Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-19
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

dramatic anG is dramatic. 1t has been
treated as dramatic by newspaper mead
lines, editorials and cartoons, in most
of which the phrase, "Old Guard Sur
renders figures largely. That phrase
is about all of the story that the aver
age man will grasp.
Yet there is a good deal more to the
situation. La Follettes presence on the
finance committee, taken with other
current developments, is sign OF some
thing in the future, something not yet
clear and decidedly banning. How puz-
zling 1t is will be realized If you admit
that this episode may mean either I'M
proved solidarity in the Republican
party in the Senate or. with equal prob
ability, the further disintegration OF 1t.
Immediate Results Outlined.
The direct, immediate consequences
of La Follette's presence on the finance
committee means dificulty for the Re-
publicans. La Toilette on this commit
tee will be no more a Republican than
he has ever been, or his father before
him. He will make no compromise
La Follette's whole position in public
life depends on his being almost an
metropolitan. Whatever is to hap
pen in the Republican party in the
Senate, it will not come about through
moving over toward the "Old Guard"
Republicans.
If La Toilette should compromise, or
become even a middle-of-the-road Re
publican. he would lose in two ways.
He would jeopardize, probably destroy,
his hold on the La Toilette following
in Wisconsin, on whom his political
life depends. Further than that, ami
ability on La Follette's part would not
help him with the regular Republicans,
He is too far gone in, the path Of anti
Republicanism. especially in the light
of his fathers career. ever to be well
coined into the Republican fold as a
prodigal returned. It is almost justifi-
able to say that La Toilette, when he
considers his own future and such am
billions as he may have, must v\h
consciously or unconsciously, for tie
death Of the Republican party. Death
Of the Republican party would give OPP
portunity for the rise Of new third
party-and only as the favorite OF a
new third party could La Toilette ever
go higher in public life, ever achieve
the presidency, for example, or become
a formidable contender for it.
Fills Republican Post.
Let La Toilette, with this point of view
forced upon him by his inheritance and
his own circumstances, fills one of the
!, Republican places on the finance COM
mittee. =.
How much this means in the future OF
that committee can quickly be made
clear. The finance committee, By
custom, consists of 10 members, Of
whom IL are Republicans and 8 Demo.
Gratis. These relative strengths Of ma
jority and minority parties reflect &C
cepted usage; If the Democrats were IN
power the figures would be reversed.
La Toilette. it is quite safe to say, will
stand with the Democrats on the COM
mittee more often than with the Re-
publicans. That will make, in effect,
9 Democrats and 10 Republicans
Bearing in mind that two others OF the
Republican members are really, so to
speak, semi-insurgents, are a little
nearer to La Toilette than to the regular
Republicans-bearing that in mind, 1t Is
q question today whether the Republic
cans can control the finance COM
mittee. And the finance committee Is
orthodox creed AS the committee that
handles the tariff, 1t is the citadel of
the principal Republican historic doc
trine, protection.
Assumes National Aspect.
This aspect of the elevation Of La
Toilette has important national mean
ing, clearly One meaning is that the
principle of high protection, as COM
monty understood and practiced by the
Republican party in the past, has lost,
or. nearly lest, its principal stronghold.
Yet La Toilette got his place on the
finance committee by Republican
votes, and Republican votes only. He
fwtrf NJ ~
gressive -Democratic coalition that has
been winning so many victories in the
Senate as a whole. Neither the coah-
ton nor the Senate as a whole nor
Democrats, nor ProgressiveS had any
thing to do with putting La Toilette on
the finance committee. Republican
vacancies on that committee and on
all committees are filled by Republic
can votes only. Only Republican Sen
ators had vote in the process that
elevated La Toilette.
La Toilette got his place, it Is fair
to say, speaking roughly, because more
than half the Republicans in the Sem
ate wanted him to have tor thought
it would be politically unwise to deny
it to him.
Where did this Republican strength
and sentiment come from that put La
Toilette on the finance committee?
To answer that is to explain funda-
mental fact about the Republican party
in the Senate, a fact very little under
stood.
G. o. p. Split Into Three Groups.
The Republican party in the Senate
consists of not two but three groups.
1t is a spectrum with at least three
primary colorS (and good many shad-
ingS). At one end Is the odd Guard"
group. typifled by, for example. Grundy
and Reed of Pennsylvania and Moses
of New Hampshire. At the other end
is the group that calls themselves in
for example, La Toilette, Borah, Norris
and Brookhart. Between is the bulk of
the Republican party in the Senate.
To express 1t numerically, begin with
the fact that the Republicans of all
kinds in the Senate, nominal and real,
1nsurgent, regular and what-not, num-
Der Sc. OF these. Is are insurgent Re-
publicans, chiefly from the West.
number not so easy to be definite about
but approximately 15-rather less than
more-are "Old Guard" Republicans,
chiefly from the East. The remaining
20 are neither one nor the other-and
these compose the solid bulk Of the Re-
publican party in the Senate.
The name that has been given to
this middle and largest group during
the last few months. since the real
nature of the division in the Republic
cans of the Senate has begun to APP
pear, is Young Turks" For conven-
fence we may accept 1t, though a more
accurate term for the group would be
middle -of -the-road" Republicans. The
Young Turks" in their ideas and
point of view, are much closer to the
western Insurgents than to the Eastern
"Old Guard"
1t was the Young Turks" who really
decreed that La Toilette should have
the place on the finance committee.
They include such Western Republicans