Evening star., 1934-10-15
The oliticalM Mill
By 6. Could Liscols.

By G. Gould LiScoln.
MINNEAPOLIS. lGinn.. october Is,
Tho present political campaign, %
far - the q. o. r. is concerned, Il
just . warming-up sallop for 1886
Privately Republican leaders admit
this. ThSy have no hope Of gaining
control Of the House or Of making
net gains IN the Senate. But they
do hope TO hold their party organixa-
ton In line and improve It. They look
ON the II. .o00, 900 votes cast for Her
bert Hoover In the presidential race
two years ago - nucleus, . very
big nucleus. and they are anxious that
II shall not slip or disintegrate. 90
they are putting up the very best
fght they can this year, with . paucity
Of funds In their war chest and In
face Of . great avalanche Of Govern
ment money which n being expended
In every state Of the Union BY the
Democratic Administration.
At present they have no outstand-
Ing national leader who n takine
active part in the campaign. Former
President Hoover is the titular head
Of the party. He r. not turning over
. hand in the present contests, beyond
the writing Of his new book, ''The
Challenge 70 Liberty" which layl
down some fundamental truths re-
earding the American idea Of liberty
and American institutions. It II his
contribution to the discussions re-
sarding the future Of the country and
It u, In effect, . reply to many of
the New Deal theories and the New
Deal program. Mr.. Hoover has been
harshly criticized up and down the
land. He has been held responsible
for all the Ills Of the depression. In
the future he viii be credited with
having withstood many things put
forward As pAnaceas-some Of which
have more recently been tried.
=
Whether within the next two years
Hoover's stand will be approved or not
time will tell. He has no present in
tention Of again seeking presidential
nomination, according to some of his
closest friends. II he II ever again q
candidate Of his party, It win be be-
cause the demand comes from the
party, not from him. On the other
hand, Mr.. Hoover Is not likely to make
. statement to the effect that he will
never again be Q presidential candi-
date. Neither he nor any one else
can say what the political situation
VIII be year or two years from now.
In effect the standing aside Of Mr..
Hoover leaves the field open to those
other Republican leaders who aspire
to the 1896 nomination. 30 far none
has stood out prominently. There Il
. general feeling In this part Of the
country that the man must come from
the Middle West or the West, especial
" II he Is to have chance of success.
The Republicans Of the East must.
Of course, have their leaders. The
names OF Senator David A. Reed of
Pennsylvania, Representative James
w. Wadsworth of New York, former
Secretary Of the Treasury Ogden Mills,
also Of New York, and Col. Theo-
dore Roosevelt, president Of the Ma
uonal Republican Club in New York,
are advanced Is possible contenders
Tor the presidential nomination. II
Reed wins In Pennsylvania In his con-
test Tor reelection he win be Q potent
ngure IN the party. wadsworth Is
seeking reelection to the House. Had
he sought and won election q Gov
ernor Of New York this year, he would
nave 1oomed large on the horizon.
However, ten Of these men at present
have the least bit Of appeal to the
voters ef the West.
= =
In the Middle West Senator Arthur
II. vandenbefg Of Michigan d making
more and more Of q splash In the
political pond. He d, HE Reed. up for
reelection. His name b being men.
TONED more and more q q presidential
possibility as his campaign proceeds,
Michigan seems to give promise today
Of . greater swing back toward the
Republican party than any Of the
other States except perhaps Kansas.
Vandenberg's campaign for re-elec-
ton ts "peeving" . number Of the
Republicans who demand that there
shall be condemnation Of the New
Deal In every sentence uttered by
@. O. p. speakers. He does not hesi-
tate to praise some of the things IA
the New Deal program, yet at the
same time he slashes at other parts
OF the program. He says that the
two best things that have been done
under the New Deal administration
are the governmental bank deposit
guarantee and the railroad retire
mens pensions law. He himself was
author OF the bank deposit proposal
which was finally adopted, providing
for insurance up to $500 in the first
year, and . greater insurance later.
And he gives credit to Senator Eat
field Of West Virginia, another Re-
publican, for authorship Of the rail-
road pension law, along with Senator
Wagner of New York, Democrat. He
declares that he believes in social
responsibility In government without
socialism" He sees good In the n. r.
A., so far a. the elimination Of child
labor and sweatshop work and the
minimum wage and maximum WORKING
hours are concerned, but he denoumces
price fixing under the act. It looks
as though vandenberg was conduct
ing pretty good kind Of Q campaign
to get himself reelection. OF course,
II he Il not reelected, he win be
politically pretty dead.
The Milwaukee Journal, comment
ing editorially on Senator vandenberR
the other day, said: Senator Van-
denberg appears to us Q wide awake
political leader. He talks Q different
language than the Dave Reeds, the
Fesses, the Watsons and the Robin
sons OF Indiana. He sees that II the
Republican party = to come back, It
cannot be under the leadership Of dis
credited old guarders'." Whether this
u correct or not, it Is the opinion of
many Of the voters in the Midwest.
+ 4 =
Some Republicans talk hopefully
Of Col. Frank Knox, publisher of the
Chicago Daily News, as future leader
OF the party. II Col. Knox has any
gIIch idea IN his mind he Se kaory,,