The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-04-16
fNEA Service Writerl


Washington The shrewdness
and cleverness of professional pol
iticians has often been exaggerat-
ed in the popular mind, but some
politicians are smarter than others.
1t is not easy, however. to de-
eide where the honors for superior
strategy should be awarded as be-
tween the Roosevelt politi-
clans and the anti Roosevelt poll
ticians in the democratic pre-con-
vention campaign.
They have been taking turns at
out-smarting each other and II
there is anything left of the stop
Roosevelt movement at Chicago
the convention may produce one
Of the SWEETEST exhibitions of out
smarting in political history.
A GuilcIess Crew?
One has often tended to suspect
many OF the Roosevelt leaders as
a somewhat naive, guileless crew
not too difficult to out-maneuver
and to think of the anti-Roosevelts
as more practical, experienced,
hard-boiled crowd. which, other
things being equal, would be
rather sure to come out to top.
For instance, hardly anyone
would contend that Roosevelt's
manager Jim Farley, Homer Cum
mings of Connecticut or Senator
Cordell Hull was as politically
slick as AL Smith, Mayor Frank
Hague of Jersey City or National
Executive Chairman Jouett Shouse.
Yet, the record shows that each
group has taken turns at out
smarting the other and at being
out-smarted itself beyond any pos
sibility of doubt.
That Early Start
For instance, Roosevelt and his
friends started a couple of years
ago to round up party leaders in
every possible state, virtually sew
ing up hundreds of delegates far
in advance of the convention.
There is nothing smarter in party
presidential politics than getting a
lot of delegates, if you can get
enough of them.
And, If you are out to beat a
man, there isn't anything much
dumber than to let him get them.
Week after week the Roosevelt
fellows shake their tree now and
the nice ripe apples fall into their
sack. The fruits of the anti
Roosevelt campaign look more
and more like crabapples. The
anti-Roosevelts started too late.
On the other hand no cutter
specific bit of out-smarting has
been observed than what the anti
Roosevelts did to the Roosevelts
when the arrangements commit
tee, selected by Chairman Raskob
and Chairman Shouse, met at
Chicago and recommended Sena-
tor Barley of Kentucky as con-
vention keynoter and Shouse for
permanent chairman.
Raskob Pulls a Good One
When the Roosevelts saw the
list of the arrangements commit
tee they were pleased no end, for
there was a majority of Roosevelts
on 1t and they Immediately re-
allied they could pick the tempo
rary chairman, or keynoter, which
was the most important task at
hand.
They decided that Mr. Shouse,
as an anti-Roosevelt, couldn't be
keynoter and that they would
OCAdlOI DOL hACy 90 %
reward for withdrawing his IA
vorite son candidacy and becom-
ing a Rooseveiter himself.
Behind closed doors at Chicago
they suddenly found that eight of
the Roosevelts on the committee
had been secretly pledged by Mr.
Raskob to vote for Mr. Shouse, at
a time when the Roosevelts didn't
know they would be supposed to
support Barley. Mr. Raskob had
tied them up before the identity
of the members was generally
known.
You may be sure that the
Roosevelt leaders became very
sour at that and the best they
could get out of it. after Hague.
Farley and Roosevelt himself had
threshed things out rather 'acri-