Evening star., 1932-09-12
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Authentic winds are blowing In
from the Corn Belt to the effect that
Senator Smith w. Brookhart has de-
cided to run as an Independent for the
Iowa Senate seat for which Henry
Field, the Shenandoah seed merchant,
recently defeated him in the nomina-
tion primaries. Brookhart is no
slouch as a vote-getter. In 1922 he
carried Iowa by 10000, and In 1925,
by $4,000. On one or two occasions
he has captured nearly every county
in the State. Both Brookhart and
Field. his primary conqueror, being Re
publicans, the discarded Senator's In
dependent candidacy is capable Of play
ing havoc with the Hawkeye G. o. P.
vote Brookhart is avowedly and bit
terly anti-Hoover. He's letting 1t be
understood that's the main excuse for
his impending candidacy. Iowa Is gen.
orally good for anything up to 400, 900
Republican majority for President, but
with Smith Wilcman Brookhart on the
warpath, anything might happen. in
cluding the nosing-in of q Democratic
Senator.
Under local bar association auspices
Attorney General William D. Mitchell
next Saturday night, Constitution day,
Is going to broadcast a talk on prohi-
bition amendments and the Constitu-
tion. Mainly he's going to contrast the
respective planks in the Republican and
Democratic national platforms regard
ing constitutional abolition or semi
control of prohibition and the methods
Of accomplishing it. Hardly anybody
Of authority in the United States is SO
well qualified to turn both sides of the
liquor issue from q political standpoint.
Mr.. Mitchell frequently describes him
self in private conversation as q DEM
ocratic Attorney General in q Repub-
lican administration" Personally he's
referring to his political ancestry and
upbringing rather than to present
Ex-Mayor Jimmie Walker, who has
sailed for italy for q period Of recre-
alton and remorse, would do well to
dig up In the ship library some volume
of American history dealing with the
political feuds of the Garfield admin
istration. Defying his implacable fee,
Senator Roscoe Conkling Of New York,
President Garfield In 1881, within three
weeks Of his Inauguration, named Judge
Robertson, leader Of the New York In
dependents, to be collector Of the Port
of New York. Conkling. Joined by his
fellow Senator, Tom Platt, violently OBJ
jected to this recognition Of the Re-
publican half breeds" Finally, in
protest, both Conkling and Plat, ex-
pecting vindication through their tri-
umphant reelection by the State
Legislature, submitted their designations
at Albany. But, to their unutterable
astonishment the resignations were
accepted, and Warren Miller and E. q.
Lapham were elected to the. vacated
seats. It was the virtual end Of
Conkling's career and for time forced
Plat into retirement.
At o recent rally Of voteless Demo-
Gratis Of the District Of Columbia an
admittedly disgruntled and dismissed
agent Of the prohibition enforcement
service spun, in chapter-and-verse
fashion, yarn about . member OF the
Coolidge cabinet, now no longer In the
executive branch Of the Government.
The speaker stated that the cabinet
Of corporation supposed to be manu-
featuring cosmetics. The company
withdrew Industrial alcohol under Gov
ernment permit, but was discovered, the
ex-agent claims, to be guilty syste-
matically Of diverting its supplies for
illicit, and presumably, liquor purposes.
It was never prosecuted for that al
legged offense. The apparent intent of
the exposure at the Roosevelt and Gar
ner rally was to show that Republicans
are hopelessly crookedl