Evening star., 1930-12-12
The Political Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.


the Senate have come to open grips at
last. Attacking the President of the
United States and making facetious re-
marks about him has been pastime In
the Senate for months. What the
Democrats and some of the insurgent
Republicans have said about Mr..
Hoover fill many pages Of the Congress
sional Record. Until a couple of days
ago Mr. Hoover failed to make any
public reply to these senatorial sug-
geStionS that he was nit wit, inefficient
and merely seeking political advantage.
But on Tuesday the President saw fit
to issue q statement to the press charg-
ing that members of Congress were
proposing measures, allegedly for re-
lief of unemployment, which would
swamp the Treasury of the United
900 to the appropriations for the re-
mainder of the present fiscal year and
the next He added that some of these
members of Congress were playing
politics with human misery.
-
That got under the skin Of Mr.
Hoover's most active critics in the
Senate. He had mentioned no names,
had not even mentioned the Senate
as distinguished from the House. But
whether some of them thought that
the glove fitted or merely because they
saw another occasion to open fire on
the Chief Executive they opened with
all their broadsides at once. 1t is
one thing to bait the President of the
United States on the floor of the Sen
11..4 10 b.,
have the President of the United States
hit back. And now there is no telling
just where the rumpus will end. The
only jury in this case is the people
of the United States.
Perhaps President Hoover became a
little weary Of the personal attacks
leveled against himself and his pro-
gram of legislation and believed that,
since the Republican leaders in the
Senate were willing to sit silent while
the administration was under attack,
he had better take a hand in it him
self. At any rate he struck back. And
now he is accused of losing his temper.
1t almost seems that the President had
as good an excuse for losing his temper
as any man has had in a long time.
But Senators are aroused now that the
Chief Executive should come back at
them. It's new experience.
Whether the President was politically
wise in issuing his press statement time
alone will show Certainly all of his
critics are insisting that it was the most
stupid thing he could have done; that
it busted up" all chance of the CO.
operation which had been promised by
certain leaders of the Democratic party.
But were there any evidences Of CO.
operation? Democratic leaders had at
tackled the proposal of the President
that the emergency appropriation for
construction work, to give added en-
ployment, should be left to the discre-
ton of a board composed of the Cab
met, with the President as the final
arbiter. 1t was explained that this
money was to be used only on such
projects as already have been author
lied by Congress itself. The Senatorial
critics of the President were busy
broadcasting statements to the effect
that the administration had gone to
sleep for months and had done moth
ing to meet the unemployment and
drought situations. They were declar-
ing that the Presidents program for
relief was utterly inadequate. This may
have sounded like hymn of co-opera-
ton to members of Congress, but it is
now apparent that it did not have such
a sound to the Chief Executive.
4 4 X
The campaign for the election of a
President in 1882 is on. In fact, 1t
probably began soon after the election
in 1928. 1t is campaign in which
both sides are engaged. And both are
playing politics. There Is no time in
this broad land 1t seems, when politics
are not played. The Senate accuses Mr..
Hoover of playing politics and Mr..
Hoover comes back at the Senate with
an assertion that it, too, is engaged in
that gentle pastiIne
The situation existing between the
White House and the Senate was none
too good at the very opening of the
present administration. It rapidly grew
worse during the special session of the
present Congress, called in the Spring
Of 1929. It looks now as though it
would be open warfare from now until
March 4, 1888, or certainly until after
the next presidential election Is held
The President Is accused of being no
politician by members of his own party,
inept at the great American game. At
the same time he is constantly accused
by his Democratic opponents of play
ing politics. Perhaps what the Repub-
hcans mean Is merely that he does not
play the game expertly enough. If it
Is good politics to get along well with
the Senate, Mr.. Hoover has up to date
failed absolutely. 1t may be that he is
more concerned with getting results for
the country than in being friends. with
the Senate, although his critics : will
laugh at such suggestion.
y + X
1t Is beginning to look as though the
G. o. p. will never be able to get to-
gether again until after it has been
well drubbed by the Democrats in a
national election. After the Republi-
cans, including the insurgents, have
been ''out in the cold" for few years
they may attain a different point of
view. They may even reach the con-
cluSion that cooperation in their own
ranks Is somewhat to be desired.
X \ X
There IS trouble for the Republicans
in the Northwest. Nothing new perhaps,
but it is even more threatening than
has been the case. Take Minnesota
for example. In the last election the
Republicans split widely over both the
senatorial and gubernatorial candidates.
Many of the regular Republicans fought
Senator Schall bitterly. He nosed out
a winner over his Democratic opponent.
The Farmer-Labor candidate for Gov
ernor was elected over the Republican
nominee, giving the Farmer-Labor party
new life. 1t is noticeable that none of
the Democratic candidates was elected
in Minnesota. The State is not Demo-
cratic. That's the reason. The Farmer
Labor party Is the party of opposition
to the G. o. P. in that State. 1t may
become the party Of opposition in other
Northwestern States. Now what is to
prevent the Farmer-Labor party in
Minnesota and these other States of the
Northwest from placing a presidential
candidate in the field in 1882? If it I
does the Republican goose may be
cooked quite thoroughly, for those are
States usually counted upon to help roll |
up majority in the electoral college