Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-26
The Political Mill
By G. Gould Lincoln.


|. Public utilities corporations were a
target for Gov. Pinchot in his CAM
paign for the Republican nomination
for governor IN Pennsylvania. Mr..
Pinchot claimed that these public serv-
ice corporations were feeding too greed
lily of the people and that the COM
mission which was set UP to see that
! the people had a fair deal in the matter
Of rates charged by the corporations
and the amount Of taxes levied upon
hands of the corporations. In New
Jersey, neighbor1ng State, former Sena-
tor Joseph s. Frelinghuysen, who Is
campaigning tor the Republican sena-
torial nomination against Dwight w.
Morrow and Representative Franklin
Fort, is seeking to make the same kind
of issue against the public utilities,
naming particularly the Public Service
Corporation. That Is the corporation
which controls many of the public utii-
tiles Of Jersey. Frelinghuysen insists
that the political power of the Public
Service Corporation of New Jersey has
become notorious"
4 X
This demand for greater regulation of
the public service corporations by the
State and by the Federal Government
Is the main issue stressed by the for.
mer Senator in his effort to stage a
comeback. Along with it he is making
the issue that the machine" in New
Jersey is seeking to name the United
States Senators instead Of permitting
the rank and file Of the voters of the
Republican party to pick their own
candidates In this latter attack upon
the Republican powers in his State he
Is parallelinE also the campaign Of
Gov. Pinchot, which recently ended
successfully with his nomination over
the Ware organization candidate, Fran
els Skunk Brown. But, while Gov Pin
chot has stuck to the dry side Of the
prohibition issue, Mr.. Frelinghuysen has
gone over to the vets. AS a matter Of
fact, he Is not doing a great deal Of
talking about prohibition in his cam
paign, nor did Gov. Pinchot.
~
Mr.. Frelinghuysen Is seeking to hook
up with the public service corporations
his opponent, Mr.. Morrow, formerly q
member of the firm of j. p. Morgan g.
Co. For example, here is a paragraph
from one of his speeches:
There 10 now In process Of develop
ment q gigantic power combination or
trust which aims to set up q monopoly
Of the power and light business Of the
country, one of the most powerful
factors in which Is the Public Service
Corporation of New Jersey, through
ownership or control of It's stock by the
firm Of j. p. Morgan & Co. and its
aff1liated interests"
Whether the people Of New Jersey
are sufficiently interested in the public
service issue to swing the nomination
to Mr.. Frelinghuysen remains to be
| seen. There Is one issue, however, in
which they seem greatly interested
the prohibition issue. Mr.. Morrow has
gone the whole way and proposed the
repeal of the eighteenth amendment,
or its amendment so that 1t practically
amounts to repeal, leaving the States
free again to decide for themselves Just
what shall be done about prohibition
Mr.. Frelinghuysen has declared against
the existing order Of dry laws. And
Mr.. Fort, hugging prohibition to his
bosom as the real issue in this CAM
paign, has jumped into the ring 10 carry
the fight to the vets. II Mr.. Fort can
succeed In dividing the wet vote be-
tween his two opponents he may slip
into the nomination. After that he
Will have to reckon with the wet Demo-
cratic candidate at the general cleo
ton in November.
4 X Il \
Mr.. Fort, according to reports is
/ likely to prove formidable candidate
for the nomination In the first place
he will have the dry sentiment prac-
tically solidly back Of him. He has
been q member Of the House for q
number Of years and has been prom
inent in Republican circles In the State
and IN the Nation. He Is and has been
close friend and adviser Of President
Hoover. His father was governor Of the
State at one time. In this three-cor
nered race. 1t Is said, anything may
happen. It Is quite clear that the drys
will do their best TO bring about the
nomination Of Mr.. Fort. They are out
to get the political scalp Of Mr.. Morrow
II they can, for they see In the Am
basSador to Mexico formidable leader
! OF the wet cause should he be success
full IN his campaign for nomination and
election to the Senate. His defeat in
the primary, they feel, would bring
to an early ana. from their point OF
view, q timely end to wet aspirations
for national leadership. There Is not
the slightest doubt that some of Mr.
MorroWs friends are looking forward
to possible nomination for him for
President as champion of the wet
| cause. ~
The National Association Against the
Pronlpltion Amendment Is branching
| out. 1t Is getting out its own campaign
| QUESTIONABLE, and has sent it TO the
members OF the House and Senate who
are up for reelection this year, saying,
DO you favor the repeal of the eight
zenith amendment to the Constitution
of the United States?" 1t will be in
, teresting to see how many of the men,
berS send In replies. The association
plans also to send similar questionnaires
to every candidate for the Senate and
House who may not be members Of the
present Congress.
The vets have been greatly encouraged
In recent months. An effort has been
made to show that the Republican
party, which has been in reality the
party OF prohibition In the East as well
! as In the West, Is about to abandon the
| dry cause, at least In the East. How
ever, up to the present time there have
been no triumphs of Republican vets
at the polls which would warrant such
an assumption. In Pennsylvania the
none-dry Mr.. Pinchot apparently has
won the gubernatorial nomination and
Secretary Davis, who won the senatorial
nomination, announced he was backing
the Hoover administration on the pro-
hlbltion issue. Up in Massachusetts,
there have been loud rumblings over
the wet and dry issue, but nevertheless
the leading candidate for the sena-
licans, William M. Butler, has come out
ernor. It Is quite true, however, that
| II Mr.. Morrow wins the senatorial
| nomination In New Jersey the vets will
a ~ nIlnnYs q hOtV