Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-02
The Political Mill
BY G.. Could Lincoln.

voters Uney are more OeVOUeu 70 SASoh
government than are the Republicans:
The disclosures of graft and sale OF
Offices in New York City, where the
Tammany Tiger runs the Democratic
organization, has come at an tnoppor-
tune time, with the election only four
weeks and a half in the future. Gov.
Roosevelt and his advisers are clear
in their view that this corruption is
sue is one that must be met II the
Democrats are to win. Mayor Jimmy"
Walker of New York has fallen in with
the views of the Governor. He has Is
sued orders to the Tammany leaders
who hold city jobs to sign immunity
waivers and testify before the grand
jury. There are five of these leaders
who a few days ago defied the Ewald
grand jury and declined to testify.
X
This is a bitter pill for Tammany,
the organization that controls in Great
er New York, although Tammany itself
| is the Democratic organization of only
one of the five city boroughs. Tam
| many is the driving force which has
| rolled up huge majorities for Demo-
| cratic candidates for Governor and
other Offices in the City of New York
on election days. And now on the eve
! of an election, Tammany leaders are
| to be subjected to humiliation, if not
of the Republican candidate for gov
| ernor, Charles H. Tuttle, who has been
United States attorney for the south
| ern district of New York and who,
| perhaps, did more than any other man
| to stir up the scandals which now be-
smirch the city government. 1t was
his challenge to Gov. Roosevelt to take
stand and show himself bigger than
| Tammany" that brought Roosevelt's let
| ter to Mayor Walker demanding that
the Tammany leaders who are on the
| city pay roll appear and testify before
the grand jury.
X X Il
When it comes to election day, Tam
many will have to make up its mind
whether it will ''go through for Roose-
welt. 1t probably will go through for
| him, for it diSlikes futile far more than
| the present Democratic Governor. A
Republican Governor in Albany would
| be more of a menace than a Demo-
cratic Governor is the way the organi-
zation leaders are likely to argue. How
ever, there Is great deal of bitterness
among the Democats over the recent
developments and the stand which
Roosevelt has taken. If the organiza-
ton goes through for Roosevelt in a
| half-hearted way the outlook viii be
bad for the Governor.
| The Republican strength in New
York lies upstate and outside Of New
| York. The Democrats usually roll up
huge majorities in the greater city.
This year, however, it looks as though
Roosevelt the Democratic candidate for
Governor, may be stronger than Demo-
cratic candidates usually are upstate
and that futile will run more strongly
| in New York City than Republicans
usually do. In the first place, Roosevelt
| is dtsaSsociated in the mind Of the peo-
| pie upstate from Tammany. Tuttle, on
| the other hand, has come out for the
repeal Of the eighteenth amendment, a
stand which is likely to weaken him
| upstate and to strengthen him in New
York. He has, in addition the corrup-
ton charges to aid him with the in
| dependent voters in New York City.
| Where not long ago it looked as though
the Democrats would romp all over the
| PROSTATE form of the Republicans in
the New York election this year, it now
| looks to be more or less Of an even
race. Much will depend upon what
| happens in the next few weeks. If the
the city and links them with the Demo-
cratic organization, it will not be q help
to Mr.. Roosevelt.
X r ~
The professional drys. the heads Of
| the dry organizations, including the
Anti-Saloon League and the w. C. T. u,
are angling for another and more i'm
portant candidate to head their new
| party, the Law Preservation party
according to reports. At meeting in
New York they agreed the other day to
support the candidacy of Prof. Robert
p. Carroll. professor Of psychology in
Syracuse University, though with some
reluctance. Now they are trying TO
prevail upon Fred w. Freestone, master
of the New York State Grange, body
of 900 New York farmers, most of
whom are dry" to take the place OF
Prof. Carroll.
Republican upstate dry leaders have
generally come out for Tuttle. This has
snraged the leaders of the dry organiza-
lions and they are making threats
against all of these G. o. P. leaders,
planning to take away their present
| offices. Anyway you look at 1t, the
| fight in New York this year has be-
come one of the most interesting off,
year political contests of recent times.
| The regular Republican organization
| in Nebraska certainly seems to have
lacked boldneSs in dealing with the
recalcitrant Senator George w. Norris
this year. They might have taken a
leaf out of the book of the regular Re-
| publicans in Iowa and gone further.
| In 1924. when Senator Brookhart, Re-
| publican nominee for the Senate to
| succeed himself, announced his OPP
position to the Coolidge national
| ticket and aligned himself with the La
Toilette Wheeler ticket, the regular Re-
publican organization got behind SEN
ator Steck, his Democratic opponent,
and elected him. The regular Repub-
licans in Nebraska, according to all re-
ports. would prefer former Senator
Hitchcock, the Democratic nominee for
the Senate, to Senator Norris. Perhaps,
| If they came out squarely for Hitchcock
and worked for his election openly they
might succeed in putting him in the
Senate, just as the regular Republicans
beat Brookhart and elected Steck.
| y X
Senator Norris two years ago deserted
the Republican national ticket-which
| in a presidential election year is tanta-
mount to deserving the Republican
party-and came out publicly for the
election of Al Smith. the Democratic
| candidate for President. If the regular
Republicans announced themselves now
for Hitchcock in preference to Norris,
| whom they insist is a deSerter, it does
not appear that Mr.. Norris would have
any legitimate kick. The Republican
| regulars might answer that what Is
sauce for the goose Is also sauce for the
gander. If reports from Nebraska are
/ correct, many of the regular Repub-
licans are likely to vote for Hitchcock
on election day in any event. But also
a considerable number of Democrats
may swing over to Norris. The seeming
lukewarmness of the Democratic ma
tional organization to the candidacy OF
Senator Hitchcock, in a year when the
Democrats are seeking to make all the
| gains they can in the Senate and House,
| is said by Republican leaders to be due
to the fact that the Democrats feel
that Norris in the Senate is more val
/ liable as a trouble-maker for the Re
| r,,hIIoors +oap nenoncratic Senator