The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 3, 1920, Page 5

- of the most prominent Republican can- ‘a farm equipped with billiard rooms, Our Next President—Who Will He Be? The Candidates, Who They Are and What Is Likely to Happen at the e Big National Conventions This Summer BY JOHN AMES n]HO will be the next president of the United States? Will he be a Repub- lican or a Democrat, or a candidate of the new Labor party, or of the _Committee of Forty-eight? Will ke be a military man, a business man, a farmer, or just one of the common or garden variety of politicians? None of these questions can be settled definitely until next November, but events are shaping them- selves so that some pretty shrewd guesses may be made. It has been acknowledged by virtually every one for more than a year past that the Republican par- ty, other things being equal, will have the best chance of winning in the 1920 elections. The Re- publican party normally is stronger than the Dem- ocratic party; in addition to this normal lead the DPemocrats have been in office nearly eight years now and the public is inclined to blame almost ev- erything that has gone wrong upon them and for- get that things were quite as bad under the Re- publican administration prior to 1912. Republican machine leaders, in view of the easy victory that seemed just ahead, have repeatedly said that “al- most any Republican” could win this year. This idea explains some of the candidates who have brought them- selves forward, hoping that the Repub- lican label will be enough to insure their election. Let us look over the list didates for a moment: General Wood evidently has the back- ing of a syndicate of financiers. It is estimated by men who should know that his pre-convention campaign ex- penses will amount to millions. Wood has been asked to state how much mon- ey he is spending and who has furnish- ed it and has refused. He is a strong advocate of compulsory military train- ing and usihg this army to suppress forcibly any men that he regards as “agitators.” “Ship or shoot” were the words he was quoted as using at Gary, in referring to the treatment that should be accorded foreign-born labor “agitators” there. 2 LOWDEN REDUCED PULLMAN TAXES Governor Lowden of Illinois, a cor- poration lawyer, is connected by mar- riage with the Pullman family, owners and operators of Pullman ears through- out the country. As governor of Il- linois he appointed tax officials who re- duced the Pullman company taxes $3,- 000,000. Lowden, for political purposes, . holds himself out as a farmer, owning swimming tanks and other accessories to the average millionaires’ club. ~ - Herbert Hoover, former food admin- istrator, has the backing of a number of magazines of national circulation. Hoover proved himself a man of administrativeability during the war. Since the ar- mistice he has shown enough independence to pro- test mildly against some of the provisions of the peace treaty and attempts to replace monarchy in Europe. Farmers have reason to feel that Hoover was too much surrounded by representatives of big business during the war. Grain growers suffered severe losses through the fixed price for wheat being put lower than the market level and hog raisers suffered even greater losses by failure of the food administration to keep hog prices at the level promised. Hoover is opposed to public own- ership, but along other lines is somewhat more liberal than Wood or Lowden. § _Senator Johnson of California had a good record as governor of California. He is a leader of the “irreconcilables” in the senate, opposing both the peace treaty and the league of nations. His course in this respect has won him both praise and cen- sure. Apparently Johnson will have a big support from the voters in the West. He carried Michigan possible “dark horse.” %an" and Nebraska by an overwhelming vote and won in the Republican primaries in St. Paul and Minneap- olis, in spite of which the Burnquist-Lindquist ma- chine of Minnesota selected Wood delegates to the national convention. It was so certain that John- son would carry North Dakota that all other candi- dates withdrew from the race. Senator Harding of Ohio has a long record in congress and is more reactionary than even Wood and Lowden. He is the man that the Republican bosses probably would like, most of all, to see as the next president. But Harding has been losing ground rapidly of late. The five candidates just named are most in the public eye at the present. As it looks now, no one of them will have a majority of the delegates at the Republican national convention. Wood possibly will have more delegates than any other one can- didate. Faced with this situation it is quite pos- sible that the Republican bosses will bring out at the last minute some other candidate. Governor Sproul of Pennsylvania has been mentioned as a Sproul is a creature of l The Worker—“T’ll Look