Evening star., 1934-06-08
OLD PARTIES MADEI
ISSUE BY G. 0. R.|
Aims of Theodore Roosevelt
Embodied in Platform
at Chicago.
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page)
members of the Republican party and
by others who left the party would
have little point. His Pennsylvania
ism, apparently, puts the curse on
him. Whoever heard of a progressive
coming from Pennsylvania. the home
of Mat Quay, Boise Penrose and Bill
Vare-except the present Governor.
Clifford Pinchot, and Joe Guffey. who
has been nominated by the Democrats
for the Senate? There are even some
who doubt that Mr.. Guffey is so
progressive.
Unable to Agree On Westerner.
The Republicans went to Chicago
for their National Committee almost
all Of them declaring for a Westerner
for chairman. The party's new deal
was to be progressive and to have
man not identified with the Old Guard
Of the East. They found themselves
unable to agree on a man from the
West. Certainly they would have
avoided q lot Of the criticism heaped
upon them today If they had elected
a man from Kansas rather than a
man from Pennsylvania. John ID. M.
Hamilton Of Topeka. when the show
down came. was the only candidate
nominated against Fletcher. Hamil-
ton was known to two or three of the
members personally before they
started trooping into Chicago last
Sunday to begin their meetings on
Tuesday. Despite this fact, "a votes
were cast for him against Fletcher
who had, finally the backing of both
! the Hoover and Old Guard factions
in the committee.
Hamilton Makes Impression.
The new chairman said yesterday in
Chicago that he intended to make
use OF Hamilton in the campaign for
| organization Of the party and for
the election of Republican members
OF Congress next year. He did not
| say that he would make him execu-
tive assistant in charge of headquar-
, tiers in Chicago. But many of the
members Of the committee feel that
he could go far and not do as well
/ as to place Hamilton in this position.
The comparatively youthful Kansan
made many friends among the COM
mitteemen by the way he handled
himself during the meetings in Chi
cago. He has become an ex-officio
member of the Executive Committee
through his election to be general
| counsel to the National Committee.
| The appointment of Hamilton to
be executive officer of the National
Committee, or of some other West
erner OF similar type, would 60 q
long way to lessen the antagonism In
some quarters to the PENNSYLVANIA
ism of Chairman Fletcher.
Not Fooling Themselves.
The Republicans are not foolinQ
themselves over the contest which lies
ahead Of them this Fall. They know
that they have a big Job on their
hands to win back MANY seats in
the House and not to lose several
| seats in the Senate. Mr.. Fletcher
got together with Senator Hastings of
Delaware and Representative Chester
Bolton OF Ohio, chairmen Of the
Republican Senatorial Congressional
Campaign Committee. yesterday aft
ernoon and worked out plans for joint
action by the two committees, Ma
tional and Congressional, to carry on
the campaign. The decision to have
headquarters in Chicago, out of which
both should operate, was expected.
Members Of the Republican Ma
tional Committee generally expressed
the opinion that the swing back to-
ward the Republican party was under
way and that the Roosevelt new deal
was loosing ground.
This Is the word which came par
ticularly from the Middle West and
the West. They were unable to esti-
mate just how far this change in
sentiment had gone. Hamilton OF
Kansas said he had travelled extern
sively through the agricultural coun-
ties of Kansas and had found a great
majority of the farmers strongly dis
satisfied with the A. A. A. and other
measures Of the Roosevelt admins
tration.
| VIII Lose Popularity.
| "Some day these farmers will roll
out of bed believing that Roosevelt
and the new deal policies are one and
the same" said Mr.. Hamilton. When
they do, it will no longer be possible
to say that President Roosevelt holds
his popularity in the West"
Selection Attacked.
Democrats and progressives in Con-
gress and out attack the election Of
Mr.. Fletcher and insist that it simply
shows that the G. o. P. stands for
reactionary policies and is dominated
| by the Old Guard and stand-pat-
tiers. They would. of course, have
| attacked any chairman whom the Re
publicans might have named. But
a chairman from Pennsylvania gave
them they believed, the particular
opportunity they desired.
No one expected the Republican
party. through action of its National
Committee. would swing to the left
as far or father than the Democrats
have gone 1t was obvious that it
would take q more conservative stand.
1t has written into its platform a
declaration for progressive ideals.
And 1t has sought to paint the Demo-
cratic administration as socialistic
and as waster Of the peoples money.
| These criticisms gall the Democrats.
They necessarily will hit back. But
those are the issues that the Republi-
cans will seek particularly to carry
| to the people In the Fall campaign.
Business Men Pleased.
There is not the slightest doubt
that Republican business men will be
pleased at the selection of Mr.. Fletch-
er for chairman. Nor will many of
them object to the fact that he comes
from a great industrial State like
Pennsylvania Some of those inter-
ests were represented at the Chicago
meeting of the National Committee
and made 1t clear in their own way
just what they expected the Repub-
licans to do.
The question arises, however, as to
how far Mr.. Fletcher can be con-
trolled or will permit himself to be
controlled. either by Old Guardsmen
in the committee or by business in
terests. He has shown himself q man
of determination in the past. He
4 IL