Evening star., 1930-12-08
The Political Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.

Senator James J. Davis Of Pennsyl-
vania won the first round easily in his
tight for q Senate seat last Tuesday
when the Senate by q vote Of more than
two to one declined to hold him up
until the Senate Campaign Investi-
eating Committee could proceed further
with its inquiry begun last Spring into
the Pennsylvania primary. Chairman
Nye of the Investigating Committee now
expects that his committee will be able
to make a final report on the expendi-
lures In that primary during the present
week. The question arises whether.
with the committees report in hand, an
effort will be made to declare the Penn
sylvanian's seat vacant.
II Senator Nye Is correct, the report
will show that $700, 900 or more was ex-
pended in the Republican primary fight
for the ticket headed by Senator Davis
and Francis Skunk Brown, the unsuc-
cessful candidate of the Ware Philadel-
phia Republican organization for Gov
ernor. An effort Is being made by
those unfriendly to Davis to show that
the Senator was the beneficiary of
half OF this money expended in the
primary, If not more. BY so doing they
believe they can place Senators who
voted for the exclusion Of bill" Ware
and Frank Smith, Senators-elect from
Pennsylvania and Illinois in 1925. be-
cause OF large expenditures in their
primary campaigns, in an uncomfortable
position If they now support Davis.
But these would-be trouble makers
overlook several circumstances when
they seek to compare the Ware and
Smith elections with that of Davis,
ware, the boss Of the Philadelphia or
ganization, was the real beneficiary of
the $78O,O00 put up in the 1925 cam
pa1gn for the Vare-Beidleman ticket.
Beidleman was the organizations candi-
date for Governor, 1t Is true. But there
was talk of trading Beidleman off in
order to win for Ware, If 1t became nec-
eSSary during that campaign. No one
ever suggested that Ware would be
traded OF for Beidleman's sake. Further
more, 1t was brought out by the Senate
Investigating Committee in 1926 that
Ware spent something like $l0O.O0 of
his own money in this primary CAM
pa1gn. In the case Of Frank Smith of
Illinois, who defeated the late Senator
mckinley in the primary in 1925, it
turned out that more than SIPS, 900 was
contributed to his campaign fund bv
public utility magnates, among them
samuel insult, although Smith was at
the time head of the Public Utilities
commission OF the State. In addition
the S3OO,OO0 expended In that cam
paign was for Smiths candidacy and
not for ticket"
AS for Senator Davis, no one sug-
gested that Brown was to be traded of
In the primary for the benefit Of Davis,
Brown was the prize pet Of the Ware
organlzation-its candidate for Gov
ernor-in the 1880 primary. Any one
who was in Pennsylvania at the time
OF the close OF that campaign will re-
member the constant rumors that Davis
was to be traded of in the interests of
Brown. AS a matter of fact, the Ware
organization in Philadelphia event
through" for Davis and there was no
trading of. But 1t was apparent that
the organization was in the fight to
nominate the Governor primarily. The
large expenditures were for that pur-
pose. And this fact has been ham
mered home IN the minds of many of
the Senators. Davis himself contribut-
ed about $4,000 to his own campaign,
X \
Jimmy" Davis carries in his pocket
an American Federation union card.
Not many Senators of the United States
nave had the same distinction. He has
been Secretary of Labor for a decade.
1t was his strength with organized labor
IN pennsylvania that had a great deal
to do with his rolling up big lead on
Joseph r. Grundy, millionaire manu-
facturer, his opponent in the primary,
and In his tremendous lead over his
Democratic opponent Sedgwick Kistler.
In the general election. All these are
facts which are known to the Senators.
There are those in the Senate who voted
few days ago to halt Davis from TAX
ing the oath of office until the Senate
committee had time to make a fuller
report who say that it Is a mistake to
interpret their votes on that occasion as
lining them up against the seating of
Davis.
All kinds Of rumors, some Of them
without foundation, have been started
by Davis opponents in their efforts to
prevent Senator Davis from taking his
seat and from keeping 1t now that he
IS in" The Pennsylvania election
laws provide for the payment Of watch
erS and workers at the polls on election
days. It Is a big State and the pay
ment OF these workers runs into big
figures in any election in which there
Is much interest. It has been charged
that this is just another way of buying
votes. That may be. If so, it Is a fault
OF the State law and should be cor
rected by the State. The Senate can
not, perhaps unfortunately, make the
election laws for Pennsylvania. That
Is q matter reserved so far to the
States.
Senator James Hamilton Lewis. or
rather Senator ELECT, out in Illinois has
enunciated a doctrine that will fall
harshly on the ears Of some of his
the upper House. He asserts that the
opposition party has no good right to
oppose the measures intended by a
President OF the United States to carry
into effect the policies of the President
merely because the Chief Executive be-
longs to another political party. To
quote from Senator Lewis:
Two reasons IRE apparent. One is
that as public servants (the members |
OF Congress) they owe it to the public |
in order to give them the best chance |
to secure what they seek. The other is
that to obstruct the President in car
rying out policies and then charge him |
with failure to execute them Is q form |
OF hypocrisy, trickery and deceit"
- 4 \
It looks as though the Illinois Sen
ator-elect might be one of those Demo- |
Gratis who Will follow the lead of the |
big Seven" In their pronouncement |
that henceforth the Democratic party is |
not to be considered merely q party of |
obstruction. The more partisan among |
the Democratic Senators have been at |
pains recently TO denounce any CO.
operation with the Republican admin
istration, no matter what the purpose. |
They have been criticized on the |
ground that their attitude has been |
that the only real excuse for the Demo- |
cratic party is to fight the Republicans. |
Mr.. Lewis takes the strange view that |
measures are to be passed upon on their |