Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-19
Politics at Large
BY @. Could Lincoln.

| soon 10 De created Dy the resignation
OF Walter Newton. one of the secre-
taries 10 President Hoover. This was
no surprise. But the closeness of the
vote In the fifth Minnesota congress
sionai district has stirred the politicians
and many explanations are put forward
| for the showing made by the respective
| candidates. Nolan received 1896
votes, according to the dispatches;
| Einar Hoidale, Democrat, 1875, and
Ernest Lundeen, Farmer-Labor, 1888.
| The margin Of Republican victory over
the Democratic candidate was about
| $500 votes. And the combined Demo-
cratic and Farmer-Labor vote was
greater than the Republican vote,
| which makes Nolan minority victor.
Last year Walter Newton, running on
| the Republican ticket in this district,
received 80,066 votes. His Democratic
| opponent had 3l,536 and the Farmer
| Labor candidate $4,000 plus. That
election, however. was abnormal in the
number of voters which 1t brought to
the polls.
The election Monday was a special
election for single Office. 1t came a
week after a primary in which Nolan
defeated two other candidates for the
Republican nomination by narrow
margin, only 182 votes over former
| Postmaster Coleman.
The Republicans admit their surprise
At the narrow margin Of their victory.
They see in 1t protest against the
tariff bill as 1t passed the House. There
! has been a howl against the measure in
Minnesota because of the increases
given on materials which the farmers
have to buy, offsetting In considerable
measure the increases which are given
on the produce of the farmers.
"A. Il. II ~
fifth Minnesota district In 1926 showed
| that Newton received 65 per cent Of
the total vote cast; in 1928 he received
! SO per cent, and Nolan on Monday
received only AZ per cent.
In 1926 Newton received 47,162 votes
| to 1851 for the Farmer Labor candi-
date and 5,942 for the Democrat. The
combined Democratic and Farr1er-LAbor
vote in that year, an of year" with
no presidential election, was about what
it was last Monday This indicates that
the big slump in the vote cast is on
the Republican side. Lack Of interest
or soreness over the recent primary
| may be some explanation for the fall-
ing off of this vote.
The interesting thing to the Demo-
Gratis is found in the fact that they
have once more become the real oppo-
sition party in this Minnesota district,
L Il
| Farmer-Labor party for a number of
years has been the backbone of Re-
publican opposition in the State.
| Jouett Shouse, the newly appointed
chairman Of the Democratic executive
committee, sees in the Minnesota cleo
ton much comfort for the Democrats.
He issued statement today in which
he said:
"By grace Of a third candidate, put in
to defect progressive votes from the
Democratic Aspirant for Walter New
| tons seat in Congress, the fifth district
of Minnesota was saved to the Repub-
lican party-but by so narrow margin
that 1t constitutes a moral victory for
| the Democrats, and eXemplif1eS the
depth OF the rift in the G. o. P. conSe-
querlt on the farm relief struggle and
the resentment reused by the proposed
tariff bill.
THE fifth Is a Minneapolis district
and has always been a banner Repub-
lican stronghold. Lundeen, who was a
Republican until he joined the Farmer
Laborites, carried it a dozen years ago
at is generally estimated as safely
Republican by $4,000. When such a
majority is wiped out, for-counting
Lundeen's vote-Nolan has fewer than
| 1luAA OltC FOeCo OdcOs OOtttC AAS0 40 Ob~
tainable of what the Republican party
is suffering In the Northwest.
Moreover, yesterdays election was
recognized as a test. The first election
In the farm section since the defeat of
the debenture and the imninence Of
the threat of the home wrecking tariff
yesterdays contest was hoped by the
administration to be a vote of conf
deflce in the Hoover farm program. The
party leaders out there campaisned on
that issue. and their orators, including
Nolan, emphasized the necessity Of
holding up the Presidents hand in his
effort to help the farmer
X
While the anti-Smith Democrats In
Virginia are organising to take Alfred
E. Smith and John j. Raskob out of
party leadership. nationally speaking,
some of the Democrats still farther
South are turning longing eyes to an
other New Yorker in the hope that he
may be the Moses to lead them out of
the wilderness in 1882. He is owen D.
/ Young. Mr.. Young has recently re-
turned to this country after doing what
has been called q great piece Of work
in aiding the foreign nations to ham
de debts and PREPARATIONS growing out
first time he has demonstrated his abil-
ity in Europe and he has made him.
self . national figure both by his
work abroad and at home, although
he has not engaged to any great ex-
tent in politics nor run for public
office. He had the earnest backing of
some of the leading Democrats in Ala
bama last year for the presidential
nomination, and the support of the
Birmingham NewS-Age- Herald. But
last year the only New Yorker who
had chance for the Democratic nomi-
nation was Alfred e. Smith. Now the
Alabamans are getting ready to put him
forward again for 1882.
X \ X y
Whether Mr. Young would enter the
race for the presidential nomination Is
something else 1t does not appear like
ly he would care to do so unless there
were evidences that the entire party
would back him. The Democrats have
been so widely split since 1924 that it
will take much work and real leadership
to bring them together again. Mr..
Young might provide that leadership.
There is another New Yorker. how
ever, already in the political limelight,
who is talked of widely as a possible
nominee for President on the Demo-
cratic ticket, Gov. Franklin D. Roose-
welt. Gov. Roosevelt will be UP for re-
election next year. If he wins he will
go into the next Democratic national
convention with a great deal of back
ing for the presidential nomination
Much depends upon the governors
health, which has been improving in
recent years. Farther in the back
ground, of course. is former Gov. Smith.
While some of his friends and ardent
,admirers insist that he will stage q
come back" and be nominated and
elected in 1882. there is no sign of such
q thing happening so far. indeed, Mr..