Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-18
The Political Mill

Emergencies are Herbert Hoover's
meat" He organized and operated the
Belgian relief when the war broke
| out, in l9l4rHe was food administrator
for the United States later during the
same war. When the food waters Of
the Mississippi River and its tribu-
taries oyerrar parts of several States, he
| was on hand TO organize the relief work
there. Since Mr.. Hoover became Presi-
dent he has been called upon to act
| in a couple of major emergencieS-one
brought on by an overplayed stock mar
ket and the other by Nature. In both
| instances Mr.. Hoover has moved wisely
and quickly to meet the emergency. In
both instances many people have suf-
fered. But the suffering would have
been worse if the Chief Executive of
the Nation had not taken the leader
ship and brought the resources OF the
| country to the relief of the people. 1t
is quite possible that when 1t comes
! time again for the American people to
go to the polls in national election
they are likely to remember the actual
deeds of Mr.. Hoover and his ability TO
meet a crisis rather than criticism
which has been heaped upon him by
political opponents.
- X
Two years from now the Republicans
and the Democrats will both have can
didates in the field for President. There
is talk about the possible return of Cal
vim Coolidge to the field of politics.
The possibility of the nomination OF
! Dwight w. Morrow of New Jersey Is
| discussed. Probably there will be talk,
too, Of Republicans from the Middle
West for the presidential nomination.
But Mr.. Hoover still appears the best
bet of them all for the Republican nom
| tnatton. 1t Is common talk that Mr..
Hoover has had bad breaks" since he
came into office. But he is fortunate,
after all, to have these bad breaks at
| the outset of his administration. II
| business cheers up, even Senator Cope
land of New York Democrat, has pre-
dicted that Mr.. Hoover will be renomi-
mated and elected, in all probability.
A month from today all the party
primaries for nominating candidates for
Office will have been held, and the
Democrats and the Republicans will be
squared away for the campaign which
will end with the election of the entire
membership of the House and more
than one-third of the Senate member
| ship. Tomorrow Senator Pat Harrison
of Mississippi will be triumphantly re-
nominated. Two years ago, when ne
was a directing force in the national
| compaign to elect Al Smith President,
there were dire threats against the
genial Senator from Mississippi. But
Mississippi, no matter what some OF the
| other Southern States did, remained en-
tirely regular in the 1928 national cleo
ton and went for Smith by q tremen-
dous vote Furthermore, it is the Demo-
Gratis who opposed Gov. Smiths election
who have suffered politically in the
South, not those who supported him.
| That fact, by the way, is giving the
| Smith boosters-and there are plenty
! of them-much encouragement. They
| say that the 1928 campaign was merely
| campaign of education. If the wet
sentiment is seen to be on the increase
| in the next two years, the drive to
| nominate AL Smith in 1892 may be eX-
ceedingly strong. Back in October, 1923,
| Gov Smith was asked whether he had
! determined not to run for President
again. According to the New York
| World, strong Smith supporter, GOV.
| Smith replied:
"A man never gets anywhere or &C
complishes much If he makes his plans
| too far in advance. I have never made
| definite plans for the future. I have
never gone about it that way. What
I have done has sort of come my way.
1 have never determined matters long
| in advance. You cannot tell what is
going to happen in the future, what
| may occur in between times, and to
count on what you will do at some dis
tant time Is, to me, silly"
This answer of the former New York
Governor is full of common sense. 1t
certainly, however, does not eliminate
him from the possibility of becoming a
candidate for President in 1882. Reports
| from New York indicate that he is
| - ksN sta TNn1ftfaol
| leader in his own State and, further,
that he Is to mix up in the national
campaign for the election of a Demo-
| cratic Congress. He is slated, it is said,
| to 60 on the radio, perhaps to discuss
the already much discussed tariff and
tell the country what would have been
done in the way of tariff revision had
the Democrats been successful at the
polls in 1928 instead of the Republicans.
xk
Speaking of the increase in wet senti-
| ment as factor in politics of the day,
"how wet Is Vermont?" Harvey M.
brennan, former Mayor of st. Adams
and a former State Senator, is running
for membership in the House, if he
can get the nomination on September
as a wet. The Literary Digest poll
last Spring showed that Vermont voted
SILL for continuation of the eighteenth
amendment and the Volstead act with
out change, while it voted 5,2l0 for
repeal and 4,519 for modification. Mr..
brennan Is going to give the people who
want change from the present prohibi-
ton laws chance to register by voting
for him. If the repealers and the modi-
f1cationiStS really mean what they voted
in the Digest poll, perhaps Mr.. brennan
will win.
4 *
The time limit for Withdrawals from
the primaries in Massachusetts came to
an end Friday. None of the five can
didates for the Democratic nomination
for Senator withdrew, nor did any of
the candidates of the party seeking the
gubernatorial nomination. The Demo-
cratic factions are going to the bat on
September Is and in the interim there
is likely to be some mudslinging. The
Republicans are divided, too, in this
primary. William M. Butler is seeking
the Republican nomination for Senator
as dry and Eben Draper as a wet. The
liquor question does not particularly
bother the Democrats in Massachusetts.
1t Is estimated that 95 per cent of the
Democratic voters are vets and the rest
drys. On the other hand, it is figured
that so to 65 per cent of the Republic
can voters are dry, with IS to 40 per
cent wet. The situation makes the
liquor question decidedly more Of q
handicap to the Republicans than 1t
does to the Democrats. The Massachu-
sets voters are to be asked this Fall to
vote in a referendum on repeal OF the
baby Volstead act" the state enforce
ment law.
The Republicans, through Robert n.
Lucas, executive director of the party's