Evening star., 1934-10-30
ROOSEVELT URGED
TO SHIFT TO RIGHT
1886 Political Situation to
RevoIve Around Moves
of Radicals.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE,

Wnlle tne congressional elections are
the absorbing topic hereabouts just
now, there can be no doubt that 1885
Is In the background for the national
,olitical leaders.
President Roosevelt will surely be re-
nominated, and, If conditions two
years hence are not much changed
from what they are today, many Re-
publicans privately are inclined to
concede he will win.
But will conditions be the same?
There are some fundamental changes
in the political scene possible which
may grow right out Of events Of this
very month.
Mr.. Roosevelt, for instance, is being
importuned to turn to the right. II
he goes too far in that direction,
namely toward conservatism, what will
happen to the radicals on the left?
Will they support him just the same
in 1886, or will they attempt third
party movement, such as the late
Senator La Toilette tried in l9247
Coolidge Vote Cited.
1t Is not generally realized that
while Calvin Coolidge won a substan-
tial victory in the electoral college he
received minority of the total votes
cast in IA different States. In other
words, the combined Davis and La
Toilette vote in those States was in
excess Of the Coolidge vote.
Conditions are far more unsettled
than they were in 1924-in fact, the
kind of vote which supported the third
party ticket in 1924 Is much more nu-
merous in the electorate today. II Mr..
Roosevelt, therefore, has to face a con-
servative Republican on the right and
a radical independent on the left the
election might not seem to be as much
OF foregone conclusion as II 1t were
a straight party fight between two
candidates
The discontented vote. including
the radical left, would naturally be
drawn largely from the voters who
Supported the New Deal in 1892. Such
detection would be a serious mat
ter for the Democratic party because
it is assumed the Republican strength
might be augmented by conservatives
who voted the Democratic ticket In
1882.
Must Consider Left.
Hence, Mr.. Roosevelt, from a po-
litical standpoint, cannot turn way
over to the right without taking seri-
ously into account what may happen
to him in the way of a threat from
the left wing.
This is one reason why the present
congressional elections are of tre-
mendous Importance to the political
future of Mr.. Roosevelt. Should
radicals be elected in greater numbers
on the Democratic side than he could
possibly control, the result might be
to bring about sharp cleavage inside
the Democratic party and stir up all
sorts Of commotion. A group from
the radical position, contesting with
the President on the one hand, and
a group from the conservative Re-
publican side, battling against Mr..
Roosevelt on the other. may furnish
issues on which a third party would
take the field.
The Republican strategists probably
would be not at all dLspleased to see
third party. A divided Democratic
party might split the radical vote. 1t
is one thing to witness a third party
operation in so-called normal times.
and it would be quite another in
year like 1886, which, with all the
currency and budget problems ahead,
looks even at this date hardly as II
it would be as quiet as 1924 or 1919.
Conservative Aid Seen.
Those who are sympathetic with
the Presidents middle-of-the-road
course are stressing these difficulties
which Mr.. Roosevelt faces. They are
naturally eager to see him reelected
and it is not unusual to hear predic-
tions that the conservative vote may
be lined up with Mr.. Roosevelt in 1886
to avoid the possibility of an election
being thrown into the House Of Rep
resentatives If there's a third party.
Usually the talk of third party doesn't
center around any particular indi-
vidual, though nowadays the type Of
man usually visualized here for the
extreme radical movement is the SIN
clair or Huey Long species.
The presidential campaign may be
two years of, but 1t is a lively factor
in present-day calculations and trends
Of public policy.