Evening star., 1934-06-25
The Political Mill
By G.. Could Lincoln.

Senator Hiram johnson of Cali
fornia has elected to remain q regis
tered Republican in his race for re-
election to the Senate. This is the
expected. In the first place, Senator
johnson, Notwithstanding his fond
| ness for President Roosevelt and
many of his policies, has never been
a Democrat, a member of the Demo-
cratic party, and he has always been
a Republican except for his excursion
into the independent progressive with
Theodore Roosevelt In 1912, when he
was the Colonel's running mate on
! the national Bull Moose ticket In
the second place, despite the oppo-
sition to johnson by many of the
regular Republicans in California, it
has in recent months become more
and more apparent to the politically
minded in the State that johnson
| can win the senatorial nomination in
the Republican primary. The regu-
lars have no candidate of outstanding
ability with whom to oppose Senator
johnson. To beat him with an un-
known candidate or with one without
great qualities would be a most diff
cult feat. Furthermore. some of the
regulars have come to the conclusion
that they would rather have johnson
| in the Senate than another Democrat.
| And finally, johnson has become q
kind of institution in California. just
| as Norris is an institution in Nebras-
ka, Borah in Idaho and La Toilette in
| Wisconsin.
| 4 X Il \
In California a man may run In
the party primaries at the same time
and win the Endorsement and nomina-
tion Of the Democrats. the Repub-
| licans and the Progressives. But un-
less he wins in the primary of the
party with which he is officially af-
filiated his name cannot go on the
ballot in the November election. In
other words, Senator johnson, stick
ing to his affiliation with the Republi-
can party. even though he receive the
| Democratic nomination and the Pro-
gressive nomination for the Senate, If
he fails in the Republican primary he
will be "out" so far as the November
election and the senatorial election
is concerned. Senator johnson and
I Ills lIlcllQo udNC given BICdb 0Cdi VI
consideration to this matter of party
affiliation for more than a year.
johnson came out openly and sup
ported Roosevelt in the 1882 cam
paign against former President Her
bert Hoover. Americas first President
from California. Mr.. Hoover has q
lot of friends in the State, and john
son has been opposed time and again
by the regular wing of the party. In
1928 he and Mr.. Hoover ran along
smicably enough. johnson for the
| Senate and Hoover for the White
House. But the warfare broke out
soon after Mr. Hoover entered the
White House. with johnson attacking
the Hoover administration often and
viciously. A year ago some of the
Progressive Republicans in the State
seemed to be convinced that johnson
could not win in the Republican pri-
mary for the nomination this year
They urged johnson to jump into a
Progressive party, to launch the
movement. just as Senator La Toilette
has recently done in Wisconsin. But
things seem to have been going john
sons way in California. In the first
place, the Democratic members of the
House and the Democratic Senator
Mr.. McAdoo, all came out and in
dorsed johnson, and the Roosevelt ad-
ministration gave him its blessings
openly. And the failure of the Repub-
licans to develop a likely candidate
added to a sneaking feeling that it
was impossible to beat johnson this
year, cemented. 1t appears, johnson 1
determination to remain a Republi-
can, even though he announced only
recently on the floor of the Senate
that he believed in Roosevelt and
would campaign for his policies this
year.
That announcement of Hiram
johnson that he would continue to
support Roosevelt and the new deal
and the present declaration by SEN
ator William E Borah of Idaho that
he intends to take the war path
against many important features OF
the new deal brings these two old
warriors into direct conflict. 1t is
not new to find a certain amount of
hostility existing between the two, al
though they have been united on
many issues, particularly as regards
the League of Nations. the World
War debts and more recently in the
Senate against the Roosevelt reci-
procity tariff bill. They are both out
standing orators, in the Senate and
out, and they have had serious dif-
ferences of opinion in the past.
Senator Borah has been consider
ing for months his plan for taking
the stump against those things in
the Roosevelt new deal of which he
does not approve He has said that
he was convinced unless the Ameri-
can people woke up to the fact, they
would drift too far along a dangerous
road in which big business would
finally squeeze the small business man
out entirely and huge monopolieS
would be formed, to the detriment of
the whole people. Furthermore, he has
been convinced that the policy of the
Agricultural Adjustment Administra-
ton, seeking to limit in every way
production of farm crops. would re-
suit in national suicide, and in the
final dictation of the life of the
American farmers from a bureau in
Washington.
|
The Idaho Senator in private con-
versation insisted that the time had
come for the Republican party to
leap into the fight against these
phases of the new deal and at the
same time to break all ties with the
moneyed interests. He regarded it. he
said. as a great opportunity for the
G. o. P. So far as the G. o. p is
concerned, Mr.. Borah does not believe
that it has burned sufficient bridges
behind it. He is going campaigning
against parts of the Roosevelt new
deal, not for the. Republican party.
He has a great fondness for the
youthful Senator Robert NJ La Fol-
lette of Wisconsin, and it is expected
that he will do his utmost to aid in
the reelection of La Toilette. who
will be senatorial candidate on the
| yaA In. hi fnfa