Evening star., 1926-10-31
Ry ROBERT T. SMALL.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
ATLANTA. Ga, October 30.-Un- :
deniablv there are strange poHtlcal
rlmblings in the solid South: mere
in Atlanta there has just closeu
rather significant meeting Oh llie
southern States Republlcan Leas "e'
II was held in connection VIII
commemoration of the blrthday an
niversarv of Theodore RooseVet.
Many prominent Democrats o. . Iillo
section attended the Roosevelt Day
a;nner and some of the sessions OF
the league. ,, o,,
Down in Florida one heard much
+auz of dividing the State into
north Florida or south Fiofiua'
such a move is still far in the future,
b,lt Republicans who have ln'lltrateo
tho nnpulous south end of the PENN
cular state are having their dreams
Of eventually establishing q: .. T.;
commonwealth at the very TIP emu
of the solid South.
Rennblicans of the South realize
full we'll that they have got to re-
verse some of the practices or days
GONE hv and will have to ignore some
of the elements which have wrecked
Republican moves in the past.
Drastic Political Move.
In this connection there was ad-
vocated at this Atlanta meeting a
drastic political move which mlgnt
he taken up with telling erect all
over the country.
1t was hoped that the dlrectloi
of political parties be taken out ot
the hands of the office holders. W ma.
a whale of a job this would be. ana
yet tho argument for it seems ex
ceedinglv plausible. The Repupll-
can narty in the South particularly
has heen an office holders party
whom the G.. O. Z. has been in power
at Washington, and an ex-ottice hold-
ers' marty when the Democrats nave
hold the reins at the National CaP1-
The revolutionary thought was ad:
yanced by Charles Z. Gordoh Oh
Greenville, Miss, president OF 'Iie he
publican League. Tie advocated 'lldl
All public officials be disqualleu from
serving as members of State or ma
tionaI committees and as delegates to
marty conventions, declaring it would
nroyide greater inducements for the
voters to participate actively in poll
tical affairs and make both parties
more responsive to the will of the
people.
Disliked by job Holders.
This suggestion naturally is lese
ma teste to the great office holding fra
ternitv. The office holders SO long
have held sway over both the parties
that any attempt TO loosen their grip
is bound to prove abortive for many
wears to come. Yet there have been
murmurs of discomfort with this state
of affairs.
There was. for instance, the com
Dlaint in 1920 that the senatorial ring
or oligarchv. or what YOU will, was in
complete control of the Republican ma,
tional committee, which nominated
one Senator. Mr.. Harding, for Presi-
dent. and fully intended to nominate
another Senator, Mr.. Lenroot of Wis
consin, for Vice President. AS is very
well known by this time, something
went wrong with the Lenroot end of
the ticket. The delegates, loosely
guarded at the end. got out of hand
and nominated Mr.. Coolidge, thereby
unConsciouslv making a President of
the United States who is debating to,
day whether or not he will run for a
third term in the White House,
1t is difficult TO think of any party
convention being held without some
office holder pointing with pride and
viewing with alarm in the key note
address, without some other Office
holder heading the committee, to
draft the platform, and without a
conference of office holders in the
back room of a hotel deciding the
various places on the ticket.
Difficulties Are Admitted.
Speakers at the Atlanta meeting
were frank 10 admit the difficulties in
the way of Republicans in the South.
They stressed, however. the desir2 bill
ity of two-party system in Govern
ment and many sound thinking Demo-
Gratis were inclined to agree with
them.
Nor was the pesky tariff omitted
from the program OF discussions.
Former Gov. David w. Davis of