THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

Southland Times, Issue 18857, 24 June 1920, Page 4

THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

As the day of the convention of the Democratic Party draws closer the divisions of the organisation are becoming clearer. It has been obvious for some time that Mr W. J. Bryan intended to fight with the supporters of President Wilson for supremacy in the party, and the linking of his name with that of Senator Reed shows that the contest between the two sections will be fought largely on the issue of the Treaty and the League of Nations. Senator Reed in the Treaty contest before the Senate voted in the main with the Republicans led by Senator Lodge, and it is obvious that if he and Mr Bryan are able to induce the convention to accept their nominee the result will be a capitulation to the Republican on the Treaty question and the removal of that knotty problem from the Presidential contest. If they succeed the Democrats will go to the electors with a Radical programme which will aim at attracting as much as possible of the Labour vote, but the political demands of the American Federation of Labour are probably' too far-reaching even for Mr Bry r an. The Irish question will be raised by' both the Federation of Labour’s proposals and by Mr de Valera, but the breakaway by Mr Hearst some time ago shi ws that he firmly believes that there is small chance of persuading the Democrats to take up the “Irish Republic” and enter the lists against Britain. The liquor issue will play some part in the convention’s deliberations, but evidently the Prohibitionists are not confident of securing the party’s endorsement. In Congress it was the Republican vote that made the Prohibition Amendment possible and President Wilson on more than one occasion showed that he was not in favour of a bone-dry nation. The chief battle-ground, however, will be the Treaty, and it seems abundantly clear that if the Bryanites carry the day, the chances of the party in the coming contest will be greatly reduced. The sins of omission and commission that can be laid at the door of the administration are such that the Democrats will find it difficult to secure a big vote on purely domestic grounds. President Wilson adheres to bis belief that he has the people of the country behind him in his advocacy of the League of Nations and the Treaty without reservations. It is, oi course, difficult to form any opinion of the accuracy of his estimate of public opinion in the United States, but to the outside observer it looks as if the League represents the biggest chance that the Democrats have got of snatching victory next November. There are numerous candidates in the field but it is almost impossible to obtain any definite evidence of the connections of any one of them. President Wilson has made no declaration regarding his choice and until he he shown where his preference lies and whether or not he intends to be a candidate, there must remain a doubt as to the possibilities of any of the candidates. Before the Republican Convention several of the candidates were engaged in very active campaigning, two or three of them stood out as possibilities, but on the Democratic side there has been little activity, due probably to the president’s silence upon the matter. We may expect in the next day or so some pronouncement by' the party newspapers, but the key to the position is in White House and until President Wilson speaks speculation as to the chances of the various men already mentioned as being out for the party nomination is a waste of time.