Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-11
BY WILLIAM HARD.

The psychologists Of politics are often
as well worth reporting as its events
That depression characteriZes the Re-
publican ranks and elation the Demo-
cratic in national political circles Is un-
doubted. The Democrats are so conn
dent that they even dream, for instance!
of carrying all IS Indiana congressional
districts next Fall. They now have
OF the Is.
A few weeks ago the wisest Of the
Democrats were hoping that they would
make great gains In the next House OF
Representatives, but would be able To
miss getting majority In 1t. They
wished to keep legislative responsibility
still loaded upon the Republicans. Now
their leaders In that respect seem "a
have given up hope. They declare with
sad resignation that they simply cannot
help getting O majority In the House
next time. They have gloonli!y recon-
ciled themselves to what they regard as
their inevitable triumph.
In this spirit the Democratic floor
leader I'm the House OF Representatives
Mr.. John N. Garner OF Texas, has
ceased to refer to Speaker Longworth's
Official automobile as "our" automobile
For many months he has called 1t our
automobile In tribute to his supposed
even chance Of taking 1t away from Mr.
Longworth In the next session. Now he
has abandoned equality In this matter
with Mr.. Longworth and calls 1t out
rightly my" automobile.
# II
One Of the fundamental reasons for
Democratic elation is that the President
allows himself to seem SO depressed and
discouraged under accommodating blows
and woes. The psychological truth Is
that he has looked depressed and dis
couraged ever since he came to WASH
ington TO be food administrator In 1917.
Nobody yet has ever seen Mr.. Hoover
spend whole day here without SEEM
Ing at many moments to be on the
verge of despair. For IS years III this
city he has been picture of perplexity,
dubiety, puzzlement, distress, anxiety
pessiInism, fatigue and hupelessness-
that Is, he has been that sort of picture
for a considerable fraction OF each year
and q considerable fraction of every "a
hours. Five minutes after such q 1T he
can look as II he had never had q care
In his life and as II he were physically
ready to step into q prize ring with a
happy smile.
The political trouble is that he does
most OF his smiling In the intervals be-
tween interviews and that most Sen
ators and Representatives come away
from seeing him on business with q
frequent opportunity to say:
Things must be pretty bad. The
President looks sunk"
The truth may have been that the
President was not really feeling par
ticularly sunk at all, but was only pom
dering. His physician, Capt. Boone. II
Is thought, might well try to teach the
President how TO ponder without cover
ing the whole Republican party with q
dark cloud OF apprehension.
X X X
Many Of the Presidents advisers
spend their time advising him to snap
out of it and look radiant and sock Mr..
John N. Garner Of Texas on the poiiti-
cal jaw the next time he seems to
charge the Republican party with being
responsible for having thrown q cowboy
out OF work in the Texas Panhandle.
Other presidential advisers and init
mates exhort the Chief Executive to
keep on enduring calamities and attacks
In q spirit OF unremonstrative quaker
fortitude. They say that he should not
engage In broils ON Pennsylvania ave-
nue..
It Is O great mistake to think that
the President Is not listening to advice,
He Is listening to every sort of advice
that could possibly exist. Part of his
following wants him to sally forth and
make a loud noise and rally 1.-The peo-
pie" against a, fractions Senate. Another
part OF his following urges him to stay
at a presidential level and not get drag
ged down by personal controversies with
statesmen of lower than presidential
rank. Each sort of advice has q good
enough sound till the other sort of adj
vice comes along. One prediction out
of 1t all Is possible.
X 4; X \
That prediction is that pretty soon
the President is going to be forced not
exactly into exchanging fisticuffs openly
with his adversaries. but at least into
standing forth publicly as the champion
of some set of clearly understood poll
culated here by Republican objective
students Of public opinion throughout
the country that "the people" have
pretty well lost sight of Mr.. Hoover's
policies and purposes, while he has
been engaged necessarily In trying to
further them through his favorite meth
cd of personal private negotiations.
Some time soon, 1t is fairly safe to sur
mise, he will emerge from those nego-
know what he thinks he has been do
ing and what he intends to do, in full
and Ineligible form.
This will be necessary and inevitable,
it is believed here. because otherwise ali
initiative in national issues will have
passed largely away from the party in
power, where in principle 1t ought to be,
over to the party in opposition. Things
like the defeat OF Judge Parker in the
Senate for confirmation to the Supreme
Court, on the ground Of his having been
an injunction Judge" provide instances
OF this truth.
~ \ X
The Republican national platform Of
1923, on which President Hoover was
elected, said:
I'VE believe that injunctions in labor
disputes have in some instance been
abused and have given rise TO a serious
question for legislation"
Nevertheless the regular Republicans
IA the two houses 81 ConRresS have