Judge — September 24, 1927 — page 15: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

JUDGE E Norman Anthony Associate Edit ‘ors, Richard 1d. v A Better Job For Al o THEY are saying that Al Smith can be nomi- nated after all. Nice calculations under “expert independent auspices,” as reported in the Ne York World, give him sever hundred and thirty-five votes in the convention—three more than he needs. An intention to let the impossible thus become the probable is ascribed to the practical politicians. It will astonish ma to hear that the Democr: party possesses practical politicians. Plumb discour- aged by the unit and two-thirds rules, it has become an addict of that dream-producing drug, Comprom It has tried all the ways of losing. With Davis, losing like a gentleman. With Cox, losing by de- fault. With Bryan, losing on fumbles. It has about reached the point where some think it has got to win or bust up. The practical boys believe they can win with Smith. Rumor has it that Al himself is not so sure, and not very eager to run anyway. If the public really had any voice in these matters, it might well speak up and say, “Leave Al out of it. He would be a grand president. He has as good a grasp of the business of government as any modern man. He knows as few know its actual purpose, which is to make life easier for the greatest number of people. He can dig out facts, dust them off, tie them in bunches and shoot them where they will hit hardest. Walter Lippmann says, “he is w hat a con- servative ought to be always if he knew his business.” The opposition to him boils down to prejudices. The prejudice of the Anti-Saloon League, the pre- judice of the Klan and others who-see papal spooks. the prejudice of the genteel inst a guy who wears his hat and his cigar at conflicting angles and speaks with a sidewalk accent. And underlying all, the prejudice of the countryside against the Big Town. Is it worth while to go through a campaign em- bittered by these four prejudices—moral, religious, ass and geographic—merely for the sake of getting an able chief executive? We have learned that the nation can get along famously without much presi- denting or much leadership in the White House. Besides, there’s a better job for Al. He has an idea that he would like to clean up Tammany Hall, take it out of partisan politics, draw in his following of Smith Republicans and independents and give the biggest city in the world the best municipal govern- ment in history. He could do that without being mayor or anything else official, He could do it by his power, prestige and skill, and still have time to ¢ . Phil Rosa, Jack Shuttleworth Bramatic Editor, George Jean Nathan make a good living as president of a corporation. Two weeks ago this page said that Herbert Hoover's great abilities would be wasted in the presi- dency, partly because he is an inept politician, Smith ought not to be wasted in the presidency, partly be- cause he is too good a politician. In control of Tam- many, he could accomplish infinitely more concrete benefits, touching more intimately and at more points the daily lives of millions of people. * * * HEN more than two hundred college teams take the gridiron this Saturday, the football sea- son will be in full swing. N rules have made changes so obvious that they can be seen even from the seats in the forty-acre stadiums we build nowa- da The goal posts are set ten yards back of the goal lines. No longer will a team line up for defense in the shadow of its goal posts, or run the risk of a desperate punt striking the cross bar. The huddle. ch always makes the grandstand fidget, is cut down to fifteen seconds. In shift plays, all players must come to an absolute stop for a full second be fore the ball is snapped. Lateral passes will flourish under the rule making them dead instead of loose if incomplete. And a fumbled punt can no longer be scooped up by the end thundering down the field. The hunch of the experts is that the game is going to be faster for the spectators to watch, safer for the players to play and fairer for the bet their shirts on. alumni to * * * practicinG lawyer said to a great medical scholar, “Professer, you study the Middle Ages. I live in As the tide of crime mounts, there is more insistence on the question, “W administration of criminal lay The solemn answer of a committee headed by Owen D. Young “No body is really in a position to know.” This committer is raising an endowment fund for the Harvard Law School. One of the crying needs is for legal research, in order that lawyers themselves may know where we stand in the matter of law. We spend two hundred million dollars a year on applied scientific research, and ten millions more on pure scientific research, But we do not spend much more than $200,000 on legal research, which has to do with human relations. The law must be given a chance to catch up with the moving facts of common experience. Ds them.’ ut is wrong with our R.ILW. comicbooks.com