Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-16
DEMOCRATS ARE LOOKING
TO PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Do Not Want Responsibility for Congress
and Would Prefer to Have Repub-
icans in Control.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.


public, between the superficial
aspect Of what Il now going on
about Congress-and the true
aspect Of what Is in the secret minds
Of political leaders. II the public Is
to follow the moves, 1t must be able to
understand those card games In which
the essential art consists, sometimes,
not in taking the trick, but in forcing
your opponent to take 1t.
The public thinks there Is q desperate
conflict going on between Republicans
and Democrats, each trying to get the
one or two seats that viii mean ability
to organize and control the Senate and
the two or three seats that will mean
the same thing In the House. This has
gone on excitedly since the election 10
days ago. It will 60 on recurrently for
the Is months until the newly elected
Congress actually assumes power.
ct must be understood that the
Congress that was elected the fourth OF
this month Is not the one that will sit
next month. It Is the old Congress
that meets this coming December. The
new Congress, the one just elected, does
not step into ONCE until Is months
from now, until December ], 1917
Balance win Shift.
During the intervening Is months
the excitement will continue as to
whether the Democrats or the Repub-
licans will control. Again and again
the narrow and delicate balance will
be shifted back and forth by the deaths
Of Republicans who may be succeeded
by Democrats, and vice versa. We shall
be having wild alarms. We shall be
seeing headlines about q Senator taken
by death and thereby shifting the ball
ance Of power. Or headlines like:
Democratic Senator j. Ham. Lewis
Of Illinois resigns to accept position Is
style arbiter Of mems tailoring industry.
Republican Governor Of Illinois appoints
Republican to succeed him. Result
changes control Of Senate from Demo-
cratic to Republican"
Or, in the other direction:
Republican Senator Simeon d. Tess
Of Ohio resigns to accept position with
Association Opposed to Prohibition.
Democratic Governor Of Ohio appoints
Democrat to succeed him. Result
changes control Of Senate from Repub-
lican to Democratic"
Many Democratic Governors.
In these shifts of control because of
designations (Which are most 1mprob-
able and are here mentioned humor-
ously), or deaths (Which are certain),
fate will favor the Democrats. The
reason Is that there are so many Demo-
cratic Governors. There was in the cleo
ton this month a veritable landslide Of
Democratic Governors. In Connecticut,
for example, If either of the two Re-
publican Senators should die or retire
the new Democratic Governor would
appoint Democratic successor. In D
few states, like Illinois, Republican Cow
errors viii control the succession to
Democratic Senator. It Is an intri@
cate situation, with many Of the cas-
ualties tinguessable Is to outc0me--but
certain to happen.
It viii be the same as to the House.
During the Is months before 1t meets
to organize possibly as many as 10 menu
beers will die. The distribution Of the
deaths between the two parties viii be
ungueSsable, but fateful. Whenever q
member dies the two parties win fight
furiously for his seat. As result of 1t
all there win be several periods during
which the new Congress viii seem DEM
ocratic. several periods during which it
viii seem Republican.
Through It all the two parties viii
seem to be fighting desperately for the
narrow margin Of one or two or three
that means majority, that means power
TO elect the Speaker and name the
committees.
Beneath this surface of furious fight
ing, however, there will be some subtle
counter-currents, which the public win
not see unless 1t watches more closely
than the public commonly does.
Garner Would Welcome Edge.
AS respects the Republicans the SUI
perfcial picture Of them trying to hold
the marrow majority is substantially ac-
curate, though not completely So With
the Democrats the picture Is decidedly
qualified.
Undoubtedly some Democratic leaders
really want their party to organize and
control the two branches. These are the
particular leaders who would be indi-
vidually benefited. Doubtless John Gar
ner Of Texas wants Democratic major
ity, which would make him Speaker and
give him the prestige and the of1cial
perquisiteS appurtenant to that agree
able job. Doubtless he earnestly, in the
Texas phrase, "hones" for that ofiicial
automobile which he has been calling,
in his kidding" conversations with Re-
publican Speaker Longworth, "our auto
mobile" Doubtless also Democrat Joseph
w. Byrns Of Tennessee earnestly yearns
for the Democratic margin of two or
three that would make him chairman of
the powerful and desirable Committee
on Appropriations in the place of Re
publican VIII Wood of Indiana.
If we turn. however, to Democratic
leaders not directly involved, we win
ind different state Of mind. Quite a
few of the most powerful Democratic
leaders are not in Congress, and there
fore have no personal stake. They (and
some Of the leaders within Congress as
welD look further ahead They will
IA h. wnp e,
troll It, with an eye to the presidential
election of 1892. Playing the game in
that spirit, they will prefer not to have
q Democratic majority in Congress.
Look to Presidential Race.
The writer of this dispatch knows
nothing about the inner mind OF Chair
man Raskob or Of Working Chairman
Shouse. It does not require q psyche
analyst, however, to tell what their inner
minds must be. Democratic leaders who
look solely to the presidential race in
1882 do not want Democratic RESPONSE
bility for Congress. What they want is
q narrow, nominal Republican majority
They want the Republicans to have re-
sponsibility in the eyes Of the country
The reason Democratic leaders want
this condition and do not want q ma
jority for themselves, may not be OBJ
YtouS 70 the casual reader but Is plain
to the politicians In both parties.
Perhaps it can be made clear by re-
calling what has actually existed in the
Senate during the past year. In the
Senate there has been a nominal Re-
publican majority. Therefore the Re-
publicans, and to some degree Presi-
dent Hoover, have been held RESPONSE
bic for what the Senate did. What
the Senate did was, on the whole, not
popular. Actually, however, the Re-
publicans did not wholly control and
were not able wholly TO determine what
the Senate did. what the Senate did
lition made up Of the Democrats to-
Rnther with q little nrnIin Of inslarneIk