Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-09
Politics at Large
By G.. Could Lincoln.

Former Gov Alfred e. Smith In his
book, up to Now" just published,
makes the suggestion that defeated
candidate for President receiving the
second highest number Of votes should
become q United States Senatorial
large. The term Of office Of the pro-
posed Senator at-large would coincide
with the term Of Office Of the success
full candidate for President. Mr..
Smiths reasons for this suggestion are
novel as well as interesting. He holds
that "there are millions Of people In
this country who belong to no party" and
that many Of these millions are with
out representation. really in the Senate
and House. These independent voters.
sometimes in very large numbers, sup
port the runner-up in the presidential
contest. He would give them repre-
sentation in the Senate by having their
candidate for President made a Sena-
tor at large. Mr.. Smith also points out
that the defeated candidate for Presi-
dent could well become the minority
leader, holding the position of Sena-
tor-at-large, and prepare and offer
bills and resolutions carrying out the
platform pledges made by him and his
party during the national campaign.
| X X X
It would require a constitutional
amendment to put into effect the sug-
gestion of Mr.. Smith, for only States
are today entitled to have representa-
ton in the Senate. His proposal that
the defeated candidate for President
should become the leader of the mi
| nority party in the Senate, and Vir-
tually in the entire Congress, is par
ticularly interesting. Why not? He Is
the man to whom his party turned for
leadership in the national campaign.
He Is under present circumstances
spoken of as the "titular head" of his
party, and so continues until the next
national convention picks him or an
other to be the standard bearer of the
party in the ensuing campaign for the
presidency.
Just what would happen to the DEM
ocratic party, however, If Mr.. Smith
himself were now Senator at large in
Washington, the official leader of the
party, offering in the Senate bills or
resolutions to amend OF to repeal the
dry laws In accordance with his an
nounced stand on the liquor question
during the last campaign, rather stag
gers the imagination. Some of the Dem
ocratS in the South have been eager to
soft-pedal their support Of Gov. Smith
last year. They have been trying to
convince the Democrats who fell away
from the Democratic national ticket
because Of their opposition to the for
mer New York governor that the 'is-
sues of 1925" among them the wet and
dry issue, no longer exist among DEM
ocratS. In other words, that Al Smith
no longer figures in the national political
picture. This IS true in Virginia, where
the anti-Smith Democrats this year are
trying, with the aid of the Republicans,
to elect governor over the candidate
of the regular Democratic organization
which last year supported Smith for
President. It will be true in Texas,
Florida and North Carolina, all of
which gave their electoral votes to Presi-
dent Hoover last year.
| X X X
But Gov. Smith maintains that when
| $4,000, 900 voters in the United States
cast their ballots, as in his case, for a
candidate standing for certain prin-
ciples of government, they are entitled
| to be represented officially in the
legislative branch Of the Government.
1t is impossible for the candidate for
President, under our form of govern
ment, to be at the same time a candi-
date for Senator or Representative. On
the other hand, had Gov. Smith been
member of the Senate, as was his
! running mate, Senator Robinson Of
Arkansas, and his term had still several
years to run, he would have continued
on in the Senate after his defeat for
the presidency last year: Indeed, that
| is just the position Of the vice presi-
Dental candidate of the Democrats last
year. Senator Robinson was not re-
quired to relinquish his seat in the
Senate to enter the race for Vice
President. Nor would he have given
up his seat had he been candidate for
President. At present the defeated
nominee for Vice President is the
Democratic leader Of the Senate.
The liquor question still continues to
agitate the electorate and the politicians,
Notwithstanding the victory of the dry
of the wet. It continues to cut across
party lines viciously. For example, Sen
ator Morris Sheppard Of Texas, the au-
thor of the eighteenth amendment, Is
now proposing that the dry laws be
amended so as to make purchaser OF
4 liquor subject to punishment just as the
"bootlegger" is subject to punishment
But his Democratic colleague from Mis-
souri,, Senator Harry B. Halves, is imme-
diately up in arms against the Sugges-
ton.
THE eighteenth amendment" Sena-
tor Halves reminds Senator Sheppard
prohibits the manufacture, transporta-
ton and sale Of intoxicating liquors for
beverage purposes. The matter of the
purchase was purposely omitted from
the eighteenth amendment If 1t is
to be brought up now, the proper
method would be by the submission OF
another constitutional amendment"
After calling attention to the fact that
a commission appointed by President
Hoover is studying the whole question
OF law enforcement, including the pro-
hibition law, and that 1t would be well
to wait for report from that commits
sion, Senator Halves adds:
D.. III the scope Of the eighteenth
amendment Is to be extended, it should
be extended by another amendment to
the Constitution. The submission of q
constitutional amendment at this time
might be good thing; it might pro-
vide a referendum desired by many"
X X X X
Bishop James Cannon, jr., leader OF
the anti-Smith Democrats last year in
Virginia and the South generally is
out with a statement demanding that
the supporters of Gov. Smith be de-
feated in the Old Dominion guber-
material election. He may follow it up
with some campaigning in the State
himself for DR.. william Mosely Brown,
the anti-Smith candidate.
X X X
But in Massachusetts, the Republi-
cans are having their troubles over the
liquor question, too. For example, the
word Is going the rounds that no out
and-out dry" Republican can be
elected to the Senate next year, SC
strongly is the party divided on the
subject. When National Committeeman
Louis K. Liggett couple of months ago