Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-15
ROOSEVELTS 1882 LEAD
HAS VARIETY OF PERILS
Wet Position Stands Governor in Favor
With ''New York Group of States,'
but Not in Dry South.

Roosevelt as one way OF aVert1ng the
nomination of former Gov. Smith. The
drys. in short arc by no means inn
placable in their opposition to Roosevelt.
The contest for the presidential nonii-
nation is going TO be overlapped and
in all respects mixed up with the con-
troversy over having or not having
wet plank in the platform Taking this
into account, the drys in many possible
pictures of the situation as 1t will lie
in June, 1882. would not be extremely
hostile to the nomination of Gov.
Roosevelt: in some possible variations
of the picture they would even welcome
the nomination of the New York Gov
ernor.
Sympathetic TO Southern Drys.
Finally. Gov Roosevelt has made
himself sympathetic to the Southern
drys through what ne did in conhec-
ton with the struggle 10 days ago over
Chairman Raskobs proposal that the
Democratic National Committee and
the party should go wet. On that oc-
casion Gov. Roosevelt actually helped
the drys to avert what threatened them.
The threat lay In the fact that Chair
man RasEob proposed that the Demo-
cratic National Committee now, and
the National Convention next year,
should formally adopt wet plank. For
such a proposal it would be supposed
that the Democracy Of New York State
would loudly cheer, since the Democracy
of New York State constitutes about
the wettest portion OF the population Of
the United States Actually, however,
the New York State Democratic organ
ization passed resolutions disappearing
the notion that Chairman Raskob put
forward The New York State dele
CATION, in short, identified itself with
the wishes of the dry South That this
action was inspired by Gov. Roosevelt
that the New York State organization
would never have taken such step
without Gov. Roosevelt's approval-iS
universally taken for granted. This
constitutes a tie of liking between the
New York Governor and the dry South.
The two have stood side by side in OPP
position to a common adverSary-the
adversary being Chairman Raskob and
his wet proposal, backed up Sy former
Gov Smith.
BY that same token this action Of
Gov. Roosevelts brings US to the other
and more real peril to Gov. RooSevelts
fortune.
It is not necessary to say that by this
one action Gov. Roosevelt gave offcnSe
to Chairman Raskob and former Gov.
Smith-though in the nature Of things
they could not have liked 1t. Mr..
Raskob was engaged In what he con-
ceived to be q great purpoSe-and Gov.
Roosevelt went out of his way to stand
with those opposed to the RaSkob p1lr-
pose. The South was resisting Mr..
Raskobs purpose to make the Demo-
cratic party wet-and Gov. RoossYeis
was helping the South 70 resist.
What Mr.. RaSkob's emotions about
Gov. Roosevelt must have been any one
can guess. And former Gov. Smith.
undoubtedly, shared both Mr.. RaSkob'S
purpose and also Mr.. RaSkob's emotions
about Gov. Roosevelt.
Necessity Of Wet Position.
More broadly than that one episode.
one may say that Gov. Roosevelt, IN
order to have and to keep the support
Of Mr.. Raskob and ex-Gov. Smith, must
be wet. He must be all the way wet.
It is not merely that he must live up
to any one standard of wetness set UP
by MeSSrs. Raskob and Smith. Gov.
Roosevelt must be wet in the spirit
and to the extent that the mass Of
Democratic voters are wet throughout
the territory upon which Gov. ROose~
welt must rely for his primary strength.
If these Democratic voters and the
minor Democratic leaders Of New York
and the New York group OF States
in too tolerant spirit toward the dry
South-in that case the vets of the
North would tear him to pieces.
One does not need to discuss the sit
uation in terms of the three PERSONAL
ties, Gov. Roosevelt on the one side
and Messrs. Raskob and Smith on the
other; though, in fact. it is commonly
so described, because of the tendency OF
politics to express itself in personalities
Il hole A.
would be almost certainly inaccurate to
describe Messrs. Raskob and Smith as
opposed to Roosevelt. 1t would be more
accurate to describe them as favoring
Roosevelt, or as rather taking the nonli-
naion of Roosevelt for granted, or at
the least as not disposed to stand in the
New York Governors way.
But if Gov. Roosevelt should fail to
be sufficiently and orthodoxically wet.
Chairman RaSkob and ex-Gov. Smith
would be certain to oppose him. They
would oppose him because, under that
condition opposition would be their
natural personal inclination; and also
because they would be obliged to. Men
who become symbols in politics. whose
personalities take on leadership, are
obliged to do the things Of which they
are symbols or else lose their following.
EX-Gov. Smith has very large follow
ing, much the largest that any Demo-
crat has. Chairman Raskob has some
following, largely included within ex-
Gov. Smiths. Also, Chairman RaSkpb
stands before the world now as the
symbol of and as committed to cer-
tain definite action about the eight
zenith amendment. Chairman Raskob
and eX-Gov. Smith must go on with
this program; and Gov. Roosevelt must
go on hand in hand with them.
Smith Support Important
If Mr.. Raskob and ex-Gov Smith
which is really to say if Smith-were
known to disapprove Roosevelt, the lat
ter wouldn't have Chinaman's chance.
The mass of Democratic voters in the
North and East upon whom Gov Roose-
welt must rely are really followers Of
Smith, ardent followers of him. So far
as Roosevelt personally has any follow
Ing. that following is largely embraced
within and a part of eX-Gov. Smiths.
What personal following Gov. RooSe-
welt has that is separate from Smiths
is hardly worth estimating. Ex-Gov
Smiths opposition, even ex-Gov.
Smiths disapproval, would be utterly
fatal to Roosevelt.
If ex-Gov. Smith and Chairman Ras-
kob and the present national manage
ment of the Democratic party should
decide not to support Gov. Roosevelt,
whom would they support? To put it
more mildly Though with equal IA
tally to Gov. Roosevelt), if Messrs.
Smith and Raskob should prefer an
other to Roosevelt, who would that
other be?
AS to that, there might be at least
two answers. One of the preferences
might be owen d. Young. Another
might be ex-Gov. Smith himself.
What is said here is obviously short
Of complete survey of the Democratic
presidential situation. It does, how
ever, cover the aspect of it that Is at
this moment most to the front.