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Show LEAGUE WORRIES G. 0. PJI MAINE State to Go Republican, Is Belief. But Society of Nations Na-tions !s Big Issue BY MARK SULLIVAN. National Political Correspondent of The Saturday Post. WASHINGTON. Aug. 25.- Last Saturday Sat-urday Will Ilay went to Augusts, Me . and gave the momentum of his presence pres-ence to the starring of that three weeks of extraordinary spollbindin1-, which cuts fo large a figure every presidential yoar under the name of "the Maine campaign." This week the Democrats are beirinnlns their side of It, and from now until Saturday night. September 11, Maine is eninc to hear the best . speakers that both parties can aesemble from all over the nation. na-tion. The Democrats have even an nounced that they are going to give n full week of the extremely valuable time ami energy of their vice prcsiden tin! candidate. Frankhn Roosevelt tn stumping this state. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT. "The Maine election" has come to he an institution. It comes seven weeks before Ihe president lal election and it Is supposed to he sign of how things are soing. It is supposed to have a 'psychological effect" on the rert of the country. If has some an alogy fo the kick-off in a football game, j or to thai preliminary- warming up of I the players before a baseball game, i which glTes the partisans an opportu-Inlt" opportu-Inlt" to do a llftle cheering. OI course, it Isn't enough for the Republican merely to carry Maine. They nearly always do that The real ;test. it Is always recognized, lies who'.-jly who'.-jly in the degree of the Republican victory. In 1916 the Maine Republicans carried this September election in Maine by li.000 and then carried the presidential election In November bv onlv r.ooo. For the information of any one who Is interested in the kind of deductions that actual politicians make from the Maine election it may be said thnf ,if the Republicans carry this election for governor on September 13 by more than 15,'miO, ii will be interpreted as an omen of a substantial Harding vie-I vie-I tory throughout the country as a vvhol" j In November If the Republican majority ma-jority should be much less than 10.-000 10.-000 It will be Interpreted 89 giving en courspement to fox. LOOKS LIKE G OP Without makin? any predictions In figures, it may be said that as condi tions stand today, th? Republican.-1 ought to do better than normal. The Republicans are organized, the Demo crats are not For weeks the Republican Repub-lican managers and candidHtos have been busy In every village The Demo crats, on the other hand, seem to be relying Wholly on this whirlwind finish of spell binding. The Democrats have been so listless thai they haven t trou-bled trou-bled to put up especially strong candidates candi-dates for cohgrt n the other hand, ihe four Republican candidates for congress are strong, three of thum being be-ing the sitting members. In one dis-iricl dis-iricl ihe Democrats allowed their con gressional nomination to go more or e.s bv default, and it was taken by a railroad engineer running chiefly on the Plumb plan. From many parts of Maine your correspondent cor-respondent receives information re I fleeting this energy on the part of the Republicans and apathy on the part nf ihe Democrats. The Republicans have 'the happy air of hungry persons who soe the flat lands of milk and honey, the feasting of success and patronage just ahead of them. As one competent observer writes "At this Mage of the campaign 1 bare nevt r b n the Republicans better bet-ter organized and more interested than now, and I have never witnessed the Democrats with less enthusiasm on , the par; of individual Democrats It Joes not seem possible that the Demo crats can efficiently organise before election, and our conclusion Is that they intend to rely on the Intensive j speaking campaign during fhp las three weeks. I may truthfully say al j though up to this date I have heard Ot no Republican who has expressed 1 .in intention of supporting the Democratic Demo-cratic ticket, on the other hand, there have been few towns Into which I ; hav e Rone where I have not heard ru-1 mora that this or that Democrat will 'fher vote the Republican ticket or will not vote nt all My belief, how-r. how-r. is that as 'he campaign warms ip the prt call will be henrd and bet ded and that what now looks like a tCDUbllCan landslide Will be a Repub-ican Repub-ican victory exceednig tbo average of! late years, but not unprecedented by' .ny means There seems no doubt that ba Democrats are suffering among other things from the usual discontent Against the party In power. Many In- i ndent voters and some Democrats talk of "reckless extravagance" by the : Wilson administration ofr "one man power." And of the high cost of llv-j llv-j ins In general, they reflect that vngue jo dissatisfied itself in wanting a hange." LEAGUE 'SSUE. On the other hand, there can be no loubt whatever that the league of nylons ny-lons Issue In disturbing to the Repub irnn Many of the Republican lead Ml in Maine art- trying to satisfy those . .guts who are int rested In this Is sue by saying that the difference be-seen be-seen Cox snd Harding l the differ r-nce between "the ' league of nations .iiv "a" leag-.ie of nations and this distinction dis-tinction between ' the" and "a" by the, way. Is coming to be characteristic of ;he discussion of the league of nation) in many parts of the country In Maine, one of the most competent observers I know writes as follows: ONE WRITER'S VIEWS "A good many of the Maine voters have the Idea that tbe Republican have abandoned the league altogether and the Republicans will lose a good i many votes on this account. Some of the Republican leaders here, how-eer. how-eer. re taking the position that the' Republicans have not bv any means abandoned the league but what they j are against la the league la the form; presentt-d to America by President Bj Itsoa and that especially, the Republicans Repub-licans are against Article X. The . Republican leaders will be In a league ' of some sort within a very short time, either the present league with reserve- j tons, or the present league amended, j-nh j-nh Article A and other objectionable I features left out, or an entirely new association. The pro-league Republl cans are In my opinion In the major j Ity In the state." ANOTHER OPINION. Another equally competent Maine observer, a Republican, writes: "Our people are not especially interested inter-ested In the league of nations and they wish that It might have been rattfie, with the Tx)dge reservations simply to I get It out of the way. The feeling Is i that if there Is any good In it then they are perfectly willing to give It a trial, always with the understanding that none of their rights as a nation would be Jeopardised. There Is quite ia sentiment against any league at all, but I think the majority feel about as I I have stated." Still another observer, also a Republican, Re-publican, says "My Inquiries lead me to believe thnt outside the ministry and the teaching profei-ion theie are few who favor- the league .is submitted to lh-senato lh-senato by the president. But I would ; hazard the guess that at this time a considerable majority of the people of ' Maine would approve the entrance of lour country Into the league of nations with the senate reservations or the I substsnce of them attached to the covenant but not otherwise I li nn' dare say this will be the sentiment In 'a month, for European conditions nre militating against the leacue, nnd the drift of our people as 1 sense It. Is lawny from the league rather than for lit." Your correspondent expects that after aft-er Senator Harding's speech at Mat Ion next Saturday, the league of nations na-tions issue as between the parties will look less clear cut than it now does. Alter that speech, there will be rtiore justification for those Republican lead-ers lead-ers who claim that ihe distinction Is merely be'ween the" league and "a" league. Rut until we see Just how the Republican candidate further am plifles his position, and makes it more exact and detailed there can be no doubt that the league of nations Is troublesome to the Republican leaders in Maine. |