Evening star., 1925-02-11
Politics at Large
BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
Out Of the West comes call to the
Democratic party to forget IFS local
Issues to become a united, cohesive,
national party. Gavin McNab. Demo-
cratic boss Of San Francisco, dominat-
ing figure in the parey and at the New
York convention a McAdoo supporter,
has written a letter to Franklin u.
Roosevelt Of New York, Al Smith leader
in the same convention, giving his views
OF the causes Of the nisfortunes OF the
party, and recommending several steps
that might be taken to help rehabilftate
IT. His letter in in reply to a request
from Mr.. Roosevelt for interchange Of
views by Democratic leaders on what
should be done
Mr.. McNab doesn't mnce words He
says:
AS now constituted, the Democratic
party is merely an aggregation Of local
interests. Some Of these are out of SYM
pathy with one another some actually
antagonistic. It resembles in this re-
speet the old Austrian empire.
Ths Democratic party Is not, and
under these circumstances cannot be,
Affirmative. Nor can it be truly ma
tional."
The opinion of Mr.. McNab, coming
from a. section of the country which did
not cast single electoral vote for the
Democratic national ticket in the last
efectfon, and where the popular--heaven
save the mark-voee was so small as to
put The Democratic party in third place
In many of these States, is OF peculiar
interest. II the party is to rise again to
national victory. After the failure of
the Democratic national convention to
nominate Mr.. McAdoo, considered by
the West the only progressive among
the candidates for the nomination, the
Democratic party in the Golden West
suffered an eclipse which threatened to
De both total and permanent But, ac-
cording to Mr. McNab. there Ia life in
the old party yet. If the party leader
ship takes the right steps
Mr.. McNab charges that the Demo-
cratic party has never had the. courage
TO take an inventory Of its affairs.
Tine 1rst duty of the party leader
Ship" he says, "is to take the long
delayed inventory. that 1t may be deter
mined whether 1t is possible to bring a
united, cohesive, national party, actuated
oy lofty principles and inspired with
enthusiasm, to the service Of the peo-
pie. II this cannot be done he asks.
then why the existence of the Demo-
cratic partyT'
r X
The Democratic party's local issues
are found in New York, in Chicago,
IN the South. Mr.. McNab SAYS. They
nave interests which conflict and
which seemingly have little in com
mon with the interests of the pro
8ressive people of the West In New
YORK Is the money interest. Tl1is
is true Of Chicago. In the South the
ists-the negro. Mr McNab speaks
tolerantly of these local interests and
issues. but he speaks with some bitter
ness OF the failure of the Democratic
leadership to recognize the democracy
OF the West, which put Woodrow Will
son into the White House and kept
him there. Western Democrats, he
said, protested in 1918, while the war
was on, against the plan to have
President Wilson write partisan
letter, urging the election of a Demo
cratic Congress. But the letter was
written despite this protest, with
disastrous results to the party in the
congressional election
+ * *x
The California leader also advance.
suggestion to prevent the dead
locking Of Democratic national con.
ventions. while at the same tine re-
tanning the two-thirds rule, by which
candidate must receive two-third:
of those voting in order to be nom,
mated
Turning to the least important, but
most disagfeeab1e. natter-the late
convention-in which you and I acteo
as pallbearers for the party" say:
Mr. McNab. and where the crepe was
hung on the door before the eIectior
instead of after the election, as is ths
custom. I shall limit my observation
to matter Of mere mechanics.
There should be rule that, after
a predetermined number of ballots
the lowest candidate should be drop
ped until only two in. This
would get rid of the political dwarfs
who. through personal vanity or ami
mostly toward some other candidate
deadlock the convention With this
enforced, it would, perhaps, be un-
necessary to abrogate the two-third:
| rule"
All of which does not, on the sur.
| face, seem to indicate that Mr.. Me.
! Nab has entirely forgotten the cut
throat warfare which was carried or
| In Madison Square Garden last Sum.
mer.
| Mr.. McNab also recommends that 4
| rule be adopted that where the peopI.
| Of a State have. by direct primary
| elected delegates instructed for {
| candidate, the peoples will cannot
| be disregarded unless majority o.
the delegation from that State 81
! determines. HIS quarrel is that al
! the last convention it was ruled tha
q State convention might instruct it.
delegates for candidate and apply
| the unit rule and that these instruc-
tions would be enforced, but thai
where the people of a State so in.
| structed, the delegates were free. II
is contrary to the principles ot
| progressive democracy to hold thai
l. State convention is stronger thar
| the whole neople Of a State" he says
X
Already the Democrats are begin
| ming to cast about seriously for party
| issues In the next campaign. The
! tariff. In the opinion Of Senator Pa
| Harrison of Mississippi and some O
| the other Democratic leaders In Con
| gress, promises to loom up again a.
a real issue. Still others are ropins
| that the Democrats Will turn thefi
| faces again in the direction of States
| lost sight OF by AFT parties In tn,
scramble for se-calied progressive
| legislation. The preeent defeat of thu
| child labor amendment to the Fed
| eral Constitution IS giving the States
rights cause whiff of oxygen.
Those Democrats who are looking
| to the tariff as a main issue, poin,
| out that the Presidents agrfcultura
| conference and its report are TAX.
| ing e leading part In opening up tn.
tariff again. The conference has
recommended that a tarfH wall bt
| erected to help the farmer and to pu
i his AH1tAp IN n M ritv with that ~
| the manufacturer; that the American
| farmer eonfine his planting so as tt
meet the needs Of the American con.
| sumer. according TO the Democra tic