The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-08-27
At The National Capitol
A Digest of Who's Who and Whats What
 By RODNEY BUTCHER
DAILY WASHINGTON LETTE

Washington.-If and when Gov ernor Roosevelt of New York is
 nominated for the presidency his
 opponents will holler '"Tammany!'
 at him with all the lung power at
 their command.
 | That, as things are now, is the one best bet as method of attack
 in which they can all participate.
 The drys can go after Roosevelt on
 their own hook and uphold the
 cause of prohibition in the dry sec tons. But the wet republicans and
 those party speakers who operate in the eIectorally important east | ern wet territory will have to de- pend on convincing the voters of
 the wisdom and greatness of Her
 bert Hoover and, by way of an of- fensive. soaring all good citizens with the specter of the terrible
 Tiger. Unless. of course, something else turns up to make Roosevelt a
 target for another type of brickbat. The anti-Tammany campaign is
 likely to go fiat, however, If the governor repudiates Tammany be- tween now and the time of the na-
 tional conventions. Thus the most
 important potential political news
 is that which indicates that Roose- welt is in no sense playing the Tammany game, Is not afraid to proceed against Tammany and will
 not hesitate to do his share toward Dunishing Tammany for It's sins. The more vigorously and obviously he proceeds against Tammany, the
 less likely Tammany can hurt him and the more likely his record in respect to Tammany can be used as an asset. For there is no ques- ton that the country detests Tam
 many Hall and will applaud every
 one who gives 1t swift kick in
 the pants,
 Although 1t has not been bally- hooed or dramatized 10 any na- tional extent. the governors call l for a special session of his state | legislature has the appearance of | just such a swift kick. It is the
 thing Tammany least wanted and the thing that was urged by those
 now Investigating Tammany cor
 ruption.
 Judge Samuel Seabury, counsel for the joint legislative invcstigat- ing committee. wrote Roosevelt | that an extra session could remove | the chief obstacle to exposing the 1 New York political grafters by | creating q statute which would permit the committee to grant i'm munity to It's witnesses. In refusing to waive immunity and in opposing
 such a statute, Seabury said, Tam
 many leaders had made a direct challenge to the public spirit and
 sense of decency of the people of New York state"
 Roosevelt has not yet in any
 sense shirked his duty in the steps
 toward the exposure of Tammany. AS In this latest instance, he has l acted consistently in the public in- tercst. He has not. however, shown
 any sign of personal animus to- | ward Tammany which might sug- gest that he is one of those whom Boss John r. Curry accuses of
 "persecuting and crucifying" the
 organization. That Is, the governor
 has not yet grasped n flaming
 sword and brandished 1t at Tam
 many for public effect, calling on
 his trumpeters to call attention to
 1t and sound his praises. That may
 come in time, when and If Tam
 many leaders are definitely shown
 to be guilty of the crimes charged
 but not yet proved against them. Most politicians would advice Roosevelt to seize the opportunity
 as soon as 1t comes. The unanimity of Tammany leaders in refsing to
 waive constitutional immunity,
 from John r. Curry down, has in-
 dicated that there Is plenty of hot
 stuff 10 be discovered. If the anti
 ciDated exposures develop 1t might