Evening star., 1932-04-10
BY GEORGE VAN SLYKE.

oEOhuE ' nv 81 nE.
NEW YORK, April s.-The series Of
| interesting State primaries through
which the national campaign is now
progressing is defining sharply two fun
damental and distinct movements of
utmost importance to the political
parties.
| One is the strength or weakness Of
the several candidates contesting for
the Democratic nomination for Presi-
dent. The other is the first revelation
of any pronounced and definite drift
OF sentiment or aff1liation of voters as
between the major parties, pointing
prohphetically to election day in No.
| vember
In respect to the Democratic pre-
convention situation. the evidence has
been written so clearly into the primary
results Of 10 States that it cannot be
overlooked nor misunderstood Gov.
| Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York
started three months ago as the leader
in the race. He has swept through a
! long series Of hard primaries in doubt
| ful States with an unbroken record of
victories, South. East and West, gain
| ing steadily week by week. The favo-
wayside one by one; the proposed coali-
| ton to stop Roosevelt" has made no
progress and none of the other Demo-
! cratic candidates in the long list has
! succeeded in making even a start.
In so far as the primary voting has
| expressed a state of mind of the cleo
| torate. the political observers read into
the returns a swing of a big protest
vote away from the Republican party.
| While it is too early to conclude there
| is Nation wide drift in prospect or to
base on few primary returns a fore
/ cast of what may happen in November,
that tendency dreaded by Republican
! leaders has shown itself and Is the
subject Of great concern and close
| scrutiny in administration circles in
| Washington
! 1t is patent on the face of the re-
! turns that tens of thousands of Repub-
licans must have left their party ranks
and the La Toilette organization in the
Wisconsin primary this week TO vote for
| Roosevelt in the Democratic column.
The voters can do 1t in that State. The
New Yorker polled 566, ,292 votes, a re-
markably high count for a Democrat.
John w. Davis had only 5000 in the
| general election in 1924 and Alfred z.
! Smith, a great favorite in that wet
State, had 100000 four years ago.
| X
The La Toilette vote showed a sharp
falling off, indicating that the radicals
Of the State may have turned to Roose-
welt, as well as the protest Republican
vote The Roosevelt delegates polled
votes equal to the Republican vote in
most parts OF the State. showing that
| Wisconsin will be classed as doubtful in
| the election predictions. The Hoover
| conservative faction will control the
State delegation by is to II and the
Republicans score by cracking the La
| Toilette machine.
Something Of this same tendency of
protest drift away from Hoover and
| to the Democrats was seen recently in
| the North Dakota primary, where the
! voters in that Republican State ac-
| cepted the New York Governor as the
! radical in preference to Gov. Murray
! of Oklahoma. Also, it was seen in lesser
degree in New Hampshire, where the
! Democrats made an exceptionally good
/ showing. In California, the Democrats
/ have rolled up a record registration of
8 more than 800 900 for tie May presi-
dental primary.
*
! AS each week piles up the primary
results in all sections of the country
! a fairly accurate croSs-sect!on view OF
the Democratic situation is presented
| In the early stages Of the primary
campaign there was much discussion OF
favorite-Son coalition to head of
| Gov Roosevelt. 1t was easy to tie UP
some 450 delegates to favorite sons and
candidates with substantial following
! RVftc hAfN CtnA
that an alliance could be worked out
along the lines followed in many con-
ventions, whereby the leader in the race
could be blocked and the convention
| deadlocked
Alfred E. Smith of New York, Speaker
| Garner of Texas and Gov. Murray OF
! Oklahoma were counted on in such an
| enterprise to hold together at least
$50 delegates and probably more, leav-
ing it for the other candidates to con-
troll their own States and furnish the
other lao required for a one-third bloc
to exercise the veto power over the con-
vention and hold the nomination open
until June. While the primary object
of such a movement was supposed tC
be a common purpose to prevent Roose.
velt running away with the nomination
some of the participants were credited
with not being hostile to the New
Yorker but merely adhering to the be.
lief that the best interest OF the party
required that no candidate should fore.
close on the nomination this early In
the year.
As the States have gone through Their
primaries, Roosevelt has made a clear
sweep of it in every test and goes into
another big week with close to 400 dele.
gates in line. Actually l55 are in.
structed for him and 48 have indicated
a preference for him without instruct.
ing
While his steady march through the
contests in New England, the Midwest
and South has been impressive, addine
steadily to the momentum of his candi.
dacy, another phase In the develop.
ments has been almost as important
Three favorite sons-Senators Hull OF
Tennessee, Joe Robinson of Arkansas
and Barkley Of Kentucky-have stepped
aside, releasing their States from cast