Evening star., 1935-12-22

ries, are not such an unknown factor
as they might seem. Most of them
will vote next November as they have
voted in the past, under the leader
ship of the local political organiza-
tions. 1t is true the Democrat ma
chimes will have a slight advantage
next year. for presumably they will
say, plauSibly, to the beneficiaries of
relief, that if the relief is to be con-
ttnued they must vote the Demo-
cratic ticket. Yet I think that will
weigh little. Those on the relief rolls
will know that no matter who is
elected, relief will continue to come,
SO long as necessary, from some
source, whether the Nation, the State
or the city. The net of this is that,
as usual, Democratic machines will be
able to take masses of Democrat city
voters to the polls and Republican
city machines will be able to take
masses of Republican voters.
In this there is one more factor IA
vorable to the Republicans. Some of
the heads of Democrat city machines
share the apprehension about Mr..
Roosevelt and the New Deal that most
Democratic leaders of thought have.
If these Democrat city leaders, and
those whose influence them locally
are deeply stirred against the New
Deal, they will either be lukewarm
about getting their organizations to
the polls, or in some cases they will
throw the vote, as has often hap
pened before.
We come now to the farmer bene-
ficiaries of relief, that is, of A. A. A.
checks. These are the real unknown
factor" The number of recipients OF
A. A. A. checks in States like Iowa,
Kansas and Illinois, runs into hun
dreds of thousands. If all these, en-
masse. should vote for Mr.. Roosevelt
and the New Deal, they will form the
deciding factor which would carry
Midwestern States for Mr.. Roosevelt
and the New Deal.
Thoughts Are Unknown.
The state of mind of the farmers
who receive cash benefits" from A.
A A. is difficult to know. At the re-
cent meeting of the Republican Ma
tional Committee in Washington,
members from farm States reported
confidently that many of the farm
ers who received checks take the
money with mental reservation. They
think they were in an emergency and
that during the emergency it was
proper for the Government to aid
them. Or they think that the bill
will have to be paid later in the form
of high taxes, that they will have
to pay directly or indirectly their
share of the bill, and that therefore,
while the money is being passed out,
they might as well take their share.
Or they accept the checks half cyni-
cally, feeling that the system is wrong
and remaining ready to vote against
this and the whole New Deal program.
There is one other possibility BY
next November the farmer beneficiary
Of cash benefits from the New Deal
may not be SO much an unknown fac
tor as he now is. If the Supreme
Court holds A. A. A. invalid, the whole
subject of farm relief might pass into
new phase. Either Mr.. Roosevelt
might put forward a proposal to
change the Constitution or to limit
the courts power to interpret the
Constitution, in which case that would
become itself an issue of the cam
paign. Or Mr.. Roosevelt might find
new way, within the Constitution,
to give relief to the farmers, with or
without direct cash benefits. In either
the Republicans, the A. A. A. declared
invalid, would be free to put forward
some solution of the farm question
which might give the farmers as
much satisfaction as Mr.. Roosevelt's
method.
In all this there is one momentous
possibility. BY next November, through
decisions Of the Supreme Court and
discussion attending them, through in
surgency within the Democratic party
showing itself in their national con-
vention, through the debate in the
campaign-through these and other
possibilities there may spread through
out America the apprehension that
many of the more thoughtful now feel.
1t is an apprehension-indeed, on the
part of many a realized conviction
that the New Deal would mean to
America what the new experiments in
Europe mean to Germany, Italy and
Russia. The country may come to
take Mr.. Roosevelt's phrases, a new
order" and a permanent readjust-
ment of many of our ways of think
.ng," at their full value. Probably al
ready a majority of Americans would
vote against trying in our country any
analogy to the new order" that is
being attempted in three European
countries. BY next November the
innovations may seem to
Americans even more disturbing than
they now are In Germany and Italy
are possibilities that Naziism and
Fascism may blow up" disastrously
within the next 10 months.
(Copyright 1935l