Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-28
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
CONTROL HELD UNLIKELY
Minority Party May Make Great Gains
in HOuse-Senate Expected to
Remain Republican.


readily lose another that of Senator
| ThomaS F. Walsh OF Montana. on
this assumption the Democrats need to
take away from the Republicans not
but II seats. They cannot possibly
do it. Yet they will take away several.
The States where the Democrats have
! chance to take senatorial seat away
from the Republicans are giving the
Democrats a good deal of benefit Of
the doubt:
Massachusetts,. Oklahoma.
Rhode Island. Ohio.
Delaware. Illinois.
| West Virginia. Nebraska.
Kentucky, South Dakota
Colorado. Minnesota.
There are II Republican senatorial
seats, all OF which, speaking practi-
cally, the Democrats must take away
from the Republicans in order to win
even the narrowest control Of the Sem
ate. They cannot possibly do it. On
any law OF averages they cannot do IL.
Moreover, that list gives, to an extreme
degree, the benefit of the doubt to the
Democrats To say, for example that
the Democrats have chance to win
the senatorial seat in Minnesota, or in
South Dakota, or in Nebraska, or in
Illinois is to go very far indeed.
Morrow Is Wanted.
OF these senatorial fights there are
three upon which the country has AL
ready centered most of its interest.
Rarely does the country as a whole
carry the whole of a congressional CAM
paign in its mind Commonly, in such
a year as this, the contests in one. two
or three States stand out.
The States in which, so far, sena-
tortal contests promise to stand out
are Illinois, Ohio and Massachusetts,.
There would have been interest in the
New Jersey contest also but for the fact
that at present the Republican candi-
date, Ambassador Dwight Morrow. is
expected by practically every observer
to win and win overwhelmingly. There
Is interest In the case of New Jersey and
Mr.. Morrow because the prospective
elevation OF Mr.. Morrow to the Senate
Is commonly looked upon as a distinct
addition to the quality of that body.
Interest in the Illinois contest rests
on several aspects Of it. The spectacle
OF woman, Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCor-
mick, having the nomination of a ma
Jor party for the United States Senate,
Is sufficiently novel to justify interest
on that ground alone. Mrs Mccormick
is not quite the first woman to have q
senatorial nomination. In 1922, soon
after the Woman's suffrage amendment
to the Constitution, a woman, Mrs.
Peter Olesen, had the Democratic sena-
torlal nomination in Minnesota. The
chance of Democrat being elected in
minnesota, however, was small and
That event, which was really the first
case OF a woman having a senatorial
nomination from one of the two great
parties, passed comparatively unnoticed.
| Not First Woman.
Neither will Mrs. Mccormick. II she
should be elected, be the first woman
actually to sit in the Senate. A few
years ago, when there was an unfin-
lshed term of very few days in the
senatorship from Georgia, the Governor
OF the State appointed an elderly lady
Nevertheless, Mrs. Mccormick Is the
nrst case OF woman having a party
nonlnation and making an energetic
hight with normal probability of slIc-
cess for fun term In the Senate. That
alone would account for the interest in
Illinois. In addition, the contest has
come 10 nave weight and interest in
us bearing on prohibition.
Interest in the Ohio senatorial con-
test lies in the fact that the Democrats
nave nominated an exceptionally able
man, Robert Johns Buckley. and that
ne is running as a wet. The Repub-
mean candidate, Roscoe G. McCulioch.
running to succeed himself, is a dry.
squarely face-to-face contest of Pc
publican dry vs.. Democratic wet The
outcome VIII be very important indeed
Inc influence of the Ohio result Lies in
the TACT that Ohio, more than anv
other one State, is looked upon as \
barometer; more than any other one
STATE, Ohio is considered by party man
aseLs ana other politicians who wish
| opinion. - puDiAo
Massachusetts Doubtful.
The third of the outstanding contests
Ior the Senate is in MaSsachusetts
Wnere, as In Ohio, a Republican dry.
aoenaIor william M Butler, is run
nlng against Democratic wet. Marcus
"A. Coolidge. At the moment This is
written, ana ever since the nominations
We're made, the prevailing tendency Of
observers has been to assume thar
democratic Mr.. Coolidge has rather the
better chance of winning. This as
sumption rests in turn on another as
SUMPTION, that Massachusetts is a wet
oIate. The election in November will
put both assumptions TO the test. Elec-
tlon OF Democratic Senator in Mas
sachusettS this year would be an event
OF really historic interest. II Marcus
Coolidge should win Massachusetts
would then be represented in the Sem
ate by two Democrats - and this has
never happened before-at least not
since the Civil War and not since the
term Democrat had its present signif.
lcance In American party terminology.
The case is really stronger than this.
Tor Massachusetts,, since the Civil War.
/ mas mad but one Democratic Senator.
the present one, David I. Walsh. That
massachusetts, should be represented in
the senate by two Democrats, David /.
walsh and Marcus Coolidge, would be
Landmark in American history - and
would seem very strange to the old-time
Republicans who represented Massa-
chusettS in the Senate, such as Henry
Cabot Lodge, Murray Crane, George +.
Hoar and so on back through a long
list OF Republican worthless.
The Democrats may win two out OF
these three outstanding senatorial con-
tests, and they may win several OF the
less important contests. But the aggre-
| gate OF Democratic winnings in NoVenn-
Der will be less than enough to give
them control Of the Senate.
G. o. p. May Lose in House.
When we turn to the House 1t Is less
easy to be certain. With what is said
above about the Senate, hardly any
BODY Will disagree; hardly any Demo-
| cratic leader expects the Democrats to
win control of the Senate. But q con-
siderable number of Democratic leaders
sincerely believe their party may Yin
control OF the House. The figures az
respects the House are, allowing for q
margin of vacancies:
Democrats, 165.
Republicans, 270.
To have a bare majority OF the House
the Democrats must win SO seats. The
number, SO, sounds large. But time