Evening star., 1932-06-20
CHICAGO OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLLAN FILE.

Walsh Is to be permanent chairman.
II demeapOr counts for anything, the
national committee executive is Sc
renely confident that his case is in
vlncible. The issue of Gov. Roosevelt's S
loyalty to a pledge is at stake in the
effort to unhorse Shouse. On its out
come the New Workers. presidential fate
may depend.
II you believe in signs, Albert c.
Ritchie Of Maryland is going to be
nominated by the Democrats at Chicago.
That is to say, the Ritchie boomers
have pre-empted some of the best ad-
! vertising sign space in the city and
plastered it with huge red, white and
blue billboards of conspicuous dimen-
sions and bearing the slogan Win
With Richie One particularly we'll
placed sign will stare squarely in the
face every conventionite who proceeds
TO the Chicago Stadium in an automo-
bile. 1t occupies the jackson Boulevard
corner, around which is the principal
approach to the convention hall. Who
ever planted Win With Richie" at
that strategic point was a good picker
OF sites and convention psychologist.
At this early writing, Franklin D.
RCoSevelts prospect of becoming the
Democrats candidate for president is
regarded at least a $3.50 proposition.
The Governors foes already on the
scene admit it IS going to be hard to
deny the nomination to a man who will
enter the convention with as much and
as sectionally widely distributed strength
t,n k1nyI- h11
velt man thinks it may be the Cover
nor's name that will put him over. What
charm 1t possesses was recently dis
closed by the response of a voter to a
presidential preference poll conducted
by Western newspaper. Il think"
he said, that Gov. Roosevelt would be
every bit as great president as his
father was" Some authorities believe
the Governors physical disabilities
which the Chicago convention will hear
loud whispers-instead of being a cam
paign liability will turn into an election
asset through the sympathy vote they
will evoke.
MeSSrS. RaSkob, Shouse and others in
the present Democratic high command
expect to retire or be retired as soon
as the convention is over, but there is
one National Committee luminary who
ranks as the great indispensable. He
is Charles Nicholson, the astute pub
licity director who, for three wears. has
been front-paging the Democratic partv
in manner never before known in
the history Of a political organization
languishing in the wilderness. Charlev's
contractual obligations end with the
nomination of the 1892 ticket, but no
one here thinks the Democrats will
commit the blunder-whatever Others
they make-of losing Michelson's sery-
ices. He is due here tomorrow.
Gov. Smiths arrival this week will
pep up the situation with a bang
There is strangely large number Of
people in Chicago who think it is a
mistake to eliminate AL as the conven-
tion'S ultimate choice. Smiths princi-
pal objective is to stop Roosevelt. If
he can do that, Manhattan's idol. his
cronies say, will not care what hap
pens, even his own nomination,
The Democrats have Stunned the
"B" floor of the Congress Hotel, where
Republican National Committee head
quarters were set up, and pitched their
tents two flights up, appropriately on
the ID" stratum. The idea is that 1t
is farther away from the lobby and
freer from the milling mobs that al
ways clutter up a convention.