Evening star., 1932-10-17
The Political Mill
By C. Gould Lincoln.

L Il
ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex, October
16.-Win or lose, as q campaigner
President Hoover Is showing the coun-
try Q new side. He Is doing far more
for himself today than any other
spokesman. however eloquent, could do.
And the country Is sitting up and tax
ing notice. So much has been written
by Democratic and progressive critics
to the effect that Mr.. Hoover Is not
only inept at politics but that he Is
also almost inarticulate, that the coun-
try has not Eeen prepared for Hoover
the campaigner. With his three
speeches to the public dealing with
politics since his denomination for the
presidency, beginning with his accept
ance speech last Summer, Mr.. Hoover
has come back" vastly in the favor of
the people.
why is thsp Why has he taken the
spotlight from that attractive personal
ity, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Demo-
largely because the people IN this day
and age want facts, and the President
has marshaled facts In Q convincing
way. He has made Gov. Roosevelt ap-
pear 10 be little informed about the
great issues which confront the country
and the people. He has driven wide
holes in the arguments advanced by the
Democratic candidate and his lieuten-
ants. Furthermore, by means of the
radio, President Hoover has been heard
by literally millions of the voters and
his audiences over the air have been
greatly impressed with the sincerity
and depth of feeling of the man.
I heard q strong Democrat, who IS
supporting Roosevelt for the presidential
ofhce, say recently that if it were pos
sible to place all the people of the
United States in a room with Mr. Hoo
yer and let him talk to them, Mr. Hoo
yer would win this election hands down.
But" added this Democrat, 'of course
that cannot be done and Roosevelt will
be elected" In measure, however, it is
being done. Whether the President began
his frontal attack on the Democrats soon
enough is question that only Novem-
Der will answer. The pendulum had
swung a long way against him out in
these great States OF the West, Repub-
llcan though they have been in the past.
The Democrats, while agreeing that
there has been a big turn back by Re-
publicans to Hoover, say they do not
believe that the recovery Of Republican
strength will be sufficient. And in the
end, as always, they say that no party
in power during hard times can survive;
that the vote this year will be against
the 'ins," and Mr.. Hoover is one of
them. That is certainly true that his
tory backs up the statement that party
In power during financial crash. when
peoples pocketbooks are hard hit,
usually suffers at the polls. Neverthe-
less, Mr.. Hoover, the Campaigner. IS
still to be reckoned with. The Demo-
Gratis do not like the comparisons now
being made between their candidate and
Mr.. Hoover. Not little bit.
Gov. Roosevelt has failed in his ad-
dresses to set the prairie9 CT the noun
tains on fire. In his speech on relief
the Democratic nominee followed the
same lines as Mr.. Hoover. So much so
that it appears the President has domi-
mated the entire relief situation, and his
opponent has been forced to a position
similar to that Of the Chief Executive.
The Hearst newspapers in San Francisco
placed headlines over the Roosevelt
speech asserting that Roosevelt favors
Federal aid to the destitute" But the
accounts Of the speech which follow
the headlines clearly indicate that Gov
Roosevelt places Federal aid as the last
resort and goes no further in support
Of that aid than has President Hoover
already done.
-
Alfred E. Smith. when he allowed his
name TO be entered in the California
presidential primary last Spring, took
the step needed to place his old enemy
william Gibbs McAdoo at the top of
the Democratic heap in that State, in
position to be nominated for the Sen
ate, to deal with Roosevelt at the
Democratic National Convention. Had
Smith not entered the presidential pri-
mary, according to influential Democrats
in California. Roosevelt would have won
the primary fight against Garner, ispon-
sored by McAdce, and McAdoo would
have had to face out of the picture
again, leaving Justus Wardell and other
Democrats who had turned to Roosevelt
in the saddle. But Mr.. Smith. in the
three -cornered race took from Roosevelt
a large part of the Northern Demo-
cratic vote. He and Roosevelt were the
wet candidates, while Mr.. Garner, who
knows how to keep his mouth shut on
troublesome questions, was neither wet
nor dry. He just did not say anything
about the issue, not until after he had
the Texas and California delegations
sewed up.
Mr.. McAdoo is in the saddle, GER
tainly, in the Democratic party in Cali
fornia, although he has still so many
enemies among the northern Demo-
Gratis that there is serious doubt he will
be elected to the Senate. But whether
he be elected or not, he Is at present
Democratic national committeeman for
the State, his word is law among the
fe M ha tc ip1
persona grata with Gov. Roosevelt and
the leaders who made Roosevelt the
party nominee.
Rev. Bob Shuler, the evangelist can
didate for the Senate in California, has
no use for Mr.. McAdoo. What he says
about Mr.. MeAdoo and Mr.. Hearst at
his meetings, many Of them opened
with prayer is just too bad. Further
more. Mr.. Shuler's main strength is in
Southern California, where Mr.. Nc
Adoo must look for votes II he Is to
man. He was born in the Virginia
mountains and lived in Virginia, Ken
lucky and Tennessee for years. He
did not come to California until about
IL years ago. He Is classed in Califor-
mia with the Helms. the Huey Longs,
the Tom Watsons of the Senate, only
he Is said to be more So" One of his
pledges to the people of California Is
that when he gets to Washington as q
Senator he will get himself radio and
tell the world, and in particular the
people Of California, all the dirt" there
Is in Washington. He was taken OF
the radio, his own license revoked by
the Federal Radio Commission, because
he INDUCED in just that kind of thing
about the people in California, but
shuler figures that when he is Sena-
tor, If he becomes one, no Federal radio
commission is going to be able to gag
him. The hold he has acquired on
thousands of the voters in California
is remarkable. His following is, in
large part, protest vote against