Around Before I Decide” ] REPLBLICH CARTY Cou.a:z' =S —Drawn expressly; for the Leader by W. C. Morris. . Senator Penrose of Pennsylvania and Penrose prob- ably will have more political power than any other one man at the Republican national convention. Charles E. Hughes and former President Taft are both outside possibilities in case of a deadlock, but Hughes, like Senator Johnson, is mow regarded as too “radical” by the Republican bosses, since he has protested against the exclusion of Socialists from the New York legislature. General Pershing or Governor Coolidge of Massachusetts are more likely “dark horse” selections in case of a deadlock. Suppose the Republican convention should nom- inate a man like Wood or Lowden—would the peo- ple elect him? In the case of Wood, especially, it would mean the conversion of the United States into an armed camp. In the case of either it would be putting a direct representative of intrenched wealth in the White House. ; It is safe to say that in case either Wood or Lowden or any man like either of them should be nominated by the Republicans hundreds of thou- sands of farmers in the West and hundreds of thousands of wage-workers in the East would vote PAGE FIVE for the Democratic candidate in an effort to see that the Republican should not be elected. This makes it necessary to look over the Democratic candidates. Attorney General Palmer attracted attention by his duties during the war as alien property custo- dian. As attorney general he promised to reduce the cost of living. Instead of prosecuting prof- iteers, however, he has devoted himself to prosecu- tion of labor leaders, taking sides Wwith the coal mine owners against the miners, while the cost of living has gone up steadily. BRYAN MAY BE BIG FORCE IN DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION Governor Edwards of New Jersey apparently has Jjust one plank in his platform, this being to make the country “wet” again in spite of the adoption of the federal constitutional amendment. William G. McAdoo, son-in-iaw of President Wil- son and former member of the cabinet and director of railways, is not yet an active candidate. He is a man of large wealth, gained principally in his financial endeavors, but while he was in charge of the railways labor was . treated more fairly than under private ownership and a partial effort, at least, seemed to be made to operate the roads for the benefit of the public. Herbert Hoover has many friends in Democratic ranks, though his recently expressed preference for the Republi- can party may prevent him from being considered seriously by the Democrats. Senator Owen of Oklahoma has. a generally progressive record. He is a large landowner, but his tenants appear to be rather better treated than the average in the South, although this is not saying much. Owen has contribut- ed from his ample means for the sup- port of various progressive organiza- tions working for the initiative, refer- endum, recall and similar reforms. Secretary Meredith, head of the agri- cultural department in President Wil- son’s cabinet, is considered as a possible candidate by some. Meredith’s alliances in the past have been with big business rather than with the farmers, who are still watching to see what he will do as secretary of agriculture. Governor Cox of Ohio, like Edwards or New Jersey, gets his principal sup- port from the “wet” element, but has a wider acquaintance than Edwards. Apparently the majority of the Dem- cratic delegates will be uninstructed. It takes a two-thirds vote to nominate in the Democratic national convention. No candidate yet is sure of anything like enough delegates to be nominat- ed. Under these circumstances Wil- liam Jennings Bryan will have .con- siderable to say about who the nominee will be. Bryan probably will not be a candidate himself, but under the two-thirds rule it is hardly likely that a man to whom Bryan is strongly opposed can be selected. Bryan in recent speeches has been declaring flatly for public ownership. He is strongly opposed, of course, to a militaristic candidate or a “wet” can- didate. If Bryan has his way the Demoecratic can- didate will be considerably more progressive than the Republican candidate. But there will be some other parties in the con- test this November. The Socialist party strength decreased sharply during the war, but the recent expulsion of Socialists by congress and the New York assembly, Socialist leaders believe, will re- sult in many thousands of independent voters cast- ing their ballots for Socialist candidates this fall as a measure of protest. In New York state it is proposed now, however, to bar the Socialist party from the ballot, and New York’s lead may be fol- lowed by other states. In any event, but especially if the Socialists are barred from the ballot, the new Labor party may expect a considerable vote this fall. The name of Continued on page 13)