Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-01
TAM|MANy SEEKS
SOCIALISTS VOTE
Replace District Leader With
d-Fashioned Scrapper. to
Win Fifteenth District.
BY LEMuEL Z. PARTON.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK, October 81 Tuesday,
election here centers around the one
little oasis Of Republican strength in
New York, the fifteenth Assembly dis
trict, where dwell the Van So-ano Sos,
and Of which the Tesplendent PARK
avenue IS the main stem. Tammany
Hall wants it bad. and the reverbera-
tons from this battle carry far into
national politics.
Just few more Assembly votes and
Tammany may end the HofEtadter in
quiry into municipal affairs and. stimuli
taneously. much embarrassment 70 re-
mote major politicians figuring next
years Democrats Convention lineup
This distrIct--the gilded tail now
wagging the dog-~has been the cause
OF many desperate encounters in the
past Many years ago the effulgent
Sefgt. Cram taught Tammany new
tricks in clothes and behavior for use
in Just such localities and three years
ago the sachems tried out his scheme
by a series of formal teas in the fif-
teenth. 1t was a far cry from the big
tubs OF suds with which the Big and
Little Tim Sullivans used to bash into
a doubtful district and it didn't work.
Barricaded IN their pent houses, the
barons Of finance served more and
better tea, fought of the enemy and
sent Ruth Pratt TO Congress and young
Abbot Low Moffat 10 the Assembly.
No Tea Parties This Year.
In this tight Tanlmany is giving no
tea parties. Its old-fashioned tactics
have brought the charge from Reyes
Winter. Republican leader, that it Is
coionizing the district. and the Seabury
Committee Is examining witnesses In
anvestigating this charge. At recent
election the Democrats ousted Frank
Briarly, their district leader, and re-
placed him with J. e. Sheehy, old-fash-
Toned scrapper and gifted politician.
The Republicans are fighting desper-
ately to hold on, and the district pro-
vides the only real excitement IN q
drab campaign
Tammany has four urgent reasons for
concentrating on this silk stocking re-
Rion. II needs an Assemblyman to add
to the FIVE which 1t hopes to get up
State, so 1t may seize the Legislature;
AZ wants to punish Samuel HofStadter,
Republican Senator from the district,
who heads this probing, prying Seabury
committee; it wants to eliminate the
crusading young Mr.. Moffat and It wants
to send a solid delegation to the As
sembly from New York County. Twenty
years ago the Republicans had seven
Assemblymen from Manhattan and now
they have but one.
Upstate there are sharp contests in
Syracuse, Utica, Buffalo and Bingham
ton, where Tammarly hopes to pick up a
few Assemhlymen on the prohibition
issue. In Binghanaton the Democrats
are driving hard in the hope OF defeat
ing the veteran dry leader of the House,
Assemblyman Edmund B. jerks. For
the first time in his Is consecutive
terms, Assemblyman jerks is menaced
Amendment No. 3, one of six consti-
tutional amendments to be voted on,
also has drawn some hot fire from both
eides. but appears to be certain OF pas
sage and Is not a major issue. This is
Gov. Roosevelt's $20,000,000 plan for
reforestation, land development and
marketing. which Alfred E. smith so
Vehemently attacked at the resent big
Tammany rally ard subsequently. Gu
iiously, the amendment, adopted by the
Legislature and now up~for public rati-
fioation, is in close accord with long
program of similar legislation advanced
by former Gov. Smith. His action in
aSsailing it, with his eager participation
in Tammany's Old Home week, was in
terpreted as q break with Gov. Roose-
Welt, who has made pet of the amend
ment.
Probe Roosevelt Strength.
There is little beyond conjecture to
be noted in this Interpretation. Tam
many chiefs are a bit angry with Gov
Roosevelt, but not too angry. From all
over the country they are getting re-
ports on his strength. Some of these
reports are that it is like the Platte
River, as Bill Nye described it--a mile
wide and q quarter of an inch deep
Others are that it has volume and in
creasing momentum. The most in
formed predictions are that neither
with the Governor until they know more
about how the country is responding
to his candidacy and probably not then
II 1t should appear that his chances are
good.
So far as this election is concerned
professional and detached opinion Is
that Tammany Hall will win a sweep
Ing victory in New York City, with the
possible exception of the fifteenth dis.
trict: that the Republicans will retain
control OF the Assembly, and that
amendment No. will be adopted
Nothing but cyniciSm has come out Of
the uproar over the bipartisan Judge
IDEAL" in Brooklyn. by which the Re-
publicans get five new judges and thu
Democrats seven. Voters have no alter.
natives. other than the Socialist candi-
dates, and the deal must so through
Judge Seabury examined John H. Nc
Cooey. Brooklyn Democratic leader
whose S2-year-old son gets one of tht
5udgeshipS and got only a frank anc
genial explanation of how it all came
about The newspapers have roaret
iInpotently and there is nothing more
(copyrtsht, 1917