Evening star., 1935-10-06
BORAH HELD STRONGEST
OFC. 0. P.'s POSSIBILITIES
Fits Into Public Mood Because of "PrO.
gressive" Reputation and Stand on
Constitution, Observer Says.

deed, Senator Borah has drawbacks
from any point of view. He is tenn
peramentally an "aginner." But as
an "aginner" he is very good
"aginner." And the thing he would
be "agin" next year would be the New
Deal. AS a man to thresh the New
Deal through speeches up and down
the country, the Republicans have no
equal to Senator Borah. Mr.. Roose-
velt and all the other spellbinders
among the New Dealers, all combined,
would not be match for the Idaho
Senator. 1t would be like the Lincoln
and Douglas debates, with Mr.. Borah
in the place Of Lincoln-and with no
present-day Douglas to fill Douglas
issues.
1t is argued that while this quality
would make Mr.. Borah a good can
didate, it would not make him a good
President. This is true. The Idaho
Senator's nature is best adapted for
the role of critic. That is, Senator
Borah functions best as an "out" at
tacking the ''ins." Once he is him.
self an ''in," his temperament and
emotional qualities would not help to
make him good President. Some
one once told story which aimed to
be picture of Senator Borah's tenn
permanent. The story was about man
who, attending to business downtown
during the forenoon, found everything
going wrong. He was involved in one
snarl after another, and by noon was
pretty peevish. About that time one
of his friends asked him what he was
going to do. Grouchily. he replied:
Il am going home to dinner; I am
going to go home, am going to open
the door, and am going to ask my
wife if dinner is ready; If it isn't
ready, am going to bawl her out
and if it is ready 1 won't eat it,"
1t is also true that Senator Borah
is old for the presidency. He was
born June %. 1865. Next year, when
the Republican National Convention
is in session presumably in June) he
will be II years old. Upon taking
office, if he runs and is elected. on
January l. 1887, he would be almost
exactly 7l12 years old. In figures,
that is old, but Senator Borah is not
as old as his years. More than al
most any one can recall in public
life, he has been abstemious, has
guarded his strength. He almost
never goes out to dinner at night,
though few men are so much in de-
mand. Even when. during the last
two Republican administrations, he
was chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Relations, and when, there
fore, it was almost an official duty
to go to fair number of dinners,
Senator Borah was known more for
his breaches of the rule than for his
living up to it.
One-Term Man Needed.
Seventy-one is not too old for the
presidency. Clemenceau headed France
when he was older, and Hindenburg,
Germany. There would be certain
advantage in an understanding that
the next President, assuming he is a
Republican, is to be one-term Presi-
dent, that for reason of age or other
wise he will not run for reelection.
AS matter of public policy, the next
occupant of the White Eouse ought to
be one-term President A lot of I'M
winding will need to be done. including
dismissal of many bureaUcrats, sur
render of many powers which Mr..
Roosevelt has gathered to the White
House, much decentralizing of govern
ment. The process will step on many
toes. 1t would be an advantage to
the country to know that the man
who is President the next four years
is one-term President, and therefore
is under no temptation to sacrifice
principle for expediency.
AS public sentiment is today, Senator
Borah. as Republican Lominee for the
presidency, would get more votes than
any other one mentioned. He would
get very large number of so-called
Progressive votes in the West that
hardly any other Republican nominee
can be sure of-the Western Progress
sive Republican voters tend to favor
Mr.. Roosevelt, several Of their leaders
almost openly support him. And it
goes without saying that Senator Bo-
rah would get as many conservative
Republican votes in the East as any
one else. The conservative Republic
ans in the East would be faced by the
choice OF Mr.. Borah or Mr.. Roosevelt;
they may have grave misgivings about
Senator Borah, but with that choice
before them there is no question what
they would do.
Because Senator Borah would get
more votes than any other one, he
would carry into Office with him a
larger number of Republican or con-
servative Congressman than any other
one. This is important.
The present state of public opinion
which favors Senator Borah may
change. At the moment public opinion
is turning against Mr.. Roosevelt and
against the New Deal-but. when it
considers an alternative, still wants
somebody labeled progressive" Con-
ceivably by next year public opinion
may pass into phase in which it will
want genuine conservative. But for
the present the public mood is one into
which Mr. Borah, as the Republican
nominee, would fit.