Evening star., 1934-12-10
TheP Olitical Mill
BY C.. Could Lincoln.

William Allen White. Kansas editor,
has advanced further specifications
for the revitalization Of the Repub-
lican party. The party must have.
Mr.. White asserts, q new leader
under SO years Of age. It must
have q new issue-and presumably
| Mr.. White meant that issue also
must be under 50 years Of age. And
in line with this youth movement,
must have vitality" which 1t now
lacks. So far, however, Mr.. White
has not suggested just who the leader
shall be. nor the issue. Judging
from the general run OF political con-
versation. 4 lot Of other Republicans
| would like to find q leader and an
issue. Outside OF the regular Re-
| publicans. usually called the Old
Guard, no one seems TO have any
definite idea just what the issue
should be. The Old Guard believes
the issue Is to throw the New Dealers
out and save the Constitution: to
maintain private business and TO
avoid Government control and oper-
alton Of businesses.
| Making . new issue has the Re
| publicans up In the air right now.
1t looks as though they may never
| find an issue-until the Democrats
make 1t for them. II 1t works out
that way, all the conversation about
developing q new issue against the
New Dealers sounds q bit futile. It's
n tough job making an issue-that
] Is, for 4 minority 10 make it--althOugh
d minority can always accept an issue
II 1t wants TO do so. Col. Frank Knox.
the publisher of the Chicago Daily
News. who could not be persuaded TO
take the Republican national chair
msnship last Summer when the Ma
tiOnal Committee was seeking q sue
cessOr " Everett Sanders OF Indiana.
has been In Washington over the week
end and cohferring with Senator
Borah OF Idaho, who wants the Old
Guard leaders in the organization
| dumped out. Col. Knox apparently
sympathizes with the suggestions put
forward by Borah. He also has fur
nished the Idaho Senator with some
data about relief expenditures In
Chicago just before the election was
held in November. and declared that
some OF the expenditures were q
crying shame and intended to in
f1uence votes. 1t may be that the
demand for q congressional investiga-
tion OF the relief expenditures will
| yet be forthcoming when Congress
meets. Indeed. 1t would be remark
able II resolutions providing for such
an inquiry were not introduced in
the Senate and House soon after
January 3. when the session opens.
Fighting on e congressional investi-
CATION may become one Of the real
jobs OF the administration Democrats.
4 y
The American Liberty League
through its president. Jouett Shouse
has gone Oh record In favor OF turn
ing all direct relief expenditures OF
| Government money over to the Amer
lean Red Cross and its non-partisan
| VI kuiilNttoii AihouBhout tiS NOuhtiy
Mr.. Shouse insisted that only in such
q way could the payment OF relief
be taken out OF politics. Such q de-
mand was made by Senator Hamilton
Kean. Republican IN New Jersey dur
ing the recent campaign. Mr.. Kean
was decisiyely defeated for reelection.
! His defeat does not mean that the
proposal now advanced by the Lib
erty League president has no merit.
What effect all this spending would
have OH the American Red Cross
is something else. Would 1t ret that
organization into politics?
~ *E*
As long as political bosses can keep
q long string Of Clients" on relief 1t
Is going to be hard TO defeat those
bosses. with the reliefers having the
vote. II the vote were denied those
who were eating at the expense oi
the Government-on dole. etc
very different situation would quick
| " arise. But there has been nc
serious proposal that the millions on
relief now should be diSenfranchiSeC
not yet, anyway.
I - *%+
The nearer the opening Of Congress
comes, the stronger candidate for the
speakership. Representative Joe Byrns
| OF Tennessee becomes. No less q per-
son than Vice President John N. Gar
ner has declared that the President
intends to keep out OF this f1sht. 1t
| has been pretty generally agreed that
unless the President throws his in
| fiuence to one of the candidates, pos
sibly to Representative Sam Rayburn
OF Texas. Byrns was practically sure
to be elected Speaker. Mr.. Garner is
| warm friend of Rayburn. They come
| from the same State. The late Presi-
dent Coolidge was Vice President for
a while when former Senator Gillette
was Speaker OF the House. They both
were from Massachusetts,. 1t looks as
though Rayburn would have more
trouble defeating Byrns, however, than
| Gillette had in overcoming opposition
TO his election to the Speakership.
+H*
James ]. Doolins, the new boss OF
Tammany Hall, was in Washington on
| Saturday. Mr.. DoOling was quoted as
| saying that Tammany would line up
sQuarely with the Roosevelt admins
tration. Will the administration line
up squarely with Tammany? That's
the other side OF the question. And II
it does, how much responsibility for
Tammany will the administration have
to assume for anything that Tammany
may do In New York? One Of the
arguments advanced by opponents OF
the election of Alfred f. Smith to
the presidency back in 1928 was that
the Tammany influence would come
/ to Washington. Perhaps Tammany Is
different these days. 1t has had. to
| some extent. its own new deal with
the ollsting Of John F. Curry, opponent
of President Roosevelt. from the lead
ership of Tammany Hall. The Tiger
may have changed its stripes.
X Il II