Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-28
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Circumstances accumulate in Wash
ington to puzzle Republican calculators.
They are bothered by three main prob
lens. One Is the demand for prohibit
ton revision in numerous Northern
States essential to Republican national
success. One Is the mounting pressure
from all over the country for further
Federal legislation, not only to relieve
immediate economic distress, but to es-
tabliSh additional permanent govern
mental regulation Of various sorts OF
business. The third is the deepening
personal factional hostility between Re-
publican conservatives and Republican
insurgents.
THESE three problems, put together,
give President Hoover an even more
complicated situation than was faced by
President Taft in 1910 and 1911, when
there was . similar pressure for new
Federal regulation Of business and
similar hostility between Republican
conservatives and Republican insur-
gents, but no prohibition rebellion.
It is that rebellion which dineren-
tiates the prospects here now from the
prospects that prevailed 20 years ago.
Then the secession Of the Republican
insurgents, first under the leadership OF
Robert Marion La Toilette and then
under the leadership Of Theodore Roose-
welt, produced q third party which
could base itself readily and clearly on
economic and social "progTessiviSm."
Today such an attempted party would
ind itself as quickly and Is vitAlly
wounded by the liquor issue - the Re
publican party itself.
Some of the leading Republican-Pro-
gressive Senators are drys. Others are
vets. The Eastern industrial militant
masses" are dominantly vets. The
Western agrarian militant masses
are dominantly drys. Seven radicals
brousht together in Washington can
proclaim seven solutions Of the prohi-
bition question just as obstreperously as
seven reactionarieS. A new party today
would speak on liquor with as confused
a voice as either Of the two old parties.
Under these conditions, there u an
increasing respect here for Senator
Borah's prediction that 1882 will be
political chaos" In that chaos there Is
both a cloudburst Of alcohol and an
earthquake of legislative economic
change. So far as the cloudburst Is
concerned, the Democratic party Is call
culated to be on safer rock than
either the Republican party or a new
party. That rock is the solid South,
which by all available testimony Is go
ing to stay regular in 1882, irrespective
Of any humidity in the midst Of the
high visibility Of the White House. No
such stanch devotion to q high, clear
aim throughout the whole section OF the
country can be claimed and secured by
either the Republican party or Q new
party. Forecasts Of the political align
ments Of 1882 must, therefore, b con-
centrated upon the Developments Of the
policies Of the Democrats and Of the
Republican regulars and OF the Repub-
lican rebels toward the runblings and
shakings In the American economic
structure.
In that field Of the matter the Demo-
Gratis are well on their way toward bid
ding almost as high for the favor OF
the earthquake as any new party Of
large following would be likely TO bid.
The other day in the Senate two long
panoramaS Of alleged deep, popular
economic distress in the United States
were unrolled to the senatorial view In
two protracted collections OF kilograms.
One collection was Grated by Senator
Robert Marion La Toilette Of wisconsin,
Republican rebel, and the other by Sen
ator David Ignatius Walsh OF MaSsa-
chuSetts, Democratic regular.
Mr.. La Toilette undertook to dem
onstrate the grief Of the West. Mr..
Walsh undertook to authenticate that
of the East Their conjunction OF ef-
forts was significant to the verge OF
prophecy. Why should the West 60 on
into q new party which might carry
only the wilderness and the wide-open
spaces where men are men, but where
their manhood grows hardly any presi-
Dental electoral votes, when . collabo-
ration with the Democrats might carry
the country on ticket, say, Of Roose-
welt of New York and Wheeler OF Mon
tana or even on a bipartisan ticket OF
Roosevelt and La Toilette, which would
make the voter think that the 1912
Progressive marching song Of Onward,
Christian Soldiers" was calling him to
greater Armageddon?
~
| Such IL the surnise that Alters
through the mind Of Warrington aS 1t
| contemplateg Democratic renewed tnti-
macy with insurgency. 4 month ago
the Democratic leadership In Washing
ton seemed to have repudiated insur-
gency In order to embrace Cooper
| ation." Now It finds Cooperation" to
have been niSalliance. It divorces
itself from it and begins again to carry
flowers to its first true love. Senator
Joseph T. Robinson Of Arkansas, Demo-
cratic senatorial floor leader, assures
the suffering destitute throughout the
| country tnat HepubIlcan ddellty 70 the
| wealthy payers Of Federal income taxes
viii not prevent him from striving to
come to their aid with the resources Of
the Federal Treasury. Representative
John N. Garner of Texas, Democratic
floor leader in the lower House, informs
the House that he Is profoundly i'm
pressed by the fact that mere per
cent increase of the surtax upon In
comes of more than 100000 would
give to the Federal Treasury q new
revenue of more than 4100, 000, 900
which could be used TO provide new
employment for the people ct large.