Evening star., 1933-11-04
La Guardia's Chances Rated
Far Better Than McKee's
by Rejected Party Heads.
WIGWAM WOULD Prefer
TO SEE FUSIONIST WIN
Have Not Abandoned All Hope,
With City Employees Strength
Certain to Be Theirs.
BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

NEW YORK, November 4.-The Tam
many Tiger, which has controlled
Greater New York and its government
for the last Is years, has its back to
the wall and is fighting for its very life.
Tammany realizes it is not popular
today. Rather plaintively the organ
ization leaders ask why the people
should be SO down on the organization.
More particularly, Tammany wants to
know why the Roosevelt administration
should be backing its enemies, Joseph
v. Mckee. the Recovery party's candi-
date for mayor in Tuesdays election.
And beyond that, the Tammany leaders
are asking why AL Smith, whom they
figure owes everything to Tammany
Hall, has run out on them, left them
high and dry when word from him
might have been OF great benefit?
All that Tammany has asked of the
Roosevelt administration, the leaders
say, has been to be let alone in New
York. They feel that much was due
them for the great plurality that they
rolled up for President Roosevelt in
1882 in New York City. But now the
administration, through the person OF
Postmaster General Farley, and some of
its Federal appointees in New York, Is
taking pot shots at Mayor John P.
OBrien, Tammanys candidate for re-
election as mayor and at John F.
Curry. the present Tammany boss.
OBJECTIONS Are Numerous.
Within the ranks of the organization
dafoPfinJc
both on the part of leaders. district
leaders and some of the rank and fle
These defections make the cause of
Tammany all the more desperate.
However. the Tiger continues to
fight. Furthermore. some of the or
ganization leaders profess to see victory
ahead for Mayor O'Brien and the
greater part OF the organization ticket.
There is one thing they say cannot
happen-the election Of Joseph ":
eiu Guardia, the Fusion and Republican
organization candidate. And by the
same token, these Tammany leaders
who have remained faithful would pre-
fer to have La Guardia elected than to
see the city turned over to Mckee and
Farley and the Roosevelt Democrats
generally That. they fear, would mean
the development of new Democratic
organization controlling the city, an
organization that would fail to give
consideration to themselves.
AS for La Guardia, if they have to
take four years of Fusion" they will
take it. Reform government in New
York. they point out. never has lasted
more than four years. New Workers.
they say. after all are not anxious for
permanent reform; they like their re-
! laxations So if Maj. La Guardia is
elected Mayor. they plan to put up with
him and to do as we'll as they can, and
when another four years have rolled
around, to take over the government
Of the city again.
May Mean Curry Goes.
! OF course, if La Guardia is elected
there may be a move on the part OF
many Of the Democrats to oust Curry
and his particular pals and district
leaders and to give Al Smith lot to
say in the revamping of the organiza-
ton and Tammany Hall. But the local
Tammanyites now insist that Al Smiths
influence has largely gone and that
what he had left has not been helped
by his abandoning the ship this time.
Tammany's strategy. since the entry
of Mckee into the mayoralty race at
| the eleventh hour has been to sit by
and let LaGuardia and Mckee tear
each other to pieces. hoping then to
step in and carry off the prize. The
organization leaders believe that after
all the old hold on the rank and file
of the voters who have followed Tam
many so often will operate when cleo
ton day arrives. They point out there
are about 100000 registered Demo-
cratic voters in the city and some
where around 100000 Republican voters.
| The voters do not turn out, as general
thing, unless some one goes after them.
They are counting on Tammanys well
known organization to get these voters
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