Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-28
The Political Mill
BY C. Could Lincoln.

First in Virginia, then in North Caro-
lima and now in. Texas the Democratic
leaders who bolted the Al Smith ticket
in 1928 and helped to send these States
into the Republican column on election
day have been getting their drubbings.
The Lone Star State held its primary
elections Saturday, and Tom" Love,
former Democratic national commlttee-
man and in 1928 the head and fore
front of the anti-Smith Democratic
movement in Texas, found That the
voters had frogotten all about smith
by this time. He insisted upon run
ming for the Democratic nomination
for Governor. Some of the Democrats
who had remained regular sought 10
prevent his doing so, just as the regular
Democrats in Alabama nave barred
Tom" Heflin from the party primary
there this year But Tom Love was
finally permitted to run. Now, 1t APP
pears, he has been beaten, and beaten
badly.
Senator Simmons of North Carolina
was defeated in the senatorial primary
for nomination-another opponent oil
Al Smith-not long ago. Mr.. Love has
met a like rebuke at the hands of the
from the party primary, is going to
run as independent next Fall in Ala
bama If the writing on the wall can
be correctly interpreted Mr.. Hefin,s
days in the Senate are numbered. He
is a great campaigner and stump speak
err. That's about all that could save
Marse Tom.
Whether these successive and i'm
pressive defeats of anti-Smith Demo-
cratic leaders in the South will have
the effect of raising the hopes of the
Smith Democrats to the extent of
bringing another boom for Smith for
President remains to be seen. There
are plenty of Democrats who insist
that the 1923 campaign was merely a
campaign of education" and that
Smith could win If he ran again in
1882. Anyhow, the Smith supporters
are taking no little satisfaction out of
the defeats of the Democratic boilers
in 1928.
The vets get little satisfaction out
of the Texas primary. Even though
Love was defeated running as an anti
Smith. anti-Tammany candidate-and
both Smith and Tammany are wet -
Morris Sheppard, the drieSt of the dry,
co-author of the eighteenth amendment,
ran away from his wet opponent, Bob"
Henry, for many years member Of
the House, in the senatorial primary
This means that Mr.. Sheppard will
continue for another six-year term in
he is, put aside the wet and dry issue
two years ago and supported the reg
ular Democratic ticket. 1t is true that
he did not campaign widely for the
election of Smith. But he rode on the
regular party wagon, putting his party
ahead of the prohibition issue He may
have figured that AL Smith could not
be elected anyway and that he him
self had to be Democrat and run as
a Democrat for many years to come.
If he figured that way he showed good
political sense. Mr.. Hef1in and Mr..
Simmons, if they had figured the same
way would have been riding along
easily now, assured of reelection to the
Senate, just as Mr.. Sheppard is.
4 X
Back in 1920 the G. o. P. nominated
a Republican for President and elected
him. Ohio moved down to Washing
ton-or rather part of Ohio-en maSse.
Three years later, the G. o. P, having
had plenty of Ohio and all its works,
turned to Massachusetts, and Calvin
Coolidge to paint new picture for the
voters of the country, But the pendu-
State is again a great factor in c.. o. P.
councils Senator FesS is about to be-
come chairman of the Republican Ma
tional Committee. Walter Brown is
Postmaster General, the real political
job in the cabinet, and Joseph r. Mutt
of Cleveland is treasurer of the Ma
tional Committee. 1t looks as though it
were impossible to keep Ohio down. AS
a matter of fact the Ohio presidential
primary in 1928 marked the turning
point in the race for the Republican
presidential nomination and practically
assured the nomination of President
Hoover. The late Senator Theodore
Burton was powerful factor in the
result in the Ohio primary. Senator
Tess, who had pledged his aid to the
late Senator Frank B. Willis in the
presidential fight, was at heart be-
lever in the Hoover star. And Mr.
Fess was picked as the temporary chair
man and keynote speaker at the Kansas
City Convention which nominated Mr..
Hoover on the first ballot.
X x
It is a coincidence that the Republi-
cans and Democrats have both picked
Kentuckians to head their national ex-
ecutive committees. Robert H. Lucas.
who is slated now to take charge of
tional organization, under Mr.. Fess, Is
a Kentuckian, and Jouett ShouSe, chair
man of the Democratic Executive Com
mittee for more than a year, is ma
tive of Kentucky, although he moved
further West and now is rated from
Kansas and Kansas City. Mo. II Mr..
Lucas is as successful in blowing life
into the Republican organization as Mr..
Shouse has been with the Democrats,
the choice of the Kentuckian will have
been merited.
Nebraska had its Norrises, and now
Massac husetts is threatened with too
much Butler" Walter l. Butler. a
grocer of Revere, Mass, and a former
Welterweight champion, has indicated
he would like to leave his shop and
come to the Senate. He would be
candidate for the Republican senatorial
nomination against William M. Butler,
former Senator and former chairman OF
the Republican National Committee.
Perhaps the fact that the George w.
Norris of Broken Bow Nebr., who
sought to run against Senator George
w Norris for the senatorial nomina-
ton, was also grocer, inspired Walter
l. Butler to mention the fact he would
like also to go to the Senate. Perhaps,
too, this kind of thing is good for the
grocery business.
X
Out in Wisconsin, where young Phil"
La Toilette, son of the late Senator and
brother of the present Senator La Fol-
lette, is campaigning for the Republican
for Governor, Solomon Levi
tan, State treasurer. has announced his
candidacy to succeed himself. Mr. Levi
tan, who came to Wisconsin years ago
as a peddler with a pack on his back,
has been State treasurer for years.
Apparently he has done a good job. He
ran ahead of all his ticket when he
was elected last time. Although he is