The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, April 21, 1919, Page 4

- Strategy of the Special Interests for 1920 Favorite Sons Advanced in Many States to Pave Way for ““Dark Horse” —Attempts to* Discredit Progressives in Both Parties BY E. B. FUSSELL .]F POLITICAL writers on ‘news- papers and magazines were to be believed there is a hot cam- paign on already for president of the United States. But in this case, as in numerous others, the newspapers and magazines in question are not to be be- lieved. All political signs point to the conclusion that the “contest” between dif- ferent candidates that have been mentioned thus far is a fake. The “contest” has been carefully arranged to give the people of the United States something to interest them, some excitement, some- thing to have torchlight parades over and to write to the newspapers about—and to take the people’s attention away from other things. This is not to say that the political “leaders” and the interests that they represent are not anxious about who will be the next president. They are vitally interested but they are not . fighting their battles in the newspapers and magazines. They are working under cover to find the most available “safe and sane” candi- date that can be discovered, in an effort to lead the nation back to the good old Mark Hanna days of high tariff, big trusts, enormous prof- its and Cannonism. There are three things that must be done to in- sure control of the United States by a thoroughly reactionary national adminis- tration. %t One is to secure control of cBngress. Jim Mann and Joe Cannon already have assured this, as has been told previous- 1y in the Leader. The second step is to pre-: vent any one man from getting enough attention from the pub- lic so that he is likely to be forced on the Republican na- tional convention as a popular candidate. The third step is to discredit all progressives and radicals ‘already in office who might con- ceivably become candidates for president. REPUBLICANS ADVANCE MANY CANDIDATES The second step in the plan to get full control of congress and the White House is being worked at the present time by encouraging a multiplicity of candidates. When Will Hays, Republican national chairman, was in the Twin Cities recent- ly, he lauded United States Senator Frank B. Kellogg of Minnesota to the skies. Or- dinary language was not good encugh to tell - what Hays thought of Kellogg. He had to go outside the dictionary to praise Kellogg as the “su- premest statesman” of the world. Immediately a small- sized “boom” for Kellogg for president was launched in Min- nesota. To encourage Kellogg’s pres- idential ambitions Hays had to pour cold water upon the am- bitions of Governor J. A. A. Burnquist to be vice president, but Burnquist was recognized as a liability to the party anyhow, instead of an asset. In fact, Hays’ visit to Minnesota was largely for the purpose of trying to fix up the unfortunate situation that had been created by-Burnquist’s studied unfriendliness to organized farmers and organized labor. But it must not be imagined that Chairman Will Hays, when he gets to Chicago, for instance, will continue to boost Kellogg as the “supremest states- man.” In Chicago Mr. Hays is more likely to praise Governor Lowden as the “gloriousest governor,” for Mr. Lowden also has presidential ambitions which must be encouraged. Also Senator Poindex- foreign rule. ‘state a dele-’ gle for independence necessary. The plotters for the special interests never-sleep. They are always planning how, with their small minority and their control of business and the press, they can: thwart the will and the in- terests of the great majority. The peo- ple, on the other hand, can not engage in intrigue. Their cards must always be on the table where the plotters see them, while the politicians who do the maneuvering for the big interests keep -theirs carefully concealed. The story ofl this page reveals some of the big strategy the special-interest politicians are now working on to deceive and de- feat the common people again in 1920. ter in Wash- tor Borah in “ Jimmie ” New York, in Massachu- and many oth- encouraged to they are presi- with the hope ington, Sena- Idaho, Senator Wadsworth in Senator Lodge setts—all these ers are to be believe that dential timber, that in each gation will be —Copyright by Harris & Ewing. The Lafayette monument—one of the beauty spots at our national capital. It commemorates the great services of Lafayette and other Frenchmen in our struggle for freedom from Foreign rule.has no longer-any danger for us, but we are in the grip of autocracy from within which reduces the prosperity of the people and again makes a strug- The new monuments of the future will com- memorate the victory over special privilege yet to be achieved. elected to the national convention pledged to its “favorite son.” By this method the Republican convention of 1920 will be so divided that it will be impossible for any candidate to get anywhere near a majority. After a number of ballots have been taken, and the convention is seen to be hopelessly dead- locked, the “leaders” will come in with a com- promise candidate, someone-“safe and sane,” thoroughly satisfactory to the interests—and not too well known to the general public. With . the convention “stampeded”—in enthusiasm by well-paid enthusiasts—for this dark horse he PAGE FOUR : will be nominated. The big interests will loosen their purse strings to an even greater extent than they did for Mark Hanna in 1896 and there will be another “prosperity and full dinner pail” campaign. This is what the Republican leaders tried to do in 1916. They wanted then to divide up the dele- gates as far as possible and after a deadlock put in Senator Weeks of Massachusetts as their presi- dential candidate. But Hughes got too much' sup- port and delegates were afraid that if they nomi- - nated such a notorious reactionary as Weeks the Progressive party might put a candidate in the field, in spite of the promise of George W. Perkins of the steel trust that the bull mbosers would abandon their organization. . BOTH PERSHING AND WOOD ARE TALKED OF There are just two ‘“candidates” on the Repub- lican side, thus far mentioned, who are not in the favorite son class. These are General Pershing and General Wood. Neither has a chance because the two men neutralize each other. Wood is “sore” at Pershing because Wood was sent back from Europe on the ground that he was a misfit. So Wood’s friends would not support Pershing and Wood has been so open in showing his animosity that Per- shing’s friends probably would not support Wood. Former Senator Dick of Ohio is trying to nurse Pershing’s presidential boom. Dick is an old re- actionary, thoroughly discred- ited politically in his home state. There is nothing to show that General Pershing has appointed Dick as his po- litical guardian; on the other hand, the general has never re- pudiated him. Dick is sending out some amusing letters boosting Pershing. As Per- shing is in France and is say- ing nothing about politics Dick takes it upon himself to tell everybody exactly what Per- shing stands for and believes in. : Dick sent a letter to a cer- tain Republican state chairman of progressive leanings, asking support for Pershing. The state chairman in question wrote back, declining to com- ment on the general’s fitness for president but telling the kind of a president that the writer wanted to see. He want- ed a president who would put manhood above money, who would stand for public owner- ship of utilities and natural . resources, who would not try to saddle the United States with a system of German mil- itarism. ' “That’s exactly what Per- shing stands for,” Dick wrote back. On the other hand, Per- shing has been represented to the old-line Republicans as in favor of high tariff, compul- sory military training and a free field for “business.” One thing that promises to put an end to the candidacies of both Pershing and Wood is the attitude of the soldiers, who will be a big factor in the . next presidential election. Per- shing, for some reason, does not seem to be a pop- ular idol with the returned privates. And in spite of the widely reported straw vote taken by soldiers at Camp Devens, in which the men (who were still under military discipline) voted in favor of com- pulsory military training, the vast majority inter- viewed by the writer apparently are against any form of conscription or enforced® service in time of peace. Especially is this true in regard to the men who actually saw fighting overseas : If the plan of getting a lot of candidates to peutralize each other succeeds—and it is succeed- ing so far—there is just one thing more for Re-