Evening star., 1932-04-29

Assuming that AL Smith and other
Roosevelt shoppers ultimately prevail at
Chicago. who is to be their fair haired
boy? Nobody seriously imagines ii
would be Al Smith. Few believe it pos
sible to concentrate the anti-Roosevelt
strength on any of the minor favorite
son andidates-Ritchie. Robinson
Lewis, Reed, Garner, Murray, Byrd
Hull or White There's a revived vol
ume of conviction. originating in quar-
tiers close to the Smith crowd, that
Owen D. Young is the man it has in
reserve. Young's corporate connections
are the only liabilities he carries. In
most other respects he measures up to
the Democrats 1882 neceSSitieS-vote-
getting capacity in New York State.
poor boy" agricultural background
recognized authority in world eco
nomics, Protestant, middle of the
roader on prohibition, engineer-busi
ness man and freedom from entangling
political alliances. Two months from
this week the Democratic convention
Will be in the throes of balloting for
the presidential nomination. Predic-
tions today of what will happen are
foolish and futile. All that can be
chronlcled with certainty is that Young
dark horse talk has received fresh i'm
petus from this weeks significant slow
up OF the Roosevelt victory march.
Just how much OF "chock," as AL
Smith dubS 1t, has been put under the
Roosevelt bandwagon should develop
with some definiteness in California on
Tuesday. II Roosevelt smashes up the
Smith and Garner delegate states
there pretty thoroughly, the Governor
VIII have gone far toward recovering
the stride he had before the Massachu-
sets, Pennsylvania and Connecticut
primaries. Smiths friends resolutely
reject this view. They declaim that
Roosevelt's weakness in the East.
whence the big electoral votes come
from, is a demonstrated fact. They
point out that the big delegations from
the Atlantic seaboard even though they
represent only four or five States, wipe
out numerically the convention strength
Roosevelt commands from three or
four times as many trans Mississippi or
Southern States. And AIS cohorts re-
main impressively confident that,
hating the Governors intestinal invest
many Hall will be in the forefront of
the stop Roosevelt procession at the
time in Chicago.
Secretary Stimson's brusque treat
ment by French Premier Tsrdieu at
Geneva comes in for some plain speak
ing in foreign affairs quarters at the
Capital One Senator of power and re-
nown bluntly declares that Tardieu
'insulted" the American Secretary Of
State. One thing seems certain-the
disarmament fiasco in Switzerland will
make Congress more hard-boiled than
ever on the subject of the debts. In
Washington diplomatic circles less
pessimistic opinion of the Tardieu
'snub" Is expressed. 1t is suggested
there that If Stimson tarries in Europe
until after the results Of Sunday s
French parliamentary elections are de-
termined he will find Tardieu in recep-
tive mood for propositions looking to
European conciliation. Late Geneva
dispatches announcing that Col. Stim-
son will postpone his departure until
Saturday or later" support this theory.
1t was a crushed and flushed Tom
Hef1in that wended his bulky way, un-
honoged and unnoticed, out of the Sen
ate yesterday, just after his one-time
colleagues by 81 to Is had pronounced
his doom. What cut the Alabaman to
the quick was that not a solitary
Democrat was for him. Heflin's sole
supporters we're Republicans. His un-
popularity among Senate Democrats is
nothing new. Once upon a time there
was a report that ne might be expelled
from the party caucus. because he was
bringing the Democratic group as
whole into disrepute. Joe Robinson