Evening star., 1932-07-05
Roosevelt and the Progressives.

Roosevelt and the Progressives.
Senator Hiram Johnson's praise of
Gov Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee
for President, has sent few more cold
chills down Republican backs. The
California Senator has not yet gone
the length of declaring for Roosevelt
in opposition to President Hoover. His
praise of the Democratic nominee, how
ever, is construed as a backhanded
blow at the President, for whom Mr..
johnson has no love whatever. Mr..
johnson has always believed that he
himself should have been the first Cali
fornian elected President of the United
States. -Four years ago he was a candi-
date for reelection to the Senate, at the
time that Mr.. Hoover was running for
President. In those days Senator john
son was content to run along emicably
enough with the Republican national
ticket. But this year his attitude may
be different.
Those who remember back as far as
1916 will recall that Senator johnson
had his part in the defeat of the Re-
publican national ticket headed by
Charles Evans Hughes, now Chief
Justice of the United States. Mr.
Hughes made the unfortunate error,
when he went campaigning to Cali
fornia, of training with the johnson
opposition in that State. Without max
ing a public declaration against Mr..
Hughes, johnson and his followers be-
came so lukewarm toward the Republi-
can presidential candidate that on cleo
ton day California went for Woodrow
Wilson, while johnson was elected
Senator There seems not the slight
est doubt that Mr.. Johnson will be
decidedly lukewarm to the Hoover
cause in California this year, too, even
if he does not make an open declara-
ton for the Democratic presidential
nominee. His influence in California,
while not what it was in 1916, is still
not to be Sneezed at.
Obviously Gov. Roosevelt has been
playing and will continue to play for
the support of the progressive Repub-
ncans of the West. In his address to
the Democratic National Convention in
Chicago on Saturday the New York
Governor differentiated between Repub-
ncan leaders and the Republican party.
His attack, he declared, would be di-
rected particularly at the leadership"
Of the G. o. P, now in the hands Of
Mr. Hoover and the conservative group.
His bid for the support of the progress
sives was obvious Already one Of the
progressive leaders, Senator George w.
Norris of Nebraska, has announced his
intention Of supporting the Roosevelt
candidacy. Norris tried TO carry Ne
braska for Al Smith against President
Hoover in 1928, but failed utterly. But
a Roosevelt may have a better fate in
Nebraska, even a Democratic Roosevelt.
Other progressive leaders in the Re
publican party are wondering and pom
dering what shall be their course toward
the Hoover-C Curtis ticket this year.
There are Blaine of Wisconsin, who
supported Smith four years ago; Nye
and Frazier Of North Dakota, not to
mention Senator Borah of Idaho.
The progressives may overdo the mat
ter Of supporting Roosevelt. The reac-
ton in the great States of the East to
this rush of the progressives to the
Roosevelt standard is danger which
Roosevelt will have TO face. In 1896,
when it appeared that Bryan, new
political meteor out Of the West, would
sweep the country, there was ranying
of the forces to sound money" and
when the votes were counted it was
found that Mckinley, not Bryan, was
the victor in the presidential race. Such
a situation may arise again, with Presi-
dent Hoover benefiting because Of the
sentiment in this country against radi-
calisrn. Roosevelt already has been pic
tured to the business interests and to
the people as a radical" There is an
inclination among the American people,
as among the British, to become more
conservative IN times Of great stress; to
fight for what they have remaining
with their backs to the wall, rather than
to seek wild panaceas offered by the
so-called progressive and the radical.