The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1924. THE DEMOCRATS’ MAN.

Southland Times, Issue 19293, 11 July 1924, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1924. THE DEMOCRATS’ MAN.

Worn out by the long-drawn-out fight under sweltering heat, the Democratic Party did not take long, after Mr McAdoo released his delegates, to reach finality in the matter of choosing a candidate, and it is significant that the man ultimately chosen is one from whom a constructive programme may be expected. Mr John W. Davis is a noted lawyer. He has been a member of Congress and in the Wilson Administration he was Solicitor-General until he succeeded Mr Page as Ambassador to St. James’s. He may be regarded as a man favourable to Wilsonian ideas, though not necessarily committed to the full Wilsonian policy. His selection was due, probably, to the influence of those delegates who had stood loyally by Mr McAdoo, whose chances of securing the nomination were killed when the religious issues became vital in the Convention, and it would, therefore, appear that the antiTammany forces have been able to swing the balance of votes in their direction. Mr Davis is a man of engaging personality and popular. Confidence in him as a candidate was weakened by the fact that after his return from London he was retained by J. P. Morgan and Co, as an advising solicitor. This view of hie connection with big finance, though it does not mean that there was any doubt concerning his probity, meant, of course, that a Democratic candidate for the Presidency could not lay himself open to the criticism that he was connected with the great financial houses. The public mind in the LbvtecL States is csptored.

by suggestions of this sort, and Mr Davis might suffer severely at the hands of his journalistic foes. Evidently the situation in the Convention was too serious to allow these considerations to stand in the way of his nomination. Mr Davis has a big task ahead of him. The party has been torn asunder by its internal strife, and much will have to be done to heal the breach. It is noteworthy that in 1920 his name was strenuously advanced by the New York Times as a candidate who would unite the ranks of the organisation, which was then sundered by the Wilson issue. Powerful arguments were adduced to convince the party managers that Mr Davis, though his opinions on national political questions were not known, could lead the forces in a national campaign and lift the contest out of the ruck of party squabbling. It was then remarked that “of all the possible Democratic candidates, Mr Davis’s character is the most attractive if Mr McAdoo’s disinclination keeps him out of office,” and it is probable that the New York Times this year would make its valuation of Mr Davis even more emphatic. Mr Davis has not been the subject of any bitter controversy, and has not been committed in serious fashion to any side against the other in the battles that have been waged during the last few months, and this fact, coupled with his Southern birth, will assist him, but he enters the battle with President Coolidge heavily handicapped at the outset by the dissension brought about in the New York Convention. Mr Davis as a campaigner is an unknown force, but he has a fine record of service, and his acquaintance with European affairs will enhance his value in the field. The Democrats have made the best possible choice in the circumstances, but unless something serious of an entirely unexpected character intervenes, it looks as if the Republicans will be victorious in the coming battle. Anyway, President Coolidge has more to fear from Senator La Follette than from the Democrats.