NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 227, 19 June 1920, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

This week's American mail throws further light on the • situation in the Republican Party prio.r to the selection of Senator Harding as its candidate for tho Presidency. The contest was almost universally regarded as ono between Senator Johnson and General Wood. Mr. Johnson was tho anti-British, antiJapanese, ' "antwjvcrything" candidate, with vociferous support from the sensation-mongcring Hearst newspapers throughout the country. General Wood had the solid backing of tho Conservative section of the party. In the Press during May the candidacy of Senator 'Harding received scant attention. It. was, however, reviewed at some length in the New York livening Post, of May 1, when it was suggested that the senator was a_ half-hearted candidate whoso nomination was being pushed mainly to further the purposes of Mr. DAimHERTY, the party "boss" in Ohio. Mr. Harding whs described as liking too well his position in the Senate and his easygoing social life in Washington. The night of June 11, in the midst of the Republican Convention, _ would bo the last moment at which he could \v- renominated for the Senate, and it was suggested that i at this eleventh hour he misht withdraw from his Presidential camnaign in order to retain his seat. Mr. Harding did not do so, and tho result was his selection ns the nartv candidate. A factor influencinfif the r>(ivtv in this choice was prnhahlv the fact Mint O' ,; o is a doubtful State, and an Ohm candidate] would swing it over. That the Re-'

publicans sensible of the personal weakness of their candidate in the country is shown by the suggestion that he should announce that he will appoint a Cabinet including General Wood and Mr. Hoover in its ranks.

On June 28 the Democratic Convention meets in San Francisco to select its candidate. Rumour is busy with the possibilities, and the nomination by the Republicans of a comparatively colourless candidate gives it an opportunity of which it will endeavour, to make the most. In the Republican Convention a bare _ majority of the delegates is sufficient to nominate the candidate, but the Democratic rules require a three-fifths majority. It was the inability of Senator Champ Clark, the leading.candidate in 1912, to secure the necessary majority that resulted in the nomination of Me. Woodrow Wilson and his subsequent election. It has been remarked that Mr. Hoover is quite as freely supported for the Presidency in Democratic circles as in Republican, and there has been some expectation abroad that he might receive the Democratic nomination at sj'an Francisco. This is put an end to by Mr. Hoover's own unequivocal declaration, recorded in the American Press, that he will. not stand on the Democratic side.,' The indications are that in view of the sullenncss noticeable in the public attitude toward the powerful, party organisations' an outside candidate like Mr. Hoover would have had a very hopeful prospect as Democratic candidate against Senator Harding, a nominee of the machine. Perhaps Mr. Hoover may reconsider his decision. In the ..meantime the name of Mr. M'Adoo, a former Secretary of the Treasury in Mr. Wilson's Cabinet, is as prominent as any on the Democratic side,

Sooner or later New Zealand must raise the age at which education ceases to become compulsory. This lias stood at fourteen for many years past, and at that age the majority of our children have failed to reach as high an educational standard as the English school children of the same age do. The Old Country has lately gone one better, and besides bringing the children on more quickly, has extended the compulsory age to sixtecu. If Mr. Parr brings our education system more abreast of the times he will perform an invaluable service. Many wild recipes are put forward for the remaking of civilisation, but in the end the kind of civilisation the Dominion will possess depends on the intelligence and character of the people who make it. up.- No amounb of political machinery will ever make up for' shortcomings in these respects. It is in the home arid in the school that character is formed, intelligence developed, and the future moulded. Better education win cost money, but there is no be> ter investment than the riehfc sort of education. As William BLAKE'said a hundred years ago: Labour veil the Minute Particular: attend to the Little one 3; He would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars. General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, nnd flatterer. Eor Art and Science cannot exist hut in minutely organised Particulars. *** # ' I The League of Nations is in a parlous state. Mr. Wilson's increasingly ill-tempered flagellations i of its opponents in the United States are unlikely to create any enthusiasm for it there. In Europe the skeleton organisation of the League exists, and is endeavouring to carry on apparently as .if it were a; real entity, with the'weight and force of all civilised countries behind it. Disownedi by. the country whose executive head conceived it, and supported in the meantime with varying degrees of lukowarmness by Britain, France, and Italy, the League of Nations is a mere shadow of the thing-it was to be. It ,may develop to all that Mr! Wilson aimed at and more. It will be a great'day for civilisation if it! "does. Until some finality is reach ■ ed in the.American attitude toward it, and the settlement of European affairs is further advanced by the immediately responsible parties who have the business in hand, the executive of the League, however, will merely cover itself in 'derision if it attempts to play a part in high politics. The League has room for great immediate activity in establishing its bureaus, and in carrying on with conferences such as the International Seamen's Conference at Rome, now sitting under its auspices. Once all this invaluable international machinery is established, its value should begin to_ be Appreciated, and a firm foundation laid for the fuller development of international control in world affairs.

The high prices demanded by the American clothing manufacturers has resulted in the adoption of denim overalls for ordinary wear by large' sections of the population. Overalls, are now correct wear for members of Congress, for clergymen performing marriage ceremonies, for mayors on official duty, for university students, and in somo of the most fashionable hotels and restaurants the waiters have been permitted to discard their dress suits for the universal overall. At Yale University it was stated to be a. "serious breach of social etiquette" to wear a new suit. The movement developed with a run from the middle of April onwards, overalls clubs and leagues were formed by the score, and the new garb was clearly well past the "fad" stage.. Coincidently came the fall in prices, with department stores cutting their prices for clothing'.by 20 per cent, and more.' Tho overall habit may have had little direct connection with' this, but it was a sign of widespread determination to cut.down expenditure, and a deep-seated resentment against the ruling high prices. A Carolina paper, in opposing the movement, declared pithily that what was' needed for real prosperity was more men in overalls who ■ were entitled to wear them by reason of their occupation.