Evening star., 1934-10-21
How Long Can the President Play
With the Radicals i'm Congress2


capitalistic system has failed and that
new society is needed. To create
that society it favors public ownership
Of water power, public ownership Of
all utilities, public ownership of mines,
public operation of idle factories to
give jobs to the idle.
Senator Wheeler is running again
as a Democrat. Back in 1924 he
broke from his party to seek election
as Vice President on the third-party
ticket headed by the late Senator La
Toilette. Senator Wheeler now wants
free and unlimited coinage Of silver.
He is unhitched from the New Deal
and ready to support many a program
that causes the President to balk.
+ I'D.
Then, If the platform promises Of
the other candidates previously men
toned, are added, we find:
Upton Sinclair, ready to remake the
economic set-up of California. He
would have the State government take
over idle land and idle factories and
put idle men to work in those plants,
turning out goods for use by those now
idle. His plan calls for tax on in
dustry large enough to pay for this
operation. The tax could be paid In
goods or in services or in machinery,
and not necessarily in cash. A capi-
talistic and socialiStic system would
be expected to operate side by side.
Nominee Schwellenback, expecting
to do much the same thing up in
washington, although more attention
would be paid to land use and less
to use of idle factories. A vast CO.
operative exchange is proposed. Nom
inee Bilbo, taking after Huey Long
instead Of after those with Socialistic
inclinationS. His idea is to limit the
amount of wealth that any individual
may possess, distributing the surplus
among the whole people. He chiefly
promises to raise more Cain" than
Huey, which insures a lively Senate
session in 1885.
These are just the more prominent
OF the campaigners. Many another
candidate is offering even more daz-
zling promises, with emphasis on the
spending that will be favored once he
reaches Washington. The old party
f~%NASAfASos OAA chOA4 dbObI uoE QuCoIlOll6
as the tariff, States rights and taxa
ton, are giving way to more practical
matters involved in granting bonuses,
provldlng subsidies and redistributing
| wealth.
Mr.. Roosevelt was able to keep his
Congress well in line during the last
| session. The problem of the next Con-
greSs is certain to be much more diff
cult. Members will come to Washing
ton directly from the people, bringing
with them a mandate to fulfill the
lavish promises made during the cam
| paign.
Among these men will be some who
| are ambitious, and others who do not
| object to creating trouble.
InuS Huey Long already Is talking
OF himself as a likely candidate for
the presidency in 1886 on a share
our-wealth ticket. He is building I'D.
or at least attempting to build up.
large organization. Senator Wheeler
Is reported to be in no mood to conf
promise and to be ready to stage q
showdown on the imitation issue. SEN
| ator La Toilette has said that he will
be with the President so long as he
feels the President is right, but no
| longer.
4 X Il y
But, it frequently Is asked in WASH
1ngton, why does not the President
take definite stand and stick to 1t,
letting the chips fall where they may,
as Grover Cleveland did in his day?
/ <rfr Lxr, IL
New Dealer, is as follows: "The peo-
pie of this country politically are on
the move. For the President to try
to hold back the forces that now are
loose would be futile and would de-
stroy his usefulness. Rather he must
seek to guide those forces and turn
| them into channels that will bring
needed corrections in the economic
system without turning the country
over to Fascists or Socialists. The
President cannot stand still and tie
| himself down in a time like this To
expect him to do so Is to expect the
impossible"
This leads to the question:
How long can Mr.. Roosevelt con-
tinue to play along with the radical
group in Congress, with some Of 1t
already outside both parties, and with
much of the rest feeling no particular
allegiance to the party with which it
| is afIiliated?"
The answer seems to be: Just so
long as he can play with them with
out upsetting the general outlines Of
the New Deal, as it has been prof.
ected. While these political groups
can be bent to the Presidents viii,
there is little reason for q break.
When they no longer viii compromise,
then there viii be break.
4 lconwvfshk 1naAl