Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-09
The Political Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.

As a general proposition, nominees o.
| the major political parties for the Office
of President of the United States mus
serve an apprenticeship in other public
Office and in politics man may be-
merchant prince, great manufac-
turer, railroad president, but if he
has not been identified with public Of
flee, either in his State or in the Ma
| ton; if he has not had some part in
politics, he is not likely to be seriously
| considered when it comes to the ma
tional conventions. This is one of the
reasons why owen D. Young, who has
frequently been mentioned as a presi.
Dental possibility, may have small
| chance of being the Democratic choice
| for President next year. There are @
| lot of Democrats who would like to SEE
| Mr.. Young picked for the nomination
Democrats who believe that Mr.. Young
has demonstrated his executive ability
| in his business connections and in his
| service abroad when the so-callec
Dawes plan for working out the deb
troubles of Europe after the World War
was evolved. But Mr.. Young has not
been a holder of public Office. He has
not been a party man, mixing in party
| politics to any great extent.
X 4 x
Looking back over the list Of Presi-
dents of the United States, it is easy
to make the generalization that they
have achieved the Office of Chief EX-
ecutive of the country after they have
been successful at politics and held
public Office, or after they have been
successful soldiers Grant, the popular
hero Of the Civil War, became Presi-
dent with little or no political expert
| ence to fall back upon. Roosevelt was
AslAI IL nd 1~E~
he entered the White House. Lincoln
served in the House of Representatives
and had fought many political battles
before he became President. Wilson
was Governor of New Jersey at the
time he was nominated for President.
1t seems rather clear that if man Is
to hold the highest public Office in the
GIFT of the people he does not begin
at the top. Ambassador Dawes, now
in London, when he was nominated for
Vice President, had been largely in the
his service as director of the budget
and earlier public Office.
X X X
Mr.. Young has said very distinctly
that he is not candidate for the presi-
dency. While that is job no American
could turn down If there was demand
for his services, Mr.. Young is well
within his rights not to be a candidate
for the nomination If he feels that way
about it. II he has mixed in politics,
his biography in who's Who in Amer
lea" does not disclose the fact. It
does not even state that he is a Demo-
crat, although that is widely known.
He began his career as a lawyer and
his first connection with the General
Electric Co., with which he has become
so closely identified, was as counsel and
then as vice president in charge OF
policy. Since 1922 he has been chair
man of the board of that company
He has served with distinction on vari-
Gus boards dealing with economic sub
iects under appointment of President
Wilson and later Presidents. But he
has held no appointment to public
Office, nor does the record disclose his
election to any public Office. This is
nothing against Mr.. Young. But he
has so far lived outside Of politics, even
though he has contributed to party
campaigns. Senator Dwight w. Morrow
was counsel for j. P. Inorganic Co. and
later became vice president OF that
concern, but he was not mentioned as
presidential possibility until after he
had been Ambassador.
The vets were jubilant not so long
ago because in the State of Washing
ton the Republican and Democratic
State conventions had gone against ma
tional prohibition. But now the dry 5
seem to be in the aScendency there
again. This will cause no grief to
Senator Wesley L. Jones, veteran Re-
publican legislator and chairman Of the
Senate Appropriations Committee. SEN
ator Jones has been leading dry. SEN
ator Jones comes up for reelection
again next year. 1t has been rumored
that Judge Kenneth Macintosh, a
member of the WickerSham Commits
sion, was likely to make bid for the
senatorial nomination against Senator
Jones. Judge Macintosh is one of
those members of the commission who
has declared for some modification OF
national prohibition without further
delay. An effort by friends OF Judge
Macintosh to have the State Legis-
lature invite the judge to appear before
it and discuss the Wickersham report
recently was voted down. A rebuff not
only for those who desire some change
from national prohibition, but also, 1t
is held, for Judge Macintosh If he de-
sires to make the senatorial race. And
just the other day the State Senate
also turned down by vote of 20 to Ia
proposal to memorabilia Congress to
resubmit the eighteenth amendment to
constitutional conventions in the sew
eral States. The drys are feeling a lot
better over the situation in Washing
ton than they were last Fall.
Y y X X
Senator George H. Moses of New Hamp-
shire opened a flank attack on the
Nye Campaign Investigating Commit
tee, when he insisted upon putting in
the Congressional Record a list of the
10 I@xy AI,nk fnn
amounting to about $4,000. The Nye
Committee during the last campaign
and since has made it uncomfortable
for a number of regular Republican
senatorial candidates. 1t has been
charged that the committee was used to
aid the political fortunes of at least
one of the Progressive group on the Re-
publican side of the chamber, Senator
Norris of Nebraska. Out of the Ne
braska investigation has come the in
dictment of Victor Seymour for perjury.
Victor Seymour was during the cam
paign employed as an assistant to the
vice chairman of the Republican Sena-
torial Campaign Committee, OF which
Senator Moses is chairman. Since Sen
ator Moses printed in the Record a
list of the expenditures made by the
Investigating Committee, Representative
Underhill of Massachusetts,, another
Republican, mas MADE one OF Two
speeches in the House attacking the
Nye Committee on account of extrava-
gance. 1t looks as though an effort
was on foot among the regular Re-
publicans to get the Nye Committee
and Senator Nye himself when he
comes up for reelection next year.
X X \
However, Senator Nye as chairman
of the Senate Committee on Public
Lands had charge of an investigation
which put about 100000 in the cot
fers of Uncle SAM which may well be
considered an offset of an expenditure
of $97 900 even if there anything repre-
henSihle in the expenditure which has