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Show LO 0 O COX REPLIES TO WET CHARGE A A A A A A A A AAA I COX IS TERMED ! GAME FIGHTER n AGAINST ODDS Political Writer Holds Cox jw Makes Little Headway - Against G. 0. P. Current M NEW TACTICS jN WEST , IU ivitti LMtnutwoi Many Democrats Disappointed by His Attitude on League M and Liquor A BY MARK M I LI IN CHICAGO. Sept. 11. It is now ex-LW ex-LW nctly sixty-six days since the noinl- nations ended With the naming of Cox B ..t .s in Franc le o, fi om election is fifty-three days. Uf these SLH there are not more tn..n fifty das left for effective campaigning. Vv e JH .ire, therefore, well paat the midl V- put the- campaign and it is an appropriate time to sum up wli.it has t- -i dune, as mmi well aa what is llkelj to happ n. Cox IHf lias done inost. He has been the source of the greatest activity. It vv..s fl oxpecteQ he would bi everyl M Knew that Hie campaign would shape fmn iibclf with the R' !"'' "i l"e -iVm more favorable position anil with ux - trying to take it away lroin them. Cox ' gBlsv. - epted this Ml the oifcnslve, he mm l ad no choice but Co accept In , tw ihis role lie h come up to expi f tlon i i" tun thi ral if B has of him is that of a game vo IOC R lightweight prize tighter dancing about S3 and delivering the best punches he Sn knows how against an opponent who 2 is more heavy and solid but less ac- jgg tlve an opponent who. let US also 351 say, has a more dignified conception 38 cf the proprieties ot the game 'M.I M1 I I Nil' SSI I I MLS. In this role Cox dm not qnaks any jBj Impression to speak of until almost exactly the middle, of the campaign.' The first time lie succeeded In making 3 the Republicans take notice of him Jjk In a he made his : . h t 1'itis- JV burg on campaign funds. That was jfS the first real excitement of tho cum- 'ZMj palgn 1 ' . in "li- ' 1 c l ' iS no- Nj tice him, put them on the defensive,' TH started them to talking back. During jsM tho two weeks that have Intervened we tom lave got close to the boCtom o fmm subjec. It has occupi. d the headlines 'Sm ilmost every day. The newspapers JCf both partlsun unci Independent have been at more than usual pains to print rjgjr large quantities of the testimony Ktf Whether the Republicans will ron- tfj titiuc to be as much on the defensive' :" 4,. as they wei . when Cox first delivered HJ bib blow th public will Judge I j kj pect that Cox has fallen short of maU- HQBr ing this issue "stick" as a major Issue IH of the campaign. fJm NOT 6TJRE Ol CHARGES if Cox reall: thought then was a conspiracy to "buy the presidency' if f he thought the Republicans had a, or 'a were going to have 5 1 -i. 000. 000 as he I'M iirst put. or even the S8,00Q,000 as be ',-aTI last put it if li reall) Celt sure of Slfl that, It would have been poor tactics Rf lo deliver that particular blow at this mmW lime. As good a politician as ho Is Bm would have held it back until tin- last ten days ot the campaign, if he had Hi hoped that this campaign fund sean- Hjl dal was going to be as deadly to Hard- ill ing as the pre-convention campaign .g fund scandal was lo Lowden, ho would have arranged It to break at the same relative time that the Lowden . .uiUui broke; that . to say about ton days) before the election. I think it is more likely that all Cox hoped for was to get In some I kind of a punch and i iak hia i aary take notice. He wanted to over-,. over-,. come. If only for a little while, the , ' i mendoua ground a ell n hi h every- I body kiu-w was running against the Democratic party. He wanted to change the psychology which was fa-l fa-l p tally adverse lo him. If he has suc- cieded In accomplishing any more ff 'j, than this with his campaign fund H charges. It is that much more than I Hj " exper t i d. Win I'l ANs' ( BANGED. tH Turn now to the more permanent ibvues of the campaign feH Cox had three possible Issues: One BH wus the league of nations; another was "progressivisin" Including his own rec-ord rec-ord as governor of Ohio, the third was the "wet" Issue. These threo issues he had and still baa The original Intention of his backers, of those who brought about his nomination, was lo play tho "wet' isuuo strongly. They had no stomach for the league of nallonB or for any-thing any-thing else associated with Wilson. They wero "wets" and they Intended H to mal i wet" campaign The be- llovcd that was tho only chance for the Democrats to get anywhere this year. They believed that Issue pre-H pre-H nted an opportunity to maK.