Evening star., 1934-06-29
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC VILLIAH VILE.

Never in a generation Of American
politics have party lines been in such
battling disarray as they promise to
be in the impending congressional
campaign. A messenger from Mars.
descending upon the craZy-quit scene.
could hardly be blamed for his m
ability to tell who's who and what S
what. With President Roosevelt in
sisting that his own speeches are not
to be regarded as political" in any
sense. and with the understanding
that other members OF the admins
tration are to shun 'partisanship" in
public utteranceS. the Democratic
campaign. If conducted generally on
those lines. will be the strangest on
record. Matters are even more con-
fused by the prospect that adminis-
tratiOn support will be directly or in
directly behind Republican Progressive
candidates for reelection like SEN
ators johnson of California. La Fol-
lette of Wisconsin and Cutting of
New Mexico and possibly Shipstead,
Farmer-Labor. Of Minnesota. How
the Democratic organizations in those
various States are going to like these
tactics, which amount to inviting
them to go out of business, remains
to be seen. If Democrats, after all,
are pitted against Republican sena-
torial candidates who have the new
deals blessing. there will be plenty of
fireworks between now and the ides of
November, and soreheads, too.
X X X
There is Republican as well as
Democratic chaos. Here is Senator
Borah, Republican progressive, about
TO take the warpath against the new
deal. presumably without authority
from or connection with the Repub-
lican National Committee. The Ida
hoan will be fitting at Roosevelt poll
cies which other Republican progress
sives are valiantly espousing. At the
very moment Republican progressives
are lining up with the new deal. the
revitalized G. o. p. national organ
ization, under Chairman Fletcher. is
reaching out to coax progreSsives
back into the party fold. At the same
time, the National Republican Club,
under young Teddy Roosevelt, is max
ing a special drive to entice forward
looking young voters, Republicans
and Democrats alike, into the G.. Q. P.
camp as their only true abode. One
thing seems fairly certain-that old
party designations and moorings are
headed for the scrap heap. President
Roosevelt's plan to annex the Repub-
lican progressive wing to the Demo-
cratic party may be the first move
in the oft-discussed project to divide
the electorate into brand-new polit-
ical alignments of liberals and con-
Servatlves, and into parties called
either by those or some other names,
with present-day nominal Republicans
and Democrats swapping allegianceS
right and left.
& =
President RooSevelt's Official host
on his cruise into the Pacific, Capt.
Walter B. Woodson, U. S. N, COM
manding u S. S. Houston, Is famed
as one OF the lawyers OF the Navy,
in addition to his qualities as a sea-
man. A native OF Senator Carter
Glass home town OF Lynchburg, Va,
his World War service was followed
by a three-year tour OF duty as
assistant judge advocate general OF
the Navy at Washington. Capt
Woodson Is admitted to practice be-
fore the United States Supreme Court.
He is a long and lanky Southerner,
with a weakness for golf when or
shore duty. U. s. S. Houst on. fine
type of our 10,000-ton treaty
cruisers" was flagship OF the United
States Asiatic Fleet during ne Sno-
Japanese war" at Shanghai in 1882.
DR.. Willard L. Thorp, recently re-
tired director OF the Bureau OF
Foreign and Domestic Commerce, is
about to leave for Europe, to partici-
pate as an unofficial American repre-
sentative at the mid-July meeting Of
the League of Nations Economic
Committee. The meeting will discuss
the problem of multi-lateral trade
agreements The regular American
representative on the committee is
President Roosevelt's financial adviser,