Evening star., 1925-06-17
Politics at Large
By e.. Could Lincoln

10 I'LL vacancies In the FtOuSe-tne
Fifth Massachusetts district and the
Third New Jersey. At the same time
Statewide primaries for the nomina-
tions for governor were held in New
Jersey, and Senator Edge, Republl-
| can leader, and his machine received
| jolt when State Senator Arthur
Whitney, backed by the Anti-Saloon
League, won over former Attorney
General Thomas F.. McCran, the selec-
tion of Senator Edge. Commissioners
A. Harry Moore of Jersey City, unop-
posed. received the Democratic nomi-
nation.
Religion, as we'll as the prohibition
question, played it's part in the Re.
publican contest for the gubernatorial
nomination in New Jersey. McCran
is a Catholic. The Ku Klux Klan,
which is strong in some parts or New
Jersey, went after him strongly.
Senator Edge picked McCran to run
as a liberal and also in the be-
lief that McCran might split the
Democratic vote in some of the large
cities which are strongly Catholic.
4 X X X
The contests for the House, while
not as spectacular as the gubernatorial
fight in New Jersey, may reflect more
correctly the attitude of the country
on national politics. In Jersey there
is already a Democratic governor, and
has been for years, in fact, ever since
Senator Edge relinquished that Office
to come to the Senate. In the fifth
Massachusetts district the vacancy Is
due to the death of the late Represent
ative John Jacob Rogers. Republican.
Mrs. Rogers, his widow, won the
nomination yesterday hands down
| over James W. Grimes. former State
senator. The Democrats nominated
Eugene Noble Foss, former governor
and former member of Congress He
was unopposed-in fact, in the prim-
aries held yesterday most of the dis
cord was among the Republicans.
Mrs. Rogers has taken d keen in
terest in politics, and is we'll posted on
public issues. She is clever and if
elected will add much to the appear.
ance of the House. For several years
she has played a prominent part in
work among the disabled veterans at
Walter Reed and other hospitals OF
the Government. She was designated
by the late President Harding to in
vestigate conditions in the hospitals
caring for the veterans, and she was
continued in such work by President
Coolidge
The election in the Massachusetts
district will be held June 80, but that
in New Jersey goes over until No
NelnDer, Wnen the governor and other
State officers also will be chosen.
Not unnaturally the Democratic
leaders are making strong efforts To
bring about a victory in the Massa
chuSettS district. 1t is the first op
portunity they have had to test pub.
lie sentiment since their overwhelm.
| ing defeat at the polls last November
| They realize that they face a hard
task in the Rogers district. which has
been strongly Republican in past
years. If they cannot win, at least
| they hope for reduction in the Re
! publican ajority.
Former Gov. Foss is counted a
| strong candidate by the Democrats
| He does not reside in the fifth dis
trict, as a matter of fact. but that is
not rated against him. Indeed. when
he was elected to the House some
years ago he ran in a district ir
which he did not reside. The Demo
Gratis are hoping that discomfort due
to the fact that many of the textile
mills in the fifth district are either
| not operating today or are running
part time will help them. In fact.
Gov. Foss' platform has been the res
toration of Massachusetts industries
| to the position, which, he maintains,
! they no longer hold. particularly the
shoe and textile industries.
In the third New Jersey district
Stewart Appleby won the Republican
nomination for Congress, defeating
Frederick Schneider. Appleby is the
son of the late Representative Theo.
| dore T. Appleby, whose death last
| December caused the vacancy which
| is to be filled. j. Lyle kinmouth, pub.
Usher of the Asbury Park Press, was
n cd he 10
| was unopposed.
1t is an unusual circumstance that
in the primaries yesterday for two
congressional vacancies the widow OF
| one of the dead Representatives and
the son of the other were nominated
There is a third vacancy in Con.
gress which is TO be filled before
long, the vacancy due to the death
of Representative Williams, Republi
can. The primary is to be held July
21 and a special election August IS.
The Republicans and Democrats both
have several candidates in the field
for the nominations. The best the
Democrats can hope for in this
strongly Republican district is to
cut down the Republican ma jority.
Representative William Oldfield of
| Arkansas, chairman of the Democratic
congressional campaign committee
I whip" of the House and mentioned
as a probable successor to Clem
| Shaver as chairman of the Demo
| cratic national committee when Mr.
! Shaver decides to step out of office
plans to go into the fifth Massachu-
setts district within the next few
days to aid in the campaign for the
| election of Gov. Foss. Later he will
loo fn nd hn To
West in the interest of the Demo
cratic party, speaking in many
| places.
Mr.. Oldfeld is not making issues
| just at present. That is a job for
| the Democrats in the next session
of CongreSs-aided and abetted by
| lapses on the part of the RepubIi
cans, he hopes. But he does believe
that the tariff will be one of the i'm
! portant questions which the voters
viii have to pass upon. incidentally
i'll his opinion, the recently announc-
ed decision of the President against
a reduction in the sugar tariff rec
commended by a majority report OF
the United States TARIFF Commission
is going to help bring this question
! to the fore.
THE United States Tariff Commits
sion, said Mr.. Oldfeld, was created
originally by the Democrats in 1915
to be fact-finding body. 1t was a
bipartisan commission. It's sole duty
was to investigate costs of production
ana allied matters and to report its
1indings TO the ways and means com
mittee of the House. We need all the
| information and facts we can get ir
framing tariff laws, and the service
performed by the commission along
this line has been very valuable. But
the Republicans undertook to change
the duties of the commission, with
| their so-called elastic provisions of the