AMERICA’S NEXT PRESIDENT.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17947, 4 May 1928, Page 9

AMERICA’S NEXT PRESIDENT.

Democratic Primaries. LANDSLIDE FOR AL SMITH. (United Press Association —By Eioctrio Telegraph—Copyright.) NEW YORK, May 2. San. Francisco advices state that the hopes of Senators Walsh and Reed for the support of the California delegates at the Democratic National Convention, suffered a crashing defeat at the hands of Governor Smith, in the Presidential primary returns from the majority of precincts. It Indicated that Mr Smith’s victory is virtually a landslide; 7010 of a total of 8753 precincts showed the following vote: — Mr Smith ... ... 199,959 Mr Reed 50,728 Mr Walsh ... ... 44,004 Mr Hoover, the only Republican candidate, received an endorsement vote of 607,115 in the same number of precincts. Mr Smith’s overwhelming victory has assured him the votes of the Californian delegation at the National Convention, Mr Hoover being similarly assured, of the Republican votes. Mr Smith’s victory carries certain obvious conclusions with it, the first of which is that Mr W. G. McAdoo’s power is but a shadow of its personal strength, when in 1924 h© succeeded in deadlocking the Democratic Convention to Mr Smith’s disadvantage. Mr Walsh was the McAdoo candidate for the Democratic nomination, and whil© it is not seriously considered that Mr Wulsh would obtain this,; it was nevertheless obvious that Mr McAdoo’s strength lay in California, and if he could throw it to Mr Walsh, Mr Smith would have trouble next June.

. There is now some reason to attach importance to the contention of Mr Smith’s friends that th© Democratic Convention will nominate him by acclaim. His advancement has phenomenal, and on the basis of the primaries alone Mr Smith’s dry Protestant opponents will have to weigh the advantage of the certainty of the most popular Democratic figure against the thought of supporting a Oatholio and “wet,” and if they want a victory at the polls, which is the Democratic politicians’ dream, they will have to swallow their chagrin and support Mr Smith. Meantime the next six weeks will bring out what inherent, although still tnapparent, strength Senator Peed may show 1 as an opponent, to Mr Smith. California’s' twenty-nine Republican delegates were instructed to vote for Mr Hoover, there being no opposition.