PERSONALITIES

Southland Times, Issue 19294, 12 July 1924, Page 9

PERSONALITIES

THE REPUBLICAN RADICAL.

(By

• ZEdile.)

Robert La Follette—“Battling Bob,” as he is called in political slang—is now 69 years of age, vigorous and ingenious, and his appearance in the field as a third party nominee in the race for the White House in Washing adds excitement to a contest always full of interest. Unable to secure nomination at the hands of the Republican Party, to which he nominally owes allegiance, La Follette has decided to enter the fight on the backs of the Progressives, who, twelve years ago, defeated his ambitions when they selected Roosevelt in preference to himself for the Republican nomination. That was La Follette’s bitterest moment. When the Progressive upheaval took place, following the turmoil over the Payne-Aldrich high tariff, La Follette, who held Wisconsin and could depend on the Middle West States, was promised the nomination in opposition to Taft. According to his recriminatory revelations Roosevelt had assured him of support in 1912, but the ex-President turned round, as did Senator Cummins, and tried to secure the nomination himself. Defeated by this move, La Follette determined to wreak his vengeance on his betrayers, and by standing firm at the head of the Radical delegates he thwarted Teddy’s schemes, Taft being nominated for a second time. The wild man from Wisconsin did not rest there. Roosevelt then took up his Bull Moose drive and La Follette promptly went into the field to toil for the election of Woodrow Wilson, whom he regarded as progressive and worthy of the White House in spite of his Democratic allegiances. La Follette never forgave Roosevelt, and against Cummins he has continued the campaign down to the present day, going into lowa to thwart Cummins’s schemes and securing the return to Congress of men opposed by his old rival. Battling Bob is a first-class hater. During the war La Follette lost a great deal of power and prestige. His stonewall tactics delayed the entry of the United States into the war, although at the time he was almost the only senator in opposition to the move. His pacification and proGermanism carried him to great lengths and at one stage his impeachment as a disloyalist was seriously considered. Wisconsin has a large German-speaking population and perhaps this weighed with him in his attitude on the war, but there can be no doubt that he suffered a temporary eclipse. From the depth to which he had fallen he would not have emerged if chance had not placed in his hands the balance of power in the Congress as a result of the Democrat gains. Having enough backing to control the voting, La Follette proceeded to even up some old scores, and the Right Wing of the Republicans found him an awkward foe. He it was who really originated the oil lease inquiries some two years ago, and he, too, brought about the defeat of the Republican Party's tax reduction plans. When the Party went to the Cleveland Convention it was known that La Follette was destined for a third party nomination provided his health was good enough to stand up to a strenuous campaign. Last year he had a serious illness, but evidently he has recovered sufficiently to take the field; no small task because the Napoleon of Wisconsin will make things move when he gets on the job.

This little man from Wisconsin is a political czar in his own State, ruling without any tempering of his power—you are for La Follette or against him. His weakness is to be discpvered in his strength. He cannot temporise and he cannot be temperate in his speech. Had he been content to be milder in his utterances on progressive measures he might have won the Republican Party, but he would not weaken. La Follette is never a temperate talker, nor a brief talker. Few speakers get more exercise than he does in discussing any issue in which he is really concerned—and he seldom talks in the Senate unless he is vitally concerned. Then he works himself up almost to what spectators seeing him for the first time may think is hysteria. He shakes his long white pompadoured hair, he pounds frantically on the desk of some Senator across the aisle, he leaps forward with both arms outstretched and convulsively clinches and unclinches his fists toward whoever may be presiding over the Senate. It is a very dramatic affair. When first he went to the Senate with the reputation of being a very wild radical, there were attempts -to haze him and later to bring him into camp. Both failed very signally. As the years passed attempts made in his direction were mostly with a view to propitiating him rather than annoying him. The answer is very simple. La Follette early developed the habit of going into the states of Senators with whose views he disagreed and making a series of speeches. These always included the reading of a number of division lists on measures which La Follette thought were important. He never minced words in his talks to the constituents of other Senators about these divisions. In words of one syllable, delivered with all the dramatic fervor of an evangelist, he painted a picture of the crooked interests of Wall Street reaching their arms into the United States Senate and corrupting these Senators. Coming always when political enemies of the particular Senator under fire were seeking any likely club with which to pound the solon’s political head, the at> tacks resulted in an astonishingly high percentage of mortalities. Attacking La Follette grew less popular in the Senate. To what can this man point in justification of his long bitter battles? Probably he would find it difficult to make out a lengthy list of achievements, but it must be admitted that of the ten planks which he presented to the Convention in 1908 for the party’s platform only to see them rejected, nine have since become law. In 1920 he introduced seven proposals for the party’s policy and these met with opposition from the managers, but we may expect to hear of them in the campaign this year and they are therefore of interest. 1. Government ownership of stock yards, packing plants and all allied interests in which there is inherent natural monopoly. 2. Revise tax schedules to place greater exactions on wealth. 3. Popular election of all Federal Judges. 4. Initiative and referendum in national legislation. 5. Recall for Senators and Representatives. 6. A soldier’s delayed payment. 7. A deep waterways from Great Lakes to Gulf. La Follette is now at the peak of his political power and he is keen to put both of the big parties in the discard. Can he do it ? Both parties are evidently nervous about him now that he is actually in the ring. In the Presidental election voting is by States. Delegates to the Electoral College are elected by the various States on a direct vote —that is the theory of it—and they subsequently cast votes, in the EtecJoral College accurdwg to their jjolixical.

allegiances. It is, therefore, easy to see that in the event of La Follette carrying a number of the States in a three-cornered fight, none of the contestants may be able to secure an absolute majority, which would necessitate an appeal to Congress, where the La Follette forces already hold the balance of power. The piquancy of the situation is apparent, and probably no one enjoys it more than the fiery little man from Wisconsin. There must also be considered, however, the man’s own chances of sweeping the board. If the Democrats make a bad choice, La Follette may confi dently anticipate a fairly large number of votes from, that side of the field, and if he

carries the States in the Middle West and West where he is reputed to be powerful, he will reduce the Republican strength in the Electoral College by their votes, because in the past these States have been firm for the Republicans. Thus La Follette, after his strenuous career, with its bitter disappointments of 1912, now reaches the position where his actions are of deep concern to his foes of all party colours. He cannot be bought, and he is sure to be outspoken on subjects which will be damaging to both Democrats and Republicans. Wisconsin may not send a President to White House, but her representative in the field ii jSJMJg to make haJUJe interesriny