Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-27
The Political Mill
~ G. Gould LincoIB.

CHAIRMAN J0OeCt ShOuSe OF the OeLno-
cratic Executive Committee on his
recent trip to the Pacific Coast States,
II reports be correct, Is that at present
Gov. Franklin d. Roosevelt IL favored
among the Democrats Of those states
for the presidential nomination. MI:
Shouse IS not talking about presidential
possibilities himself. He and Chairman
John J. Raskob Of the partys Natonal
Committee are strenuously insisting that
they are not boosting any candidate
for the presidential nominat1on Never
theless the information is that the
voters out on the Pacific Coast look
with more favor on Gov. Roosevelt than
on any of the other Democrats now in
the talk for the presidential nomination
next year. Perhaps next to Roosevelt
these Westerners like Newton %. Baker
of Ohio, former Secretary OF war.
The Pacific Coast Democrats and,
indeed, many of the Democrats In other
States Of the West like Roosevelt be.
cause of his name and the fact that
he comes Of the same family Is the
Teddy" Roosevelt Of other days. They
like him also because ne does not make
so much noise about prohibition as
other Democratic presidential pos
sibilities, even though it Is known he
favofs q revision Of the present national
prohibition laws. They like his stand
on waterpower problems.
y
During the course of his travels in
the west Mr.. Shouse found also that
there has been a subsistence OF the
strong dry sentiment that prevailed be-
fore and Immediately after national
prohibition became the order in this
country. And Mr.. Shouse did not
soft pedal on the wet and dry question
in his talks with western audiences,
but declared that something should De
done to remedy . situation which has
played into the hands Of the bootleg
gers and the criminal classes generally.
He found q growing tendency in the
West to listen favorably to such argu-
ments today.
out in the Far West, as in the Mid
die West, the Democratic party has
been fat on its back for years. There
is lots to be done If the Democrats are
to have a chance Of winning the cleo
However, there is dissatisfaction with
hard times and depression in those
States just as there is in the East. 1t
is that dissatisfaction which will do
more to win votes for the Democratic
candidates next year, provided hard
times persist, than all the arguments
Of the Democratic Spellbinders put to-
gether.
Thomas Jefferson, the third Presi-
dent Of the United States and patron
saint Of the Democratic party, has GER
tainly been having q grand birthday
celebration this year. In fact, the cele-
bration of his birth has been confined
| to no one day, but has been going on
all over the country for q month. JET
ferSon day parties were staged in Los
Angeles, Calf, and other Pacific Coast
cities when Mr.. Shouse arrived TO talk
to the leaders in those cities more than
two weeks ago. And how last night in
Providence, r. l., Mr.. Shouse was the
principal speaker at a dinner given in
honor Of the memory OF Mr.. Jefferson.
The memory of Mr. Jefferson offers o
| good excuse, however, for Democrats to
| get together at any time. Mr.. Shouse,
| in his address In Providence last night,
| told the dinner guests that he found in
the Pacific Coast States 1.-The same esti-
mate Of the inadequacy, incompetence
and inefaciency of the Hoover admins
| tration that Is such q familiar phenome-
non in Rhode Island, New York, Massa-
chusetts and others Of the great indus
trial States on the Atlantic seaboard."
\ y \ y
After talking about the delinquencies
of the Hoover administra ton, so far as
the tariff and farm relief are concerned,
Mr.. Shouse turned to prohibition, say
ing: IT do not list prohibition as among
the administration mistakes, because
that is one subject on which 1t has been
.. found impossible to get any expression
whatever from the White House. The
indications are that, as usual, the Re-
publican candidate for President next
year will be presented as inferentially
wet in the East and as uncompromiS-
ingly dry in the West. 1t is not an issue
which can be dealt with by pusSyfooting
or evasion" Well, Mr.. Shouse may be
right. But II there is ANYTHING in past
history the q. o. p. and its candidates
for the presidency have done pretty
well by following that pussyfooting
course. It may be that the time has
come when the country is ready for .
leadership that will denounce national
prohibition from one end Of the land to
the other. Time will show. But at
present there are quite lot Of damp,
not to say wet, Democrats who are
afraid of such program for their
party. Mr. Shouse did add that IT
would not have prohibition over
shadow the other matters Of tremen-
dous importance that confront the
American people," including unemploy-
ment the tariff and the farm problem.
But If the Democratic party, in its
national platform. comes out Squarely
for repeal of the eighteenth amendment,
even through the home rule plan advo-
Gated by Mr.. Raskob, which Is kind OF
backhanded repeal OF the prohibition
amendment, the issue is bound to over
shadow all the others. As AL Smith has
said cogently, every one knows what
mug of beer Is. but not great many
know what q horsepower and kilo-
watt hour are.
Spokesman for the two political par
ties have been devoting a lot Of atten-
ton in recent weeks to the South. just
supposed that, despite the upset in
supposed that, despite the upset in
North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and
Texas in 1928, all the Southern States
will 60 Democratic next year, unless,
indeed, former Gov. Smith of New
York should again be the Democratic
nominee for President. A lot Of the
Governors friends insist. however, that
he would carry the South in 1882 II he
were renominated. However, Robert II.
Lucas, executive director Of the Repub-
lican National Committee; Assistant
Secretary OF Navy Jahncke and other
Republicans have been busy telling the
South in radio and other addresses what
a mistake 1t would be for the South to
elect a Democratic President, and that
the G. o. p, after all, is the real friend
of the Southern States and has brought
about their industrial birth through
the protective tariff. The Democrats
the other night put on the Southern air
Charles Nicholson, director OF pub
licity for the Democratic National Com
mittee, who has been credited by the
Republicans with stirring up more
trouble for the Hoover administration
than all the rest OF the Democrats put
together. Instead of quoting other
Democrats, Mr.. Nicholson spoke for
himself in the Dixie network Of the Co
lumbia Broadcasting System and made
n GOOD iah NJ IL HN took Az his sinh