Show WAS N LUTE I 7 I REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS NS TRAIl FEAR AL AI SMITH s MOKE MORI THAN ANY OTHER DEMOCRAT DE T By Dy RODNEY DUTCHER NEA T. Service Writer WASHINGTON Oct 18 The IS-The The lead- lead leadIng leadIng leading Ing Republican politicians are arc more afraid of or AI Al Smith than of any Democrat Time was when e the t Impartial I an t wondered der how w much uc of that repeated oft-repeated assertion could be traced I to Smith It propaganda But because b of the way a the Republicans bl S them them- themselves themselves selves have ha acted its it's hard to doubt I Ie it any more r Privately some of oC them e admit d it t. t I They appear to have ha been figur figur- figuring trig ing In on Smiths Smith's nomination for a long longtime longtime time back They hope the Demo Demo- Democrats Democrats Democrats will tear each other to a frazzle before they name hIm lUm but they dont don't see how the nomination can bo ho Kept from him in the end and they be- be believe here lieve that Smith will give ghe them a ahard ahard ahard hard campaign in which they will win by no great grea margin at best besL There Is of ot course soe so-e difference of opinion among the G. G O. O P. P I Theres There's some among the Democratic pals too but in liv his own party per per- perhaps perhaps perhaps haps a majority of those who publicly I Smith believe belle that he hc has the best chance of election The sincerest drys diss deny this but it cant can't be helped The fact that Smith is the pasty's strongest candidate for nomination non may be and doubtless Uess is Is-a Is a peculiar commentary on the party parly its leaders the tho Ameri Amen American AmerIcan can cais political system and the intelligence intelli Intelli- Intelligence gence of the electorate but hut that's no consolation to the Smith anti crowd Smiths Smith's great weakness from any altruistically Intelligent point of view is tho the fact that he has never ex ex- expressed expressed pressed himself upon any broad na na- national na- na or international issue save cave the prohibition question qu But Dut from the standpoint of ot tho the professional politic politic- politicIans politicians ians there lies his greatest strength ills His only opposition comes from the drys and tho the religiously rell intolerant The weakness of Jim Reed from the nomination standpoint lies 1183 in the fact that he has tackled the national Issues Issue so and made him hIm- himself himself self so EO many enemies He Ste has made the drys hate hale him worse than they hate Smith he Iso Incurred the absolute loathing of loyal Wilson men and he excited the enmity of the farmers by his farm anti-farm relief speeches just to mention a a. few few things If It It were not for these factors Reed might now v be a II stronger can can- candidate candidate for Cor nomination than Smith If It your correspondent were the Re He- Re- Re Republican publican candidate candIdate and and probably the reader agrees with him him him-he he would Infinitely rather campaign against Smith than a human hitman bolt of or lightning like the ted red hot Senator Reed And It may be that many Republicans are arc thankful that it looks more like Smith Sn lh than It looks like Reed But Dut there will be bo no hallelujahs from them in either event The Republicans will nominate someone who has few enemies If the Democratic party were ere like the G. G G a O. O P P. it would do likewise as in and 1924 But unless it desires to be bogged worse titan than over ever it must nominate a man with popular appeal over o a wide area If Reed hadn't made himself so many enemies he v. be tatter better off Or Or to put It in another way if Smith had made as many enemies as Reed has he would be sunk sun Tho rho logic of or the Smith candidacy and the Republican realization of ot it tics ties up with the recent somewhat rash utterances of Theodore Roosevelt noose before the Republicans Rt of oC New York state Roosevelt ROOe said that Tammany Hall hail Hallwas was corrupt and that Smith was a bad eg egg because use he was supported by Tammany Doubtless Tammany is corrupt and so 60 arc are the political machines of Philadelphia and various other large larce cities clues but that had cry very little to do with the Iho case because no president Republican or Democrat has ever er been elected without the aid old of ot some of or them Republicans promptly admitted that young Teddy's Smith anti speech was as for Cor distribution and Democratic con con- consumption coit- coit In the south and west In other words it was to make the go go- go going goIng ing harder for Smith and to increase dissension diMension within v the Democratic party The older lenders leaders here seemed to agree that the speech wasn't smart politics It certainly couldn't make Smith anti men liven out of Smith pro pro Sn th men On the other hand it might cause those on the fence lenee to that the other party larty WAS WIS afraid of Smith It la the Republican game to I stir up all aU the strife possible among the Democrats but you cant can't really expect the Democrats to take public pu lIc instructions from young Roosevelt or any other Republican as to whom they should nominate The surest sur t way to cause a fight- fight In husband and wife to make up and present a united front is to in interfere In- In Interfere in their private quarrel Smart outsiders keep out of ot family rows Some of ot the older leaders never have been convinced that young Teddy was very ery bright They tried to dissuade him from Irom making the Rochester speech But Dut the bitter bitter- bitterness bitterness bitterness ness of men riven like Roosevelt Roose elt and Og Og- Ogden den Mills who have been defeated when they ran for governor go against Smith always ars has been profound It may be remembered that the Smith faction drove hard at McAdoo on the basis of his connection with Doheny of oC oil scandal fame lame This faction Is now in a position to point to young Roosevelt the young man who couldn't scent corruption when it was right under his nose while he was assistant secretary of the navy but who is now boldly attrib attrib- attributing attributing it to political enemies Altogether the wiser Republicans ns who deplore the likely nomination of Smith are fearing that Roosevelt came far from helping an unfortunate ate ale situation |