The Washington times., 1928-11-09
OLD CHIEFS
PL AIMING
!. T0SELZE
REIVS
BY GEORGE Il. HOLMES
Tnternntional news Service

NEW YORK, Nov. 9.--Wlth the
furbulent, breathtaking 1928 cleo
eion passing into history and
struggling returns continuing to enl-
phasize the magnitude OF the Repub.
Iican sveep. the practical politicians
who run things in both parties be
tween elections began to come out
OF the storm cellars today and take
stock of the future.
There is not much disagreement
among the leaders of either party
NJ to what must be done, but there
As vast disagreement on how it must
be accomplished, and these differ
tences of opinion provide the fuel
that will keep the political fires
burning until the next general eiec-
ton two years hence.
6. o. p. Task To Hold Gains
For the Republicans, the task i'm
nnediately ahead is that OF striving
to consolidate their amazing gains,
particularly in the South and bor-
der States that contributed TO their
victory in such startling fashion.
The Republicans have broken the
Solid South to bits and run up q
majority in the border States such
az few of them believed possible,
Oklahoma went 10000 Republican;
Kentucky 175, 900, Missouri, 160, 900,
little Maryland, $4,000 and so on.
Now the job is to hold them.
For the Democrats the task
ahead is equally clear, but tre-
mendously difficult. The Democrats
have to reconstruct their party.
Their job involves the mending of
fences that not only went down in
the Hoover gale, but which is some
cases were almost completely obliter.
ated.
They lost part of the South. all
OF the West, all Of the border
States, and most of the East, in
nearly every case by. smashing
figures.
Party Strife flinders
The Democrats task is compli-
Gated, too, by the bitter recrimina-
ton that always follow in the wake
of a political debacle such as Tues
day witnessed.
A survey of editorial comment in
Southern newspapers reveals that
the South already is yelling for
the head of John j.. Raskob, the
s'big business chairman of the
party, who was personally selected
by Governor Smith to run his cam
paign. The demand of the party
organs for Rackoh's head is only
4 reflection of the opinion of leading
southern Democrats.
The full force of this demand is
not going to crystalline until the
first Monday in December when the
lanne-duck session of the SEVENTEEN
Congress assemblies in Washington,
bringing under one roof again all of
the divergent political thought of
the country.
Ragkob is being blamed even
more than Governor Smith himself
for the Democratic holocaust. Per-
hans the reason for that may be
that some 15,0O0,0O0 to 5000, 900
ueople voted for Alfred e. Smith,
while nobody voted for John J..
Raskob. And a man who polled
that many popular votes cannot be
censured too severely even by those
opposed to him, particularly when
another sacrificial offering is at
hand.
Sticks to Friends
whether "A'' Smith is going to
see his friend ousted to appease the
erners before the appointed time
when a defeated national chairman
always lays down his office re-
mains to be seen. Governor Smith
has a habit of being loyal to his
friends, and John: J. Roskob, is one
OF his closest.
The road Immediately ahead of
tfe Democratic leadership is a
rough one, and filled with broken
eIass The recrimination must be
I,enf from getting too bitter If the
marty is to reconstruct itself in time
10 again do battle with some pros
meet Of success.
BIlt the Republicans have. their
nroblem. too, and their differences
as well
out in the progressive Northwest
every Republican insurgent was re-
elected, and while the Hoover sweep
mas so tremendous that the House
ran be controlled in comfort, not so
4he Senate. There, the insurgents
will continue to hold the balance of
oower-and perhaps embarrass the
new Administration
But the real problem of the Re-
nI1T,1ican leadership is the manner
n which the Republican gains in
the South and border States are to
bn consolidated. Is the Republican
marty in the South to be lily-white?
n so. many of the old organization
leaders in those States must be dis
carded as an inviting gesture to the
thomsands of "Anti-Smith Demo
crafsD who bolted the party of their
fafhers and made possible the as
founding Republican victory.
Fight To Be Bitter
And if the Republican party II
m he made lilly white" in the
South. can it be safely done with
o,It alternating the great negro vote
~ the North, which lis predomi-
nantly Republican?
There's going TO be lot of fight
ing over that during the months
Immediately ahead.
Both parties have their prob
1ens. The Democrats are admit
fedly in bad way, but, at that,
they appear to have hit rock bot
tom. and any movement in the fu-
ture is bound to be upward. The
1oendulum swung against them
Tuesday just about as far as it