The Washington times., 1934-10-02
CARRYING OUT
:CERMAK PLAN
Of UNITY
Job Hunters Find Backing
OF Local Organization
Necessary to Success
BY EARL GOODWIN

effective as Tammany and 1t Is IN
q fair way Of getting somewhere
with that ideal. .- .
It was always the dream Of the
late Anton Cermak, Chicago's muir
dered mayor and Democratic
chieftain Of Cook county. to link
together the great organizations
Of city Democrats 30 that the
cities could run the country. In
stead Of the wide open spaces
running it.
Mr.. Cermak had many critics
who assailed him on all sides for
every sort Of departure from the
straight and narrow path, but
there has never been anyone who
would not admit the perfection
with which this former mine boy
forged . hand.to-hand. bucket
brigade type Of political organiza-
ton.
Precinct Captains Rule
At present, here in Washington,
many Democrats find that to get
jobs they have to present some
thing more than o general in"
dorsement from . Senator or .
national committeeman. That
sort of thing, which once was ex'
tremely powerful in job-getttng,
now is likely to result in the
famous washington "run-around."
The man or woman who gets quick
action from the political end Of
the New Deal comes to Washing
ton with q certificate from his
precinct captain that he Is .
Democrat who votes Democratic
and who has voted Democratic
for some time past.
Precinct captains IN the big
cities know every Democrat from
the primaries to the general cleo
ton.
In addition, the ward captain
must add his o. K: also the
county and State chairmen.
BY this means there Is being
built up just the sort Of Demo
cratic machine in the United
States which the late Mr.. Cermak
dreamed Of.
Hurja Backs Plan
It Is the thing which Emil
Hurja, assistant to Chairman Far"
lev of the Democratic national
committee, is working On. He
knows when he demands o Job In
the Government for . henchmNn
that he is asking for it to put one
more lOO.per.cent Democrat into
q Job with all the influence which
such appointments give in politics.
With 10000 new jobs created out
side the civil service, there Is Q
wide field for Democrats.
It has been pointed out, how"
ever, to Washington observers
that there are several million
New Deal voters who are not party
Democrats. Several million for"
mer Republicans voted for PreSi"
dent Roosevelt: and there are pos
sibly several millions who will be
asked to support Republican can.
didates who are not strenuously
fighting the New Deal.
In New York State. for instance,
where there was . definite trend
toward progressive Republic0nism
until the Old Guard threw out w.
Kingsland Macy, the State @, o.
p. chairman who Is described aS
IAN implacable foe Of the Power
Ring" there will be q large vote
from the floating political popula'
ton which votes its principles
rather than its politics. This sort
OF unpredictable vote splits the
ticket and makes predictions .
gamble.
Plan Opposed by Some
The close-order organiEat I o n
method Of political appointments
to precinct workers choices does
not meet the full sympathy OF
everyone in the New Deal here. 1t
is pointed out that the President
went outside the party when he
put such men as Secretary Ickes
and Secretary Wallace in his Cab
met, and those close to these two
outstanding New Dealers fully re-
Ali2e that they are not Of all m
tereSted in appointments which
smack Of politics first and eftici'
ency last.
Those who believe Chairman
Farley Is completely hard-boiled
in such sppointive matters might
be interested to learn that ct least
three possible District Building ap'
pointmentS have run afoul OF an
opposition to the idea that the
Democratic henchmen should have
all the pie.
Two Of these appointments
would have dislodged from office
two veterans Of the service In the
local government.
Chairman Farley instructed the
Commissioner under whom they
came merely to "act human" That
meant saving the Jobs for the In
cumbentS, who had worked for
more than a quarter Of o century
In the District Government and
are experts in their line. and con.
earning whom there is no question
as to efficiency.
!The third appointment was that
Of q person with powerful inflO
ence who could not measure up TO
the requirements Of the job. ~