Evening star., 1932-05-02
The Political Mill
By G.. Could Lincoln.

Members Of the Progressive Repubn-
can block in Senate and House, having
apparently abandoned all effort to pre-
vent the denomination of President
Herbert Hoover at the coming Republi-
can National Convention, engage in
speculation now and then over the
possibility Of launching a third party
and an independent presidential ticket.
They couple this suggestion with the
declaration that Progressives will have
no place to go" should the Democrats
nominate as their presidential candi-
day a conservative" This means, If
you press the Progressives, II the Demo-
| Gratis nominate any one except Gov.
Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York
Whether 1t is the Roosevelt name or
Gov. RooSevelts espousal of public
ownership and operation of waterpower
| and hydroelectric power transmission,
or both, that has hypnotized the Pro-
gressives, they seem unable to see any
Democratic nominee for President at
all to their liking other than Franklin
D. Roosevelt. Alfred e. Smith had the
support Of Senator Norris of Nebraska
and Senator Blaine of Wisconsin in
! 1928. But since Mr.. Smiths recent ut
| terances, which have been INTERPRETED
as alignfng him with Wall Street rather
than Oliver street, these Progressives
do not cotton to AL
Just which one Of the Progressives
! could or would be selected to head a
| third independent ticket Is a question
they have not tackled yet. Months ago
| the ProgressiveS held conferences in the
| Offices of various Senators, and attempts
were made to get Senator Hiram
johnson to make bid for the presi-
DENTAL nomination, or Senator Norris,
or Senator Borah. But none Of them
would get into the race Gov. Clifford
Finchot OF Pennsylvania was talked of
IN connection with a revolt against the
nomination Of President Hoover Like
| Barkis, Gov. Pinchot was reported by
/ some Of the Senators to be willing"
! But the terrible disaster that met the
! Ptnchot forces in the Pennsylvania pri-
| marieS last Tuesday seems to have put
| an effectual crimp In any presidential
| aspirations the Governor may have had.
| He remains Governor of Pennsylvania
| for the next two years, but he is likely
! TO have hard row to plough under all
| the circumstances.
While here and there the progressive
| Republicans continue to talk CT
revolt" against President Hoover and
the conservative Democrats as well as
the conservative Republicans. the Hoo
yer stock seems to be on the up and up.
Reports come from many States that
things are looking better for the Presi-
dent. The change in sentiment is
marked, it is said, in such States as
Indiana and Michigan, where not long
ago the bitterness with which the Hoo
yer administration was attacked was
very great. The belief Is growing
among the Republican leaders that the
President, after all, has a chance of re-
election because Of the shift In senti-
ment. The President has offered a real
program for the relief OF economic con-
| ditdons in the country, and equally i'm
portant, he has stood against doles and
bonuses as well as against cuts In wage
scales. The opposition, on the other
hand. has presented little and what it
has offered 1t has not stuck to. "Sta-
bility' will be the watchword Of the Re
publicans in the coming campaign in
place Of prosperity" the battle cry of
1928. They are counting on the Amer
ican voters desire to retain what Is left
to them and not to take chances with
the Democrats, who, the Republicans
insist. have shown no ability to grapple
with the situation. They refer to the
manner In which the Democrats have
declined to follow their leaders in the
| House on the revenue bill and on the
omnibus economy bill.
+ + ~
The row among the Democrats over
| the omnibus economy bill and the man
ner in which the measure has been torn
limb from limb after its presentation by
| the Democratic leaders has given the
Republicans chance to rub in the lack
of leadership and lack Of cohesion
among the Democrats of the House
Democratic leaders might have acted
with greater political sagacity II they
! had left the economy program on
| President Hoover's own doorstep. But
apparently they thought that the party
could gain from the advancement Of
| an economy bill differing from the
| Presidents plan In many respects,
which they could call their own. The
Democratic economy bill proposed an
| IL per cent cut In salary paid Govern
ment employees. The President pro-
posed no cut in the wage scales Of the
Government employees, but an enforced
| furlough without pay Of one month
during the year. He Is left before the
public as the champion of no reduction
! in pay scales, position which he took
! when the financial crash first arrived
| In the Fall of 1929.
xx x
What has become of the threatened
revolt Of the Southern Republicans
against a Hoover denomination which
| was to have been led with the aid OF
| Col. Horace Mann of Tennessee? Many
of the Southern States already have
named their Republican delegates 10
the national convention. And all OF
them have sent delegations favorlng
President Hoover, even though there
are contests in several of these States
which must be settled at the conven-
ton itself The fact Of the matter Is
there hasn't been any zip" to the
revolt against Mr.. Hoover, either among
the progressive Republicans OF the west
or among the disgruntled Republicans
of the South. In Nebraska the Repub-
licans have selected IT delegates to the
! national convention and according 10
reports they are all regular Republican
organization delegates and, though un-
| instructed, are to be counted for Hoover.
The La Follettes put up slate Of
delegates in Wisconsin favorable to the
nomination of Senator Norris OF
Nebraska, who, by the way, does not lift
q hand for the nomination. The Hoover
Republicans elected 16 Of the delegates
| from the Badger State. leaving only IL
! to the progressive faction. As a conSe-
ouence. for the first time in years, the
regular Republican wing In Wisconsin
will control the Wisconsin delegation,
VIII have a representative on the Plat
form Committee and there will be no
opportunity for Wisconsin to present to
the convention a minority report on
platform.
X 4
Former Representative Benjamin F.
Focht staged a sensational comeback in
the eighteenth congressional district in
the keystone State in the congressional
primary last week. After having been
out of the House for almost decade,
Mr.. Focht won the Republican nomina-
ton against Representative Beers by
more than a two-to-one vote. To be
exact, Mr.. Focht polled in the primary