Evening star., 1934-06-07
t. RS NEW DEAL"
|G. 0.P. CREED BASIS
Bull Moose Program of IL
Is Incorporated Into
Party Platform.
BY WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE.


CHICAGO, June 7 IN. A. N. Az
The new deal has walked into the Re-
publican party and has taken the
front seat. Not Franklin Roosevelt'S
new deal, but Teddy's.
The old Bull Moose program Of 1912.
with its social and industrial justice. I"
its plea for old age pensions and job
insurance. which was a quarter of a
century ahead of its time. has ap-
peared in the platform adopted by
the Republican National Committee.
Also. Teddy's insistence Of fundamen-
tai democracy, with all the new frills
of q new day, became q part OF the
new Republican creed.
Unless the Republicans eat their
words. they will not merge into
Fascism. For they now stand four
square against all the repreSsions
which have throttled liberty in Italy
and Central Europe. Perhaps this is
political expediency. Perhaps, In the
campaign, the Republicans, IN trying
to pin the dictator's badge upon the
President. have made their own alibi
in plugging hard for freedom OF the
press. freedom Of speech and a free
radio. Perhaps, in declaring. as they
do, that progress. liberty and denoc-
racy 20 hand in hand" the Republi-
cans are opening a campaign upon
the tyranny Of the regimented in
dustrialism OF the present administra-
ton. Be that as 1t may. the spirit
of Theodore Roosevelt goes marching
on in the Republican creed today.
Favors Spread of Prosperity.
BY the same token, the bones OF
Penrose. Aldrich and Cannon must be
stirring in their tombs as those con-
servative pundits look over the bat
Elements at Chicago and hear the
Republican National Committee COM
planning in its platform that Our
country has been backward In legis-
lation dealing with social questions.
Nor is that all. The committee de-
clares in favor OF 1.-The wider spread
Of prosperity" and goes on record in
favor "of relieving the hardships OF
unemployment ami of old age"
Unemployment insurance and Old
age pensions certainly are newcomers
in the Republican creed. We well
come" says the platform, "the recog-
milton that these questions demand
attention by the Government"
In addition to all this, the plat
form puts the problem Of avoiding
future tragic depreSsionS" into the
legislative hopper and declares that
all these problems must be ap-
preached in broad, liberal, pro-
gressive spirit. unhampered by dead
formulas or too obstinately clinging
to the past"
Then follow nine articles Of faith
chiefly belief in Democratic faith,
as opposed to the Fascist tendency
in Europe to cramp liberty by auto
cratic authoritative government. The
nine articles pledge the party to free
utterance-speech, press. radio-to
the right to criticize government. to
individual initiative in the economic
system Checked by Government
regulation" the party is pledged to
oppose revolutionary change without
popular mandate" and so on down
the line.
And who was back of all these lib
eral, highly democratic pronounce
ments? None other than the Hoover
group. Led by Mark Requa of Cali
fornia in the Platform Committee,
and Ogden Mills, who sat in on the
Preliminary Drafting Committee, this
platform was presented and adopted
with scarcely a change of verbiage.
Violent Attack Suppressed.
The younger committeeman, at first,
were in obvious revolt. They were
in q negligible minority. Their revolt
was incipient But they got their work
IN and, as a result, 8 fire-breathing.
highly adiectival deeply emotional
diatribe against the Washington Gov
ernment was gently but firmly taken
from the hands of the old guard and
dumped in the garbage can OF oblivion.
The election of Henry P. Fletcher
as chairman of the Republican Ma
tional Committee was a compromise
with the vestigal left wing of the
party. The right wing was for Wal
ter S. Hallahan. Charles D. Hilles
would have taken him last week.
John D. M Hamilton. the Kansas
committeeman. began to show
strength. Between Hallahan and
Hamilton, Hamilton would have won.
Fletcher, who was Hoovers personal
friend and political protege, was &C
cepted as the way out.
Hamilton, at the moment, is on
the slate for executive director of the
committee, the man who will shoot
the works. He was elected counsellor,
but will have large powers. Fletcher,
who can out-smile Roosevelt and
handshake rings around Farley. will
do the ornate standing around. 1t
will make good team. But it Is a
Hoover victory.
(Copyright. 1894. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance. IncD