- inro vis in what they used to call In terms of military strategy, "The Republican !H eastern salient" New Jersey. New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland and possibly one or two other states. REFUSED ' WET" ISS1 E. That was tho program of Cox's backers. Lut Immediately after his nciinlnatioh it was apparent thai H on Cox is Termed Game Fighter Against Odds! (Continued from Page One) was not willing to embrace the "wet" 1 issue as openly and exclusively as h Is i backers desired Whether his refusal! to ko on with the wet" program was! temporary or permanent, whether It! was principle or caution, remains tOI be seen. At Uiia writing tho 1 wet" Democrats still entertain tho hope that 1 Cox, after he finishes his western trip', and cornea into the east early In Oc-1 tuber, will adopt the 'wet" sue. The 1 dry" Democrats, on the other hand re urging him right now to repudiate tne "wet" le.-,der who helped to nominate nom-inate him. At the present writing Cox hSS not made this decision. He must make It soon In my Judgment this "wet" versus "dry Issue is going to CUl 1 large flgUrS In the Closing days "i tli mpnlgn. In any eeni. at the beginning, I 'among his three possible issues, Cox first chooses the leaRiir of nations Ho 1 visited President Wilson nt tjie White House, and that visit waa the cause of I much irritation to those backers who had got him the nomination and who thought the WCie entitled to hile something to say about the conduct of the campaign. Cox emhracM thei It tfu.' fullj To the surprise of man land the dismay 01 some, he made the' league of nations the bi rden ot hli si Iseptance speech. The first half hour 'of that speech wo dovotod wholly to tna! tOPlC, nO other topic goi nine than S fraction os as mu h emphasis TAt'f It S I I HI. f M aii the speeches Cox made during 'August were about eQuallj divided bo-j tween H e league of on Hons and pro- i gresstvlsm. That is the record up to; the time fate presented him with tho' campaign fund scandal. As I have said before, i think ihe campaign fund scandal In the I leglnnlng, at lea merel the status In i'ox'i mind of, an accidental Interlude. 1 . xiirrt to Mi i ov, on his western irip 101 the ooming month, play two Strings the league of nations and pro-j gVSSSlVlam, Both these Issues are pop- '1 in 1 in th weat, if ha r .-1 1 1 -u, 19 in "starting something" In the west With either or both of thesi- issues, he' wil stick to that hne right Up to Hoi election But 1 doubt Whether Cox will succeed In Stirring up the "est to the point of an reasonNh'e ex,, eta' tlon of currying that territory. The iiason Is thut Ihe West If suspicious of ox because of the charaotei t some of the forces which gave him his nomination. nom-ination. COX'S FUTI nt i-i s If fox . s not succeed In thi west With either the league of nations 01 progresslVism, and if the campaign fund scandal does not stick as a major Issue 1 hen 1 ixpet to s. e 1 sharp . hange of 11 rategy a o i i has completed his western trip and t.n9 li.to the east, about the first of October. Octo-ber. ff .1 Political critic may venture so much. 1 think there was one Issue on winch progress could have been made, . .... infill "llii ui- IIIUHU IIKUII1SI lll' itepunl can ground swell. Thai issue Is pr la.r.'n irism. Cox is a pfogressivi . Harding himn' t isys he is n coi at rt 1 ive. n nd tnkf-M pride In 1 he tact n rd :nr. doesn't object to being culled :i stand-patter. H.trdlng la -otin'iMitlvo ;almont to the point when. onserva-' tlnn is a religion with him. Whenever hi tpre.MOS His belief In OOnSeri atiem J he fulls Into a kind of emotlunay fer-1 V6r, llarilnifi would never divide thei progressive .