Evening star., 1934-02-26
The Political Mill
By G.. Could Lincoln.

ate and House has taken up the job
Of campaigning for a greater G. o. P.
\ membership in the next Congress. To
| bring about more intensive drive
toward this end the House and Sen
ate Republican Campaign Commit
tees have formed kind of joint or
ganization, with Earl Venable, veteran
of many congressional campaigns, in
stalled as executive secretary, and
Warren Wheaton, for decade a
Washington correspondent of the
Philadelphia Bulletin, as publicity di-
rector. This, in considerable meas
ure, is new move. The Republican
Congressional Campaign Committee
has always been active in the past;
the Senatorial Committee has been,
on the whole, not quite so active, and
both have leaned heavily at times
particularly for fundS-on the Repub-
lican National Committee. The Re-
publican National Committee at pres
ent has a def1cit-although it has
been rumored that some good angel
was about to wipe the slate clean.
| X X X
How the new set-up of the con-
gTe&lOnal Republicans Will function
remains to be seen. 1t is scarcely
more than day or two old There
| is one thing about it. however, and
| that is that the men who are running
the show hold Offices, even though
they are minority members of the
Congress. They have constituencies
which they represent. They are in
considerable measure the survivors of
the great Democratic flood which
swept through the country two years
ago.
1t is reported that the congress
sional Republicans have broken away
from the present Republican National
Committee organization more in anger
than in sorrow. and decided to run
their own show. The National Com
mlttee chairman, Everett Sanders of
Indiana, former member of the House
from the Hoosier State and later
secretary to the late President Cool
ldge, did not attend the dinner given
by Senator Daniel o. Hastings OF
Delaware, chairman of the Republican
Senatorial Campaign Committee, at
the Shoreham Hotel, a dinner given
in honor Of the new publicity direc-
tor of the Joint Committee" Mr.
| Wheaton. The dinner was the first
big Republican get-together party
in Washington since the big wind
In fact, there has been no move on
the part of the National Committee
chairman for a call of that commit
tee, although in past months there
have been repeated demands for such
a meeting by some of those who
were not satisfied with the national
organization as it is now represented
here. But II Mr.. Sanders was not
on hand, neither were any of the
Republican progressive Senators who
are up for reelection this year, La
Toilette of Wisconsin, johnson OF
California and Cutting of New Mex
leo, all of whom supported President
Roosevelt in the 1882 campaign, OF
Frazier Of North Dakota, who did not
go to that length In party revolt.
Generally speaking, the Republican
leaders on Capitol Hill would rather
see these Republican progressives re-
elected than to have Democrats come
in their places. On the other hand
it Is no secret that some of the Re-
publicans would be delighted to see
these gentlemen defeated for renom-
ination in party primaries and the
nominations for the Senate go to
other Republicans. Nevertheless, the
olive branch has been extended to-
ward these wayward brethren by the
Republican Congressional Committees
Breaking away from the Repub-
lican National Committee to run their
campaign this year alone. the Repub-
licans in Congress may have to
some extent divorce the 1884 con-
gressional elections from the presi-
Dental race of 1886. 1t is quite clear
that the job of the Congressional
Joint Committee is to elect members
Of the Senate and House. If the Ma
tional Committee were mixed UP
vigorously in the campaign it might
be said that it was working in the
interest OF some presidential aspi-
rant. The hurdle ahead of the G. o
P. is the election of members OF
Congress, and If possible this is what
they intend sticking to, leaving the
presidential campaign to take care
Of itself later. OF course, the coming
congressional elections may really
bring forth presidential candidate
for the G. o. P. But If it does, that
will be a by-product of the campaign
rather than its principal purpose
which is to slash into Democratic
majoritieS and to retain at the SAINT
time all the Senate and House seat:
now occupied by Republicans.
II there is anything reliable in past
history, there will be a swing of the
political pendulum back toward the
Republicans in the coming elections
Some OF the congressional districts
carried by the Democrats in 1882 are
really strongly Republican, but sc
great was the sweep of the Democra-
tic National Committee and Sc
strongly did the people vote against
|
o. P. Congressman fell by the way.
side 1t would be a political miracle
if the Democrats were able to carry
these districts again next November
no matter how popular President
Roosevelt may be. He will not be II
the race personally. although the cry
will go up from all the Democratic
candidates for Congress that tht
President needs them in Washing
ton to uphold his hand. That wa!
the appeal made by the Democrats
and even by Woodrow Wilson him
self. in 1918, when the congressional
elections were held during the Worlc
War. What happened is history, bu
the Democrats lost control of th'
Senate that year and also lost th'
majority in the House.
The Republicans feel that they ar
beginning to get few of th'
"breaks" today. For example, the!
see in the administration sugar pro
posal, for the establishment of suga