Evening star., 1934-08-16
The Political Mill
BY C.. Could Lincoln.

Just about the time that silver
takes . more prominent place In the
monetary system than 1t has since
the gold standard was set up in this
country Gov. Bryan, brother Of the
Commoner. great apostle Of free sill
yer. passes out Of the political pic
ture, or seemingly passes out. Gov.
Bryan-who was the Democratic
nominee for Vice President back In
1s24-did not 60 along with the
Roosevelt new dealers It was es-
sential. the party strategists held,
to find a man with whom to beat the
recalcitrant Gov. Bryan. They set
tied on Representative Edward r.
Burke OF Omaha, who is still serving
his first term in the House Of Rep
resentatives. Burke had behind him,
In addition to the support of the new
dealers, Arthur w. Mullen, former
Democratic national committeeman,
who has had a long feud over party
control with the Bryans and who had
demanded that the Governor be
driven out Of Nebraska politics. Null
len was one Of the Roosevelt leaders
in the fight at Chicago TO nominate
the President In 1882.
Mr.. Burke, 1t appears, has been
nominated over Gov. Bryan by q sub
Stantial majority. His victory can
only be construed as victory for the
Roosevelt new deal. It was an ad-
dress In the House by Mr.. Burke
which the President quoted In hts
wisconsin speech on the eve of the
Nebraska primary, declaring that It
epitomized the aims of the new deal.
This quotation by the President of his
friend, Mr.. Burke, was interpreted as
boost for the latter's candidacy for
the senatorial nomination, despite the
oft-repeated declaration from the
White House that there would be a
hands-off policy In all Democratic
primary elections this year.
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The. Roosevelt new dealers are
jubilant today over the victory of
their candidate in Nebraska, par
ticularly in view of the assertions
which have been made that the West
has been getting more and more
fed up on the new deal and the
A. A. A. A defeat by Bryan, who
has been outspoken in his criticism
Of the program, would have been a
severe blow. A defeat in Nebraska,
the home Of Senator George Norris,
before Roosevelt was nominated, de-
clared that what the country needed
was another Roosevelt" would not,
indeed have looked so good. 1t is the
hope Of the Roosevelt leaders that
Mr.. Norris will now turn to and aid
in electing Burke, the Democratic
candidate for the Senate, over Robert
G. Simmons, the Republican choice.
Mr.. Simmons was formerly . men,
Der of the House. He is aggressive
and active and he is a critic of the
new deal. Senator Norris, while
nominally holding on to his Repub-
hcan designation, has supported two
Democratic candidates for President
in the last six years. Why should
he balk at supporting Democratic
candidate for the Senate? Senator
Norris has been an earnest advocate
Of independent voting.
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There was very bitter row in the
Democratic ranks in Nebraska. over
this senatorial nomination. Whether
1t will affect the outcome in Novem-
Der is a question that some Of the
Democrats are asking themselves, The
Democrats, however, in view Of the
huge sums Of money which the ad-
ministration Is pouring into tfese
farming States In payment for cur
tailed crops, for drought relief and
for other kinds of relief, certainly
should be popular. Administration
leaders are seeking in every way to
show that these payments must be
diSassociated from politics. However,
1t win be tough job to convince a
voter that he should not support the
hand that pays him. That is one of
the reasons why huge payments to
the people by government In power
is always undermining political inde-
pendence; that and the upbuilding
OF a great army of Government paid
employees into q bureaucracy.
The new dealers are, in fact, the
Federalists. They are centering every
thing in the hands of the Federal
Government in Washington. They
have taken over the control more and
more of the finances of the country.
The Government is going further and
further into the banking business it.
self. They are controlling industry
and the farms. OF course, what they
are doing is ''for the benefit of the
people" But that does not make the
new dealers any the less FederaIists.
Questions are asked frequently wheth-
er 1t is the purpose to scrap the old
Democratic party and to build a new
one, made up of the followers of Mr..
Roosevelt. The Federalist party, If
they must have a new designation.
might easily fill the bill. 1t is a
strange situation in which the follow
ers OF Thomas Jefferson find them
selves advocating more and more CEN
tralzation of power in Washington.
Senator Simeon D. Fess. veteran
Republican, Roosevelt tory" has