Evening star., 1932-06-29
CHICAGO OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

CHICAGO Ill, June 29.-Can a
phalanx of 60o-odd delegates hold out
against a combination of 500-odd in a
convention Of 1,100-odd and eventually
turn a mere majority into a two-thirds
majority? That is the simple problem
in political arithmetic now presented
by the situation on the Roosevelt battle
front in Chicago. The skirmiShing
operations are over. They demonstrated
the Roosevelt forces to be in firm,
though not yet full, command of the
situation. On the issue which the
forces allied against the Governor chose
to make the acid test of their strength
the election of Jouett Shouse as
permanent chairman-the Roosevelt
lines held fast The allies, up to within
an hour of the fateful roll call, were
confident they had Senator Walsh
beaten. But they succumbed, 626 to
528, almost 100 short of their goal.
Earlier in the day the anti-Roosevelt-
ians had lost the Louisiana contest by
majority of l24 and the Minnesota
contest by los. The latter represented
Roosevelt ascendancy at its peak
658h votes, 1919 short of the two
thirds necessary to nomination.
Now in national convention like in
other matters, you can do almost any
thing you like with figures Depending
on what you want to prove by them,
you can twist them into meaning any
thing you please. That is the favorite
indoor sport at Chicago today. On the
celebrated theory that the wish is
father to the thought, Roosevelt lead
ers and anti Roosevelt leaders are gayly
and busily interpreting YESTERDAYS three
test votes to denote what looks best for
their respective purposes. The Cover
nor's generaliSsimo, Jim Farley stands
pat on his original Chicago claim that
F D. r. will have 69l delegates on the
first ballot and that band-Wagon &C
cretions, before the result is announced.
will do the rest Frank Hague, mayor
of Jersey City and captain general of
| the Smlth-allied group hostile to Roose-
welt, retortS that 632 votes represent the
absolute high-water mark the Governor
will attain on any balloting And there
| you are. If one makes a reduction of
anywhere from 10 to IL per cent in the
respective Roosevelt and anti Roosevelt
| claims, the probability is that something
approaching the actual present-hou
| state of affairs would be arrived at. The
rest is utterly on the knees Of the gods.
| Not a man or woman in Chicago at
this hour can predict with certainty
what is going to happen from this
time on.
Platform matters-by which is under
! stood the exclusively prohibition mat
| ters, for nothing else arouses any in
terest-have the right of way today
| That is to say, they take precedence
! on the convention program. In cold
! actuality the dramatically acute and
wholly incalcuable nomination fight is
| the only thing the convention cares
| about. The Rooseyeltians and the anti
Rooseveltians are maneuvering fey -
ishly for advantage. The favorite-son
| delegations, holding the balance OF
power, are the objects Of incessant at
| tack, which takes various forms
intrigue, cajolery and bribery. The
Roosevelt strategy aims to lure enough
favorite-son delegates away from theiI
present moorings to build the required
! ITO votes for a two-thirds majority
| The vice presidential nomination Is the
bait which Manager Farley is mainly
dangling. In at least two favorite-son
quarters. so 1t is alleged, there were
no nibbles Speaker Gamers repre-
sentatives are said to have spurned
| u lEdOe WIFI fLOUSrfcit oll tiic bdoio Va
| a second place for the Texan. Tho
! Ohio delegation Is also reported to have
cold -shouldered a proposition which Of
| fered TO make Gov. George White thf
Roosevelt running mate, Second-placf
bait Is being waited in the direction ot
Melvin Trailor OF Illinois, too. but
| Mayor Cermak thinks his fellow Chi
cagoan is still too promising a presi-
dental dark horse nominee to war
rant bargaining with Roosevelt Just
now.
|
Gov. Ritchie Of Maryland unques,
tionably commands most attention IL
the fRlsulation7 h-ee7 on dead,
locked eel. fsl.-ea Esd I 1niDroBl.gI
candidate. The Free States pulchrilu'