Evening star., 1934-11-29
ePOliticalM Mill
BY G.. Could Lincoln.

important as it Is, big enough to have
both the Vice President, who is Presi-
dent of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House in the Seventy fourth Con-
gress. Texas already has the Vice
| President, John N. Garner, who before
he was elected to his present office was
Speaker Garner of the House. Now
1t Is proposed to elect Sam Rayburn,
also Of Texas, to be Speaker. 1t looks
almost as though the State was try
ing to bite of too large a slice. The
fact that both he and Garner hail
from the same State probably will
initiate against the candidacy of
Representative Rayburn to succeed
the late Speaker Henry T. Rainey
Rayburn and Garner have been par
ticularly closely associated in the
past, when they both were members
OF the House. 1t was Rayburn who
led the campaign for the nomina-
tion Of Mr. Garner for President back
in 1882, before and at the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago. He
was factor in the agreement entered
into by the Roosevelt hackers, the
Texas delegation and Senator Will
liam Gibbs McAdoo OF California
and that States large delegation at
| the convention. Under that agree
ment Mr.. Garner took second place
on the Democratic national ticket.
| X y
In some quarters the complaint Is
made that If Mr.. Rayburn becomes
Speaker Of the House Mr.. Garner
will become superflgure at the Cap
itol. with his influence in the Senate
chamber and his influence in the
House exerted through Mr.. Rayburn.
Mr.. Rayburn, however, is a positive
character himself He has served
in the present Congress as chairman
of the Committee on Interstate and
| Foreign Commerce and has been a
stanch supporter of the Roosevelt
administration.
| X r n
People are wondering in Washing
ton today which one of the candidates
for the Speakership, if any, the Presi-
dent faVors. Some who profess to be
on the inside say that the White
| HouSe-by which is meant the Presi-
! dent and his advlSers-Would like TO
see Rayburn get the job. But that is
matter of speculation. There seems
to be desire on the part of the Chief
Executive and his chief lieutenant in
| things political. Postmaster General
James A. Farley. to keep hands off in
this fight. If the President aligned
himself with one or the other faction,
| the day might come when other can
| didates and friends might retaliate
Such opportunity might easily arise
when pet legislation of the administra- :
tion was up for consideration in the
House. Nevertheless, Mr.. Rayburn is
very well thought of by some of those
closest TO the President.
4 X
Notwithstanding this apparent lean
ing toward Rayburn on the part of the
| administration, Representative Joe
Byrns of Tennessee. the Democratic
| floor leader of the House in the pres
ent Congress. still seems to have the
edge in this contest. If Representa-
tive Bankhead OF Alabama stays in
the race for Speaker along with Ray
burn. the potential strength of either
of these two men is likely to be divided.
and thus the candidacy of Byrns will
be aided. Postmaster General Farley
is not only Democratic national chair
man, but he is also New York State
chairman. Holding the latter position.
there is going to be some significance
attached to the vote cast in the Demo-
cratic caucus Of the House on the
speakership by the New York delega-
ton. If majority Of the New York
members swing to Rayburn, or to
ByrnS. there will be those who seek
to read into it the handwriting of the
Postmaster General.
The Constitution says that the
President and the Vice President
shall not come from the same State
There is nothing in that document
however. to prevent the election of
Speaker of the House who is an in
habitant of the same State as the
President or the Vice President.
When Calvin Coolidge was President
Massa achusetts had both the presi-
dency and the speakership, with
former Senator Gillett in the latter
office. However, the other States
look askance upon a concentration
of the ajor Offices in single State
There Is nothing to prevent the
House Democrats. if they SO desire.
from turning to a Northern or West
ern man for Speaker instead OF
either Byrns, Reyburn or Bankhead.
If they go to the North. they might
take Mccormack of Massachusetts, or
Mead of Pennsylvania. In the last
speakership fight Illinois got the
SpeakerShip and Tennessee the Demo-
cratic floor leadership. Some such
combinat ton is likely to be worked out
in the next Congress, although this
time it looks as though there was
more chance of the speakership going
South and the floor leadership North
or West.
The suggestion made by Senator Pat
Harrison of Mississippi that the soldier
bonus question be compromised by
making immediate cash payment to
the veterans who are in need has
kicked up a lot of discussion. With
the Government greatly in debt at
this time. it scarcely seems wise to
hand over millions and perhaps more
than a billion dollars to veterans who
are not in need Yet the proposal to
divide one set Of veterans from an
other in this payment of the bonus Is
likely to draw loud protests. The
favorite way of attacking a similar
proposal in the past has been for the
veterans who are not in need to de-
clare that it would be an indignity
placed upon any veteran to compel
him to say he was in need before he
could be paid his bonus. II veteran
were really in need. perhaps he would
not be as heSitant to tell his Govern
ment so as some of those who are
not in need seem to think.
The Harrison suggestion amounts
to a compromise of the bonus issue.
All compromises are dangerous be-
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