Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-17
PART|ALITY LAID
! TO SENATOR NYE
Republicans Rolled by Failure
!. Of Probe to Take in
Democrats.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

Republicans In Washington watch
Senator Nyes Investigations Of senate
rial primaries In Chicago with interest,
but they think much more about an
other aspect Of the committee. They
discuss whether Nye is going to get
around to investigating any Democratic
primaries. Republicans complain that
Nye, officially a progressive Republican
il actually an assistant Democrat"
They charge him with 50 focusing and
limiting his Investigations as to tend
exclusively to do detriment to Republic
can senatorial candidates in Northern
States.
whether Senator Nye's investiga-
lions of senatorial primaries will ex-
tend into Southern States Is one OF the
most explosive questions Of the cam
paAgn. In this question intent interest
is taken by q group not mainly Republic
can, but rather to be described as pro-
rressives and radicals in Washington,
New York and elsewhere. What this
group has in mind is to use the Nye
committee as a means to open up the
very explosive question OF negro par
ticipation, or, more accurately, non
participation in Democratic primaries
In the South. That issue carried to the
end to which some persons want 10
carry 1t would question the title OF at
least 10 Democratic Senators to their
seats.
Charge AngriIy Made. -
The charge that Nye's committee ia
ignoring Southern primaries Is made
theoretically and angril$. The charge,
so far as 1t implies intentfOl On Senator
Nye's part, Is probably unfaM So Tar
as he has official faults they AfSSe from
an excitability and vacillation OF tenn
permanent which would prevent him
from laying out a plan OF work care
fully and sticking to 1T. His tempera-
mental defect is that he would under
take In good faith such quantity OF
Investigation as could not practically
be carried out in a year, much less In
seven weeks.
Senator Nye seems actually to have
taken account of the complaint about
the South and to have sent secret in
vestigators into some Southern States.
including North Carolina, Tennessee and
Louisiana. Upon this, however, the
Republicans renew their complaint.
They say the investigators have been
Democrats, and that secret sleuthing
around amounts to nothing unless Sena-
tor Nye follows 1t up with public hear"
ings, such as have made the Illinois
primary conspicuous.
The really explosive potentiality Of
the Senate committee looking into
Southern Democratic primaries is to be
found in an examination of the broad
charter Of powers under which the Nye
committee acts. The committee Is di-
rected by the Senate resolution, care
fully written by Senator Norris of Ne
braska, to investigate much more than
the expenditure of money. Tt is di-
rected to cover "the use of any other
means or influence which would
not only be of public interest, but which
would aid the Senate in deciding
any contest involving the right
to a seat In the United States Senate"
CoIored Vote Involved.
That language means, as respects
Southern Democratic primaries, the par
ticipation or non-participation of Negro
voters. That the resolution includes
this meaning is believed, and believed
with alarm, by Southern Democratic
Senators who voted for the resolution.
They supported so broad resolution,
though with much nisgivtng, as part
of their cooperation with the Progress
sive Republicans and in the expecta-
ton that probably expenditure of
money would be the only thing actually |
investigated.
Lately some Southern Democrats
have come to believe the passage of this
resolution and the very existence and
activities Of the Nye committee inquir-
ing into State primaries is violation
of the principle States Rights, which
the Democrats have stubbornly de-
Tended since the Civil War
DISTINGUISHED observers believe, and
believe with regret, that this resolution
and the Nye Committee throws wide
open the way for Federal interference
with State elections. They think 1t is
only a matter of time until the Nye
Committee or some successor of it must
yield to demand from Negroes and 9TH
ers that they take up the matter Of
Negro voting In Southern Democratic
primaries.
Acute for Two Reasons.
The matter is acute just now, for two
reasons, The National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People has
grown confident because of its sue
cessful part in preventing the conhrma-
ton Of an appointee to the Supreme
Court, Judge John ]. Parker of North
Carolina, who was charged with pub
hcly taking position adverse to Negro
participation in politics.
In the second place, Negro voters
have just won a decisive advantage in
the Federal courts A United States
tional condition of the Democratic
primary system In Virginia which ex-
cludes Negroes. Apparently the Vir-
GINA Democratic officials concerned did
not care to contest the decision, since
they have just this week permitted the |
time limit for an appeal TO expire, and
the decision stands.
The net of the situation is that there
are energetic persons who are deter
mined TO make use of the Nye commit |
tee as a step toward large end. The
purpose Is to have the Senate debate
and pass upon the question whether a
Southern Democratic Senator Is en-
titled to his seat If he won 1t in a pri-
mary IN which Negro voters were de-
prived of participation. The persons
having this determination are primarily
radicals or Progressives rather than
Republicans and Republicanism is not
their motive, though the Republicans
would presumably benefit. Any one IA
niliar with American history since the
Civil War knows this is a decidedly ex-
plosiye situation.
(copyrisht, 1900