Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-13
The Political Mill
By c. Gould Lincoln.

It was Q foregone conclusion that tie
split In the Republican ranks over pro.
hibition would force itself to the front,
following the recent congressional cleo
lions. A statement by Senator F'ess Of
Ohio, chairman of the Republican Ma
tional Committee. to the effect that the
Republicans would have to espouse the
cause of the eighteenth amendment
and not straddle on the issue, in the
1882 campaign, set OF the fireworks.
The vets are already demanding q new
chairman Of the @. o. p. national or
ganization. That, of course, is no way
for them to get rid Of Mr.. Tess. In
the first place, 1t is evident that Chair
man Tess would not resign under such
a barrage from the vets. And a. for his
being removed-that Is quite as much
out of the question.
Furthermore, II Mr.. Tess should be
eliminated from the picture at this
time as chairman Of the Republican
National Committee, who would be
selected in his place? Would he be a
wet or dry? To deliberately replace Mr..
Tess with q wet Republican would be
like throwing a ton of dynamite into
situation that already has enough pit
falls for the Republicans. 1t appears
Mr.. Fess, Representative Britten Of I'LL
nois, wet Republican leader in the
House, has fastened the chairman to
his job 1t Is a job that Mr.. Tess did
not crave and one that he expected to
relinquish after the campaign now
closed. He was drafted to take the
Craftsmanship of the National Commit
tee after the Claudius H. Huston
episode.
The Republican drys from Western
and Middle Western States are hoping
for something to turn up to take the
minds of the public of the wet and dry
issue by the time the presidential cleo
ton rolls around in 1892. Some Of
them frankly admit they do not know
what the position Of the Republican
party will be or should be In 1882 on
this prohibition issue. But they are
hoping that business conditions will
improve, unemployment will diminish
and that other issues will blot the
liquor problem from the picture before
the next Republican national conven-
ton Is held to draft party platform
and nominate q presidential candidate.
The demand for the resignation Of
Mr.. FeSs, now voiced by Republican
vets, recalls wildly the demand by
Democratic drys, notably Josephus
Daniels, Secretary of the Navy in the
Wilson administration, for the resigna.-
ton of John j. Raskob, the wet chair
man Of the Democratic National Com
mittee. Mr.. RaSkob, 1t may be men
toned, is still on the job.
Unless all signs are wrong, the DEM
oeratS are to nominate for President in
1892 a man who favors repeal of the
eighteenth amendment, or, at least, the
modification of the present national
dry laws in marked respect. But when
it comes to writing platform dealing
with the liquor question, the Demo-
Gratis, in national convention, are head
ed for sure trouble. The States Of the
South, the Democratic traditional
stronghold, have not yet abandoned
their prohibition stand. The writing
of the prohibition plank, If there Is to
be one, will surely afford the Democrats
plenty of excitement two years hence,
whether they meet In sunny South,
the arid West or the wet East.
Senator Willard E. Tydings of Mary
land, chairman of the Democratic Sem
atorial Committee, came a good deal
nearer to winning for his party an ac-
persons believed possible. Under his
leadership the Democrats made net
gain of eight seats in the Senate, and
they will have AZ seats to 48 for the Re-
pTolicans and for the Farmer-Labor
party when the next Congress meets.
The Maryland Senator, hard worker
and aggressive, has received many con-
gratulatory kilograms and letters for the
work done by his committee and himself
during the campaign now closed.
Tydings is only 40 years old. When
the United States entered the World
War he enlisted as q private. He left
the Army at the close Of the war rs q
lieutenant colonel.
tributed to the Democratic Senatorial
Committee was distributed by Senator
Tydings to the States where the Demo-
Gratis were waging real battles for the
election of Senators. Expenditures were
made in ID States and In 10 Of these
States Democratic Senators were elected.
A pretty fair batting average, especially
when victories were obtained in such
strongly Republican States as Ohio and
Illinois and in West Virginia and Massa-
chusetts.
The recent campaign Is not Senator
Tydings' first experience in conducting
SCllhgDlldI ChIllpdlSIS. Al 1870 lie YVES
chairman OF the Senatorial Committee,
too, and also of the speakers bureau.
Despite the Hoover landslide in that
year, the Democrats elected Senator's
in Arizona, New York, washington,
Virginia, Utah, Tennessee, Nevada,
Massae husetts, Montana and Wyoming
All of these States cast their electoral
votes for Mr.. Hoover except Massachu-
sets. Edwin A. Halsey acted as secre-
tary and treasurer of the Democratic
Senatorial Committee and as aid to
Senator Tydings in both the 1928 and
1880 campaigns.
$50
Representative "Jack" Garner of
Texas, Democratic leader of the House,
must look elsewhere for support for
the speakership in the next Congress
than from Representative Harry M
Wurzbach, also of Texas, but a Repub-
lican. WurZbach has been given q
rough ride in the past by the Republi-
can State organization of the Lone Star
State, dominated by Republican Ma
tional Committeeman r. b. Creager
But this does not incline him to vote
for Garner for Speaker. even If his vote
could place Garner in the Speakers
chair. With the House so evenly d.
vided, 21B Republicans, 216 Democrats
and / Farmer-Labor, the desertion of
the Republicans by Wurzbach in the
vote on the speakership might be
serious affair for Nicholas Longworth
when the new Congress meets.
Wurzbach, the sole Republican
elected to Congress from Texas, has won
his sixth battle in his district for cleo
ton to the House He wins through
Democratic as well as Republican votes.
But this year he had strong opposition
from the Democratic leaders of the
State, including Senator Tom Con-
nally and Senator Morris Sheppard,
who made speeches against his re-
election. Garner did the same. So