Wallflower?

If there is happiness in being the chief attraction of a great celebration, then Mr. LaFollette must feel slighted that no committee came around to notify him that he is a candidate for the Presidency. That this was not the case was only natural, however, since he is nominally an independent candidate, who nominated himself and accepted only endorsements from others. For any organization to have notified him of his nomination would have been supererogation. Of course, he could have been notified if he so desired.

Instead, he has been living very quietly at his Washington home, Benjamin Franklin-wise, rising at 7:30 and retiring at 10:30, spending the day at his office, and riding in his automobile in the evening. Of speeches he has made none. In writing, every now and then-- just often enough to keep on the front page--he injects himself into the public mind at regular intervals: writing a letter on the Ku Klux Klan, wiring the American Federation of Labor to thank it for its endorsement.

The real notification ceremony for Mr. LaFollette took place some time back, when he said to himself: "Bob, you are going to run. Of course, there's no chance of your being elected President, but if you make a good showing you may be the father of a new party. More than that, if you succeed in throwing the election into Congress, you will hold the balance of power, and the balance of power is as good as a sceptre--and lighter."

It is because Mr. LaFollette is thus running without running that Frank R. Kent (famed political writer) made the remark, perhaps a bit stringent but yet with an element of truth: "Either Mr. Coolidge or Mr. Davis may be elected President. LaFollette is safe in saying and doing a lot of things impossible for them. They might have to 'make good.' He will not be called on."

Meanwhile, Mr. LaFollette, like a wise musketeer, withheld his fire until his enemies disclosed their plan of attack. Following their notification speeches, he planned to "open" with a speech in Manhattan. Evidently, Mr. LaFollette is not afraid of Wall Street; but more than one newspaper would pay a pretty penny for a photograph of him parading that thoroughfare--say, in front of the House of Morgan.