Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-05
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

~HE last two weeks have included
some remarkable tides in ma
tional politics. What the net of
them demonstrates Is what has
been true all along. namely. that
the party politics of today and OF the
coming presidential election Is the poll
tics of business depression or OF recovery
from it. Fran the state of business
everything political flows.
AS or.e Incidental and collateral proof
Of this tnoV much has ANYBODY heard
Ycoent;y 1ssut prohibition as the deter
mining fasSor of next years election?
Who has seen anything about prohibit
ton recently in the publicity and propa-
ganda that flow in continuous. turgid
stream from the headquarters of both
parties? How many of the speeches by
major and minor politicians on both
sides have dealt with prohibition?
The fact is prohibition and everything
else are eclipsed by the state Of business.
And when the dominant phase Of bust
ness became for the time being the for
eign debts. at that moment the foreign
debts became the principal phase of
American politics. considerably to Presi-
dent Hoovers advantage. for the time
being at least.
Debt Plan Turns Tables.
As late as 5 O'Clock on the afternoon
Of Saturday. June 20, practically every
Democratic leader in the United States
believed pretty completely that Presi-
dent Hoover was sunk" and that con-
viction was an index of and rested upon
their observation tas they interpret
things that the depressed business con-
dition caused the people to be ready to
gupplant President Hoover with a Demo-
&rat.
Then, 48 hours later. every Demo-
cratic leader cat least all those in wash
ington with whom the writer talked
believed it was themselves and their
hopes that were sunk; that President
Hoover had recovered most of his polit-
zeal popularity and that he would be
returned to the presidency without Diff
dculty. That conclusion was arrived at
BY Democratic leaders counseling among
themselves and some plans they had
made to accentuate their fight against
the President were abandoned. A
speech which had been prepared by an
outstanding Democratic orator PLANNED
as reply and offset to the President S
own speech at Indianapolis a few DAYS
before, designed to review and excori-
ate all Mr.. Hoovers alleged sins of
omission or commission. was abandoned.
In short, Democratic judgment inter-
preted the political mood of the country
as having reversed itself on Mr.. Hoover
within less than 48 hours.
Only one possible cause for such a
reversal only one concrete thing had
happened. President Hoover at 6 O'Clock
in the afternoon of June 20 had issued
to the world a proposal that there be a
years postponement Of all intergovern-
ment debts and reparations payments.
Foes Aid Hoover.
The Democrats fairly promptly recov-
cred. in part at least from the dismay
Unto which they WE'RE sunk for the three
or four days following Mr.. Hoover's an
nouncement They concluded that sup
port Of his proposal was sound patriot
: ism as we'll as good politics. and this
support they gave generously. There
was not any Democratic leader of ma or
importance who made the President s
course difficult Leader after leader, of
such rank as Senator Pat Harrison of
Mississippi generously gave the Presi-
dent public support that was most
useful to him in showing the world that
he was backed by united country.
But the Democrats realized. as every
enc must. that the informal party truce
dictated by an emergency need not last
for the Is months remaining before the
presidential election-indeed. could not
last so long. They realized that the
Fundamental factor in the situation was
and remains the state of business. And
even If business should improve, even
II 1t should turn out that President
Hoover's gallant action was the one
thing that broke the jam of clogged
business, nevertheless in the best OF
circumstances. recovery. even If IL
should turn out to be permanent, must
experience halts and obstacles and tenn
porary backslidings.
There will be many periods providing
for the Democrats opportunity and lust