Evening star., 1934-11-25
ny MARK SULLIVAN.

case. For the outstanding
condition of the coming Congress is
that 1t will be disposed to follow the
leadership of the President to a de-
gree that has not before existed in
recent years. 1t seems safe to say
that no President has ever had such
dominance as Mr. Roosevelt is likely
to have over Congress as it is now
composed after the elections of No
vember s. A majority of individuals
in this Congress may prefer that the
President go this way or go that
but, so far as can now be seen, they
will follow wherever he leads.
In the Senate there will be Is Re-
publicans. OF these, several are Re
publicans in not much more than the
sense that the letter 'R" comes after
their names in the Congressional Di-
rectory. Five are men whose views on
public affairs are typified to the pub
lie mind by Mr.. Norris of Nebraska
and Mr. Frazier of North Dakota, for
example. BY and large, these would
be more apt to support radical parts
Of the New Deal than to oppose them.
Jul LIlOiC bClOliS W tllC ACAC oA IiiS
center Of the spectrum OF political
thought-such Senators as Hiram
johnson of California and Couzens of
Michigan. This leaves only 16 out of
96 Senators who can be described as
Republican in the sense that, for eX-
ample, Senator David Reed Of Penn
sylvania is a Republican.
Leadership Fades.
Indeed it is doubtful if the number
Is as large as l6 OF these several
are inert in conviction and not vocal
in debate Almost it could be said
that there are not in the Senate 10
men whom the country would think
Of as Republican Senators in the con-
servative sense that term has meant
in the past. With Mr.. Reed of Penn
sylvania defeated, they are deprived
Of the best intellectual leadership
they had in the recent Congress, and
now have no one equal to Mr.. Reed
to head them in debate. Thus we
can dispose of the Republicans as
force in the Senate.
It is an odd condition: The Repub-
licans, in this months election, seem
to have cast more than 100000
votes to the Democrats 100000
That is. the Republicans cast more
than 46 per cent of the combined
vote-but In the Senate will have lit
tie more than Is per cent of the body.
In the electorate, 100000 votes is
q formidable minority.
So Democrats.
As between Republicans and Demo-
Gratis in the Senate there are IS of
the former and SO of the latter
(There is one Farmer Labor Senator,
Mr.. Shipstead of Minnesota, and one
Senator labeled Progressive, Mr..
La Toilette, who has given that name
to the party he has recently organized
in wisconsin, As between Republic
cans and Democrats, then, the Demo-
Gratis are in enormous majority. But
the names of the two old parties
have come to have little meaning.
The real division is between con-
servative and the opposite of con-
servative, between political right and
political left.
OF the SO Democratic Senators,
about IA are fairly to be called radi-
Gals. some of them extreme radicals,
some of them merely eccentrics
These include Senator Huey Long of
Louisiana. who thinks of himself as
a potential man on horseback" Of
almost the French revolution type;
Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi, a
cov, au,hat Ioce foroaf,,l opd iaee ra
sourceful Huey Long; Lewis B. Schwel-
lenbach of Washington, who seems to
be more Upton Sinclair than Sinclair
himself: Rush Holt of West Virginia,
whom the conservative Democrats of
that State think of as Socialist. and
20 on. To say there are IA Demo-
Gratis in this category Of radicals and
eccentrics is probably an exaggera-
ton.
Fifty-five Conservatives.
Fully SIS of the Democrats are
what everybody understands by the
classification conservative" such
men, to mention few typical eX-
amples. as Walsh and Coolidge Of
Massachusetts,; the new Senator Cuff
fey of Pennsylvania, who will be as
thoroughgoing an upholder of the
right of private property and of busi-
ness conducted for the profit motive
as the Republican Senator David Reed
whom he defeated; Glass and Byrd Of
Virginia, both so conservative that
they have vigorously and forthrightly
criticized some parts Of the New Deal:
George of Georgia, who is as Staunch
a supporter of the Constitution as any
man in either party who ever sat in
the Senate. Some OF these 55 con-
servative Democrats are eminent law
yers, like Senator George. or men long
distinguished in public life. like Sena-
tor Glass. A considerable number,
comparatively unknown to the public
have the type of mind of men who. in
smaller communities. become county
judges. All are conservative in the
sense that they have a traditional re-
gard for the Constitution, complete
belief in the right of citizens to ac-
quire property and be protected in the
possession of it, thoroughgoing sup
port of the theory of an industrial
system based on profit as motive.
added to. let us say, Is conservative
Republicans make 70 reasonably con-
servative Senators out of total of So.
Conservative Defined.
have describe some 70 Senators as
being conservative in the sense that
they believe in the familiar American
traditions about social and industrial
organization.
The words conservative" and rad
zeal" are used, however, in a second
sense, the sense having to do with
fiscal matters. AS respects imitation,
as respects large appropriations for
public works or for relief of unem-
ployment, as respects early balancing
Of the budget, the ratio between con-
servatives and radicals in the Senate
would not be the same. Probably a
little more than half the Senate would
be willing to vote for certain types Of
tnfiation-though this would depend
on whether business recovery is long
postponed, and the temptation to in
fate therefore continues. Probably
considerably more than half would
vote for the soldiers bonus. Prob