Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-20
BY WILLIAM HARD.

To the wet "bloc" In the approaching
congressional elections there must now
be added q new Negro bloc: and the
effect Of both "blocs" IN TO increase the
chances Of the Democrats for winning
control Of the next House OF Repre-
sentativeS.
oscar de Priest, Republican Negro
Representative in the Lower House of
Congress from the FIRST district of
Illinois, in Chicago, Is principally
responsible for the emergence Of the
Negro bloc" which Is called "the
peoples movement" The purpose Of
this movement essentially is to vote for
Republican candidates, or Democratic
candidates, or independent candidates,
in accordance solely with their attitude
toward the Negro race. That such q
bipartisan or non-partisan bloc"
should be originated by o Republican
Representative Is almost without prec-
edent. Authentic reports are that 1t
Is going strong in Northern and border
State congressional districts IN which
Negro voters are thickly congregated.
It might readily prove decisive IN
many of those districts, and It has its
origin in four main discontents.
First, the Republican presidential
campaign managers Of last year dis
carded all efforts to please the Negroes
in favor of efforts to please the South
ern whites. Second, the existing Re-
publican administration has appointed
virtually no Negroes to ONCE. Third,
the Negro division of the Republican
national committee has been closed
down. Fourth, John j. Parker of North
Carolina, accused of opposing Negro
participation In politics, has been
nominated to be justice Of the United
States Supreme Court. This fourth
discomfort might have been in itself
Of minor consequence. It gets Its i'm
portance from being the match which
set the heap Of the previous discontents
on fire.
Informed professional politicians here
take this FIRE extremely seriously. In
the three border States of Missouri and
Kentucky and Maryland and in the
Middle Western States Of Illinois and
Indiana and Ohio and in the four
Eastern States of Pennsylvania and
New Jersey and New York and Massa-
chusetts there were 1852 Negroes Of
voting age at the time of the last
census. BY natural increase and by
immigration from the Far South there
are many more now. They have
ironically but abundantly proved that
they can vote for Democrats.
The Harlem region of New York City,
which Is classically region of Negroes,
contributes heavily to sending to the
Federal House of Representatives the
Democratic Representative Anthony ].
Grimm and the Democratic Representa-
n mwa
in recognition of the situation has adj
mitted Negroes to his list of nominees
for examination for admission to the
Annapolis Naval Academy. Representa-
tive Oscar de Priests peoples movement"
is based on the proposition that all
Negroes should be as willing as the
Negroes of Harlem to suit their partisan
politics to their race interests.
A painstaking count shows that in the
border States and In the North and
East there are at least Is con-
gressional districts in which Negro
voters are plentiful enough and are be-
coming Independent enough to be able
to make themselves possibly the de-
termining weight in an election. That
in these districts there will be OBJECTIONS
next Fall from the Republican candi-
dates to the Democratic candidates or
to independent candidates now seems
virtually inevitable. How large these
defections will be Is q matter OF guess,
but that In certain instances they may
well turn the scale is sure.
A similar calculation can be made
about the wet bloc" The vets, what
ever their numbers, will be more CO.
herently q "bloc" this Fall than in any
previous Federal election. They are
angrier than ever before, and richer
and more disposed to leap party barriers.
They are rapidly becoming almost as
bipartisan and non-partisan as the
drys. They are far yet from having
reached that point, but they are speedily
approaching it. Most of them perhaps
will continue to vote their straight party
tickets, irrespective Of prohibition, but
a larger fraction of them than ever
before will scorn party tickets In favor
of registering their anti-prohibition
views.
This change, large or small, will in
the North and East, because OF the ad-
ministration's dryness, hurt the Repub-
licans and help the Democrats. There
are at least a score OF dry Republicans
now sitting In the House OF Representa-
tives from Northern and Eastern dis
tricts which are indisputably wringing
wet. They have managed, so far, on
business prosperity arguments, to re-
elect themselves with the help of wet
votes. With prosperity not 50 high
now, they will be harder pressed. Some
of them will get saved by their long
political services to their districts and
by their high personal reputes. Others.
few or many, will get swamped.
n
1t Is genuinely for these reasons that
the Democrats can really hope, as they
do hope, to make triumphant show
ing in the elections for the Lower House
OF the Congress next Fall. They have
been giving their legislative energies
in Washington primarily to trying to
keep down the tariff duties for the
industrial North and East and to try
ing to elevate the tariff duties for the
agricultural South and West. They
nevertheless will gain few congressional
districts in the agricultural regions. BY
a roaring joke they will make their
main gains among the Northern and
Eastern manufacturers and workingnen
uyhn al ha nf l.