Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1934-05-13

the rank and flle OF business men
than with the radical innovations of
the extremely rich.
In the last quarter of the last CEN
fury the extremely rich began to go
in for price conspiracies and for
mergers and combinations and pools
and trusts" on large scale. There
upon what did the Republican party
do? 1t passed the most stringent
anti-big-business law on our statute
books. 1t passed the Sherman anti
trust law
On July Q, 1890. when that law
was passed. the Republicans had
large majorities both in the Senate
and in the House. The President Of
the moment was Benjamin Harrison.
not commonly thought a radical. The
Speaker of the House was Tom Reed,
commonly thought quite conserva-
tive. The bill was named after the
Republican Senator Sherman of
Ohio and was written principally by
the extremely learned and undema-
gogic Republican Senator Edmunds
of Vermont.
Mr.. Reed is simply in the orthodox
additionally Republican position
when he objects to 'conspiracies in
restraint of trade and when he sees
in planned economy" wide-open
door to such "conSpiracies"
Pinchot Hits New Deal.
In the meantime his opponent, Mr..
Pinchot, started off the primary cam
of he
new deal as whole. Then, how
ever, he began to demonstrate that
even new deal Republicans will at
tack the new deal
Under questioning from Mr. Reed,
Mr.. Pinchot decided that the new
deal was a bit wrong in reducing the
wages of certain classes of poorly paid
Government employees. He also de-
cided that he was quite good Penn
sylvania protectionist in spite of Presi-
dent Roosevelts new deal bill for
executive tariff reductions. Above all,
however, he decided not to give any
loud applause to the new deal agricul-
tural processing taxes" which have
been much criticized by numerous
Pennsylvania agricultural organiza-
tons; and he also decided not to look
displeased while his brilliant wife
makes dazzling tours of the State de-
nouncing the present operation of the
N R. A. codes as wholly controlled by
big business and gravely injurious to
the trade unions and to the totality of
wage earners.
What then is the position of the
Pinchots? At heart this:
Being progressives, they are quite
for planned eronomy'' as an aSpira-
ton; but when they see it as an
actuality, in its present form, they are
able, being Republicans, to pick long
line of flaws in it.
And that's just how the Republican
party is going to contrive to pull it
self together against the Democrats. 1t
is in fact already happening.
Popularity Retarding.
Many conservative Republican poll
ticians are, it is true, bit retarded
for while by the popularity of GER
tain of the codes among their rich
constituents. They lack the instant
audacity of Mr.. Reed, who has fought
the big business interests of his State
not only in the present matter Of a
planned economy but in the by-gone
matters of compulsory insurance of
working men against accidents and Of
compulsory elimination of cheap for
eign labor through vigorous anti-im-
migration laws. Nevertheless, in time,
virtually all the conservative Repub-
lilan politicians will catch up with Mr..
Reed, for the very good reason that,
much as they may love their campaign
contributors, they love party survival
even more, and, in order to achieve
party survival, they must have the
publican edifice, the Northern and
Western middle business class"
The Republican conservative party
leaders will then be found assailing
the administration planned econ
omy" as "Bolshevism'; and the Dol
shevik wing of the Republican Party,
as illustrated by Senator Nye of North
Dakota, will be found assailine the
administration planned economy
as predatory capitalism in disguise"
Senator Nye is already doing it and
almost all of his fellow Republican
progressive politicians or statemen OF
the West are also already doing it
and it enables them to be simultane-
ously progressives and anti-Demo-
Gratis.
Attack on Two Sides.
Thus the customary picture will
emerge. 1t is a picture which the
Republican party invariably presents
when the Democrats are in Office. The
Republicans do not attack the Demo-
Gratis on a united front. They attack
them from both ends. In the East
they attack the Democrats for being
too radical. In the West they attack
them for not being radical enough.
Or, to put it more philosophically,
they attack them in the East for too
much change and in the West for not
enough change.
In that way the Republicans fire.
ouently get back into office under the
guise, as it were, of disjointed polit-
ical dragon with the blue conservative
nose much bluer than the Democrats
can display and with red radical tail
much redder than any that the Demo-
Gratis can show. And no issue can give
them such an opportunity for this
classic circus stunt of theirs as the
planned economy" issue. A planned
economy" can be reprehended as such,
in principle; and, in practice, since
its operation will always seem to lean
toward favoring some class, it can be
attacked ON behalf of all the other
classes. It thus, as an issue, admir-
ably totally fits the historic Republican
party principle of being two parties
combined.