The Washington times., 1935-12-05
FARLEY THEN
WILL QUIT
CABINET
January 8 Selected for
Start; 3 Cities Seek
Convention
BY GEORGE r. HOLMES
international News Service


President Roosevelt's campaign
for reelection will be opened with
more or less formality during the
second week in January.
The Democratic National Com
mittee will assemble here on
January 7 to select convention
city, and on the eighth it is
planned to stage a jackson Day
dinner at which Mr.. Roosevelt
himself will be the chief speaker.
The guest list will be veritable
Who S Who in the party.
About that time, too, or soon
thereafter, James A. Farley in
tends to resign his Cabinet post
as Postmaster General to devote
his entire time to the 1886 cam
paign. Those who have been gun
ming for the bald, genial New
Yorker to relinquiSh either his
Cabinet post or the Craftsmanship
Of the national committee will be
appeased.
With President Roosevelt's re-
nomination considered assured,
the national committee will be
faced with three principal matters
during its meeting here.
Three Cities in Race
First, the selection of conven-
ton city, which probably will go
to the highest bidder, with Phila-
delphia, Atlantic City and Chicago
expected to be the principal con-
testants.
Second, the pressing question of
party finances, and how to finance
the campaign.
Third, whether anything is to
be done about the abrogation of
the time-honored tWo-thirds nