against young Lodge.
The roots Of the situation. 60 bacI
long way, but Greenwood entered
the Democratic senatorial primar,
simply and solely to blast Curley
|, | and not with the slightest idea n