Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-01
The Political Mill
Dy C. Gould Li1cOER.

States, nevertheless the Democrats have
cause to crow over the results Of the
, election in the seventh Missouri dis
trict on Tuesday. when the regular
Democratic candidate for the House
seat there won by 5000 votes over his
Republican opponent. Not only did he
win over the Republican, but he left
far in the rear an independent wet
Democrat, who polled something like
1000 votes II it had not been for the
candidacy of the wet Democrat. Col
Inns. Robert d. johnson, the regular
Democrat. might have rolled up an
| even more impressive vote over the Re
publican candidate. former Representa-
Missouri district has been rated Demo-
cratic. but by not more than $500 votes
! in ordinary times. There has been a
good deal of bitterness In Missouri
however. and unrest because Of the az
ricultural conditions existing. The
| voters on Tuesday. to very large ex-
tent. expressed their discomfort.
Y 4 +
Undoubtedly the results Of the elee-
ton in the Missouri district have given
the Republican leaders something ia
think about, not only in connection
with the organization of the incom-
| ing House, but in connection with the
general election next year. Six va
cancies remain to be hlled in the House
before the Congress assemblies. Four
and two in Democratic. The Repub-
! licanS have no hope of carrying either
| the seventh New York district or the
| twentieth Ohio district-the two dis
trictS which have been held by the
Democrats. Nor have the Democrats
much chance or much hope of carry
ing the first Wisconsin district, the
! eighth Michigan district or the sec
ond Pennsylvania district. That leaves
the first Ohio district-repTesented for
so many years by the late Speaker
Nicholas Longworth. And while the
Democrats have nominated a strong
candidate, State Senator David Jor-
bach, the general impression prevails
that they are not likely to overcome
the Republican ma jority in that dis
| trict particularly in view OF the heavy
I German-American vote in Cincinnati
and the friendlineSs of the German
Americans to the Republican admins
| tration because Of the efforts which
it mas made to tighten the burdens
OF Germany during the last few
months.
The odds. therefore, appear to favor
party alignment in the House when
that body meets similar in every re-
spect to the alignment Immediately
after the election last November when
the Republicans had a majority of one
2l8 to PIG for the Democrats and ]
for the Fsrmer-Labor party OF Mime
| sofa. But whether the Republican.
| Will all stick together in support Of 8
candidate for Speaker remains to BIZ
seen. There have been many threats
on the part of Western Progressive Re-
! publicanS to kick over the traces, and
Representative La Guardia, Progressive
| Republican from New York, is an un.
| certain quantity, too. not to mention
an independent Republican elected In
Tennessee. Anyway you look at it, the
| contest over the organization Of the
House next December promises to have
: plenty OF thrills. II reports are true
some of the Democrats have endeavorec
to make number OF deals with insur-
, gent Republicans to assure their sup
port for the Democratic candidate fol-
Speaker: John Garner Of Texas. All
| the talk about the Democrats mo;
caring TO organize the House" has beer
largely bunk" OF course. the Demo.
Gratis will organize either or both
houses OF Congress If they can.
President Hoover has not said any.
thing for publication about the article
in the Saturday Evening Post writer
, by Calvin Coolidge, in which Mr.. Cool.
| idee urges united front on the part q
| the Republicans for the renominatic
and reelection of President Hoov,
and announces that he intends to sup
| port the President. It seems entirely
unlikely that he will make any public
q hA
dents OF the United States do not an.
nounce their candidates. to succeed
| themselves. 1t is just generally under
stood that they will stand for re~elec.
| ton, and their friends do the rest. i
Mr.. Hoover now thanked Mr. Coolidge
publicly for his support. he would JUS
! as publicly announce his own candi
dacy for denomination and re-elec-
| ton. Furthermore, Mr.. Hoover may
have had the idea that he would b.
renominated any way by the Repub-
lican party. Few of the Republican
leaders. perhaps none of them. believed
! that Mr., Coolidge could win the nomi.
nation from the President even if III
! permitted himself to become a candi.
| date.
The late Col Theodore Roosevelt
tried to win such q nomination from tn:
late William Howard Taft, then Pres
| ident. in 1912. But Col. Roosevelt
failed by considerable margin in the
Republican National Convention to &C.
complish that feat. Mr.. Coolidge tr
1882 would scarcely have the support OF
the Progressive group in the Republican
| party which followed Roosevelt in 1912
And the conservative Republicans. even
though Scme of them have been urgins
| fhA YnYNailo fiAY1 If TANHlna II
! IN the great mass support President
Hoover Those who have attempted tt
visualize Calvin Coolidge doing g
| Theodore Roosevelt" have been de.
ceiving themselves and those who con-
tinue to visualize such a performance
| on the part of Mr.. Coolidge are merely
proving their density. Mr.. Coolidge
has not yet stepped out of character. In
the game of politics or anywhere else.
4 X
The Missouri election on Tuesday
may have encouraged the Democrats
| generally, but how about the vets;
Here was an independent wet Demo.
| crat running against two dry5, enc q
Republican and the other Democrat
ana the wet didn't get to first base. lei
alone making the Circuit. This may
| give the wet Democrats something tC
| think about as well as the Republicans
Mr. RaSkob, the national chairman oil
the Democratic party, who has beer
urging the adoption OF wet plank in
the national platform next year, La:
been credited III some Democratic
quarters with being more interested ir
| the wet cause than in the success oil
the Democratic party. 1t looks, in.
deed. as If the play the Democrats must
make in the coming national campaign
is on the economic situation and Lnem.
ployment in this country 1t will BE-
all right for the Democrats to be wei
incidentally but perhaps it would oe 9
mistake for them to undertake to put
a wet plank in their platform, after all
| 4 X
In the eighth Michigan district thu
| Lot 70 Uivaanf r,oy, hv .