TRENCHANT COMBAT

Northern Advocate, 4 July 1928, Page 5

TRENCHANT COMBAT

PRESIDENCY CAMPAIGN

TAMMANY AND PROHIBITION.

BATTLE OP PERSONALITIES

(Australian Press Association.) (Received 9 a.m.) NEW YORK, July 2. A message from St. Louis states: “Seventy-two hours after the Democratic Convention becomes ])ast history, tangible evidence is available concerning the tendency of the preelection campaign. Historically, the dominance of Tammany in the nation’s political affairs stands out as one of the most amazing facts of the

present generation. “Tammany not only controls the party, 'but through its candidate lias the courage even /to declare that it is greater than this party. “Governor Smith's acceptance of the telegram indicates unmistakably that he believes in modification of the present prohibiton system, although he will support existing laws. The issue is plainly joined. The American people cannot escape the provocate import thereof. “There may be much that is nugatory in Governor Smith's outlook, but there is nothing that is non-commit« tal. Governor Smith > thus assumes the indelible outline of the man who will force a trial of strength with his opponents, not only in the opposition party, but in his own, upon the very question that under other circumstances might bo left dormant. “Thus the'impending post-conven-tion campaign promises to take on all that pungent flavour of a conflict of personalities, with these personalities producing issues and contests as a direct result of their own characters, for Mr Hoover, too, is by no means a machine politician. His very lack of political experience and intensely executive business mind, tinctured with impatience, promise to make him a most spirited opponent of Governor Smith. It will be a conflict of two trenchant persons.

“One more significant aspect enters the situation. Even the most lackadaisical observer knows that American polities are intensely practical. The party with the most money usually wins, all other things being equal. The Republicans hitherto have had the heaviest coffers, and, put in other words, it means that Wall Street was behind the Republican nominees.

"A recent statement by Mr John Baskob, chairman of the Finance Committee of the General Motors Corporation—one of the greatest entities in the Morgans' financial system—tha't it was wrong to suppose that Governor Smith is against business, seems to have changed the whole aspect of things. The question now is; ‘Have the financial interests of America decided to switch their allegiance'?' The answer to this is of paramount importance. During the pre-convention campaign all the indications were that, no matter what happened, it would be a

Republican year. There is now some doubt concerning the (truth of this. Wall Street ’s attitude in the pre-elec-tion campaign will bear watching. “The combination of strong political figure, plus the non-committal tariff pronouncement in the Republican platform and the possibility of plenty of election money, may produce an interesting reversal as concerns the outcome of November 6. The next 30 weeks should produce more evidence justifying a positive conclusion.”

AGRICULTURAL POLICY.

“ENEMY OF SQUARE DEAL.”

(Australian Press Association.) (Received 9 a.m.) CHICAGO, July 2. Calling Mr Hoover “(the arch enemy of the square deal for American agriculture,” Mr George Peek, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Nort,li Central States Agricultural Conference, condemned the Republican agricultural policy. Mr Peek added: “If England were directly prescribing American agricultural policy she could hardly do better for England, because that policy means that the wheat w r e grow for export will be raised largely for Canada and Australia, while the American farmers are starved out.”