New Britain herald., 1930-04-08
Critic of Catholics, AL ready Read Out of Party and Running as Indepen- dent, Faces Hard Fight to Win Election.

Mobile, Ala, April (UP)-Ala- banla is rapidly warming up to one of the most violent political battles in it's recent history, with Senator Thomas Hefin the storm center.
 Hehin, famed for his denunciation of the pope and for his bolting the party in 1928 to support Herbert Hoover against Alfred E. smith, was read out of the party and barred from seeking the democratic nomi- nation to succeed himself by the democratic state committee.
 Consequently he is running as an independent, hoping to rally such heavy support that he can establish himself as the leading democrat of Alabama.
 Case in Supreme Court
 A suit now pending before the state supreme court has as it's aim the restoration of Heflin to the democratic fold, but many feel that the action of the state committee and subsequent events caused a breach too wide to fill.
 Two candidates now oppose each other on the democratic ticket. They are John H. Bankhead, re- tired, of Birmingham, brother of Congressman w. B. Bankhead of Alabama, the first to file against Hefin, and Frederick I. Thompson, Mobile publisher, who entered the race after the state committees ac- tion.
 Thompson announced that his main reason for running was to see that the primary did not go by de- fault. He has capitalized the revela- tions in the power investigations and thus far his platform seems to be directed chiefly against the Ala bama Power Co.,. which is an in- terest to be reckoned with in this state. He is refusing all requests for campaign statements.
 Heflin, with his usual militant tactics, maintains he will flick them all to frazzle.'
 Wanted Open Race
 Bankhead, up to the time of the meeting of the state committee at which Heflin was read out of the party, had insisted that he wanted the race to be an open one, and welcomed all corners. Since the com mittee's action, however, he has not reiterated his previous statements maintaining that the committee rep resents the official will of the party and 1t Is not for him to speak after the committee has acted.
 But in Birmingham there have arisen those who feel differently on the subject, notably Horace Willlin- son, attorney, through whose action the situation has gone into the courts. He asked an injunction to Festrain officials of Jefferson coun- ty, in which Birmingham is located, from proceeding with the primary. His claim was that the state com nittees action which barred as candidates those who supported Hoover for president, but welcomed them to the party as voters, ille- gally set up one set of qualifica- tions for voters and another for candidates. This case is now before the state supreme court which is considering briefs and is expected to make an early decision.
 Confusion Seems Probable
 If the court upholds Willlinson's S contention the whole situation will be thrown into confusion and the committee will have to untangle it. Some think the answer would be to take the easy way out-namely readmit Hef1in and his associates to the party with full rights as candi- dates and voters, and then let it all be thrashed out on election day. Others. who are more militant, be- heve the logical course would be 10 bar as voters in the democratic primaries as we'll as candidates, those who supported Hoover.
 The facts of the case seem to be that no one is certain just what ought to be cone, and until the dourt rules the campaign probably will proceed along the lines now drawn.