Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-03
HOOVER BELIEVED
REvAMP|NG SENATE
Working Majority Wanted,
Following Tariff and Other
Controversies.

A reorganization Of the Senate of the
United States is the outstanding char
acteristic of the regular session of Con-
gress which has just opened.
On the surface 1t is an administrative
readjustment due to vacancies on i'm
portant committees caused by death or
resignation, but actually a new Senate
is in process of evolution. The hand
of President Hoover is believed to be
behind the scene. For what the PreSi-
dent wants is a working majority. He
thought he had it when the election
returns came in year ago and the
newspaper dispatches announced that
more Republicans than Democrats had
been elected. The tariff and other con-
troverSieS have demonstrated. however,
that the Independent Republican does
not feel bound by party discipline.
For years the conservative wing of
the Republican party has stood off and
merely called the Western Republicans
names. The antagoniSm has grown in
stead of diminishing. Mr.. Hoover was
encouraged by the ardent support given
him during the campaign by Senator
Borah Of Idaho, but he was disturbed
when the Idaho Senator refused on sew
eral conspicuous occasions to follow his
leadership.
Western Republican View.
The Western Republicans believe that
fundamentally they are the true pro-
| greSsives and that Herbert Hoover must
| sooner or later make a choice between
Western progresSiviSm and Eastern
conservatism. Such a situation caused
the cleavage in 1912. Mr.. Hoovers in
stipcts are to join the liberal wing Of
the party, but to do so might mean an
alienation of the Eastern crowd. That
is why the idea of compromise has
been evolved. The high protectionists
have either become convinced that the
| s1t''2tion is deadlocked and that a COM
--n4se must follow, or else President
4Ioover is obliged to make such an as
| sumption. There are reasons for be-
lieving that Mr.. Hoover would sign the
kind of tariff bill the Western Repub-
llcanJ write, but that he is apprehensive
about the loss of support in the east.
The regular Republicans are capable of
| splitting party just as much as are
| the WeSterners.
The process of making a compromise
has begun. 1t means holding out the
olive branch to the insurgents of the
| West and 1t involves an aggressive posi-
tion by the Hoover bloc of Senators who
have been trying to reconcile the East
and the West.
Although Congress has before It q
number OF major issues, nothing is more
! vital to the political career of Herbert
| Hoover than change in the Senate
! situation. The Democratic coalition
with the tnsurgent Republicans has for
several years caused Republican Presi-
dents good deal of trouble It is not
characteristic of the Hoover mind to
allow troublesome situation to drift on
without some sort Of an attempt at
solution. Mr.. Hoover has it in his power
10 participate in the congressional cleo
tlon actively. This method of pro-
| cedure has thus far proved unfortunate
Tor Presidents, as most of the contests,
after all. have been decided on the per-
/ Sonal1ty of the candidate and purely
local circumstances. Threats have
rarely ever been of avail in bringing
about obedience.
Harmony in Compromise.
There is only one way by which Mr..
hooVer can bring about Semblance of
harmony and that is by endeavoring to
understand the fundamental differences
OF opinion between the Eastern and the
western Senators and then trying to
establish basis for compromise so that
some legislative progress may be made.
Although Mr.. Hoover has been regarded
as Numerically opposed to some of the
Duran views, nevertheless on foreign
affairs he has been able to develop an
understanding with the Idaho Senator.
In fast, the Hoover policies have been
to large extent influenced by the
chairman of the Senate foreign rela-
tons committee
Mr.. Hoover has had relatively few
conferences with the Western Repub-
leans though himself a Westerner.
They have no feeling against him. The
issue is not personal. But the western
Republicans have a different point of
view and they have been hammering
away at the Eastern viewpoint for sew
eral years. The federal farm act was
not all that they desired but it goes
much further in their direction than
would have been possible If it had been
written by the conservative Senators
from the East.
It is political evolution which is 90
ing on inside the Republican party, and
Mr.. Hoover has determined to accelerate
the process through his friends in the
Senate. The regular session of Congress
will furnish the lines of battle for the
1880 campaign. D.L.
Copyright. 1921
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