-sue with fox. nor dispute ill v th hitn. Harding is iuo per oentj consersative. ,s between Harding andl og, thp issue there is no overlapping overlap-ping and no middle ground. Oh this, issue ihe two candidates are In Iharpl aim Undisputed coiitruaU LEAGUE yoi 1 r it ii 1. This was and still h tne Issue thai holds OUt irosi hops for Cox. K'ery-bodj K'ery-bodj knOWi ihnt ourlng the past year rather more tiinn a majority of the, ,eopii. have ooma to ie dubious itiout ;'ie league of nations in the form in 1 Which it now stands. Also most peo-lu pie feci oonfldent that the RepuDllo-IG .ins. 11 thsj are suooessful win joinifc or. f Rui'i of learin of n itlons . I I - I man) of us believe that the kind II lol le-ieue of hatloni whlcn fox. if hsll v.e.e elected, would be able to get the fi U 10 ratify and would lead thi 'S (Oiintty Into doen not differ much C from the kind of league the country 1 1 .viii utlmatel: enter if Harding ifij sleeted. There is a difference in the B It.iental altitude Of the two candidate! I but, speaking generally, on ih league &j of nations tne Ipiuo Is blurr d. 5 (And yet l should not eant to go I too far In mlnlmlfiii1. 1 1 1 possibility i of the league of nations becoming, e ' 4 most acute issue In this campaign wim ine suaip.-si sort ol line up un it. Certain modifications In tho Republic-I'm Republic-I'm attitude Which are Just now taking Place will have much to do With this) t u in ORD n OHIO Hut on progresslvlsm. th'.e is no overlapping and no blurring. Everybody Every-body m only gives Cos credit fof 'thoroughly progiessivo administration. When Cox oecau.e goc.nor 01 Uhlo there were more than jO.umj lawsuits In Ohio oourls iietweon etiiploye.s and I employes ovei personal Injuries, fifty thousand lawsulu betwooh two olasses I in the community cpmei close to bc- lng S kind of suppressed civil war. Today To-day Governor :'o. teip. me, ihrc are 'not five such suus. it muy llue been generally forgotten but it in significant signifi-cant fact that thi year Cos became governor of ohio. was the year, the 'doctrine of "The recall of Judicial decisions" de-cisions" arose, and the place it arose was ihe capltol of Oh'o. Columbut. j l or the disappearance of that kind 01 radical unrest, Cox's friends believe his I administration is responsible JfOT GIVEN MA, t RED 1 To be sure not all the Republicans ;.n Ohio admit that 'ox is entitled to ihe whole credit for the progressive program. In that state they Say the lentlment had been worked up for It, -that the state was ripe for It. and thot .; would have come about under an. I other man as governor. I have nexer made more than a superficial inquiry, but I am convinced that Cox Is entitled en-titled to credit as a progressive i;o -01 nor. Of dOurSe, it Is true that It would have been difficult for progressive vot- rc to oerlook some of Cox'a present 1 backers and somo of the forces that jgie him his nomination Dccauac of jthe "wet" nature of much of Cox'a ititlmata support, most of the members lol the old Progressive Verty are stickling stick-ling to Harding distasteful as Hardline Hard-line s nomination was to them. Nevei -Itiieieas, I think that Cox's beat Issue I was and still Is progresslvlsm and his own progressiva record as governor of I hio "DEMOCRATS BD MAICAGER8." Of course, any candid and thorough review of the situation niuxt conclude, that I 'ox has a discouraging uphill fight. Things have been running In ifnvor of the Republicans for more than I two years ever since the congressional congres-sional slcctlons of ihio. This due to man causes, the chiof of which is widespread distrust of the admlnistru- ! tlve capacity of the Democratic party.! I cannot see that t'ox so far has made any appreciable headway against1 that current. And Cox is almost alone' in the effort. The Domocrats have! very little, organization, few resources I r.nd scanty funds Their shortcoming; In this respect are not so much .1 virtue os they would like to make out 1 They are duo largely to bad management, manage-ment, there arc Just at this moment some sign that this condition may be overcome, but the time remaining is l ry short (Copyright, 191-0 by New York Bve- nlng Post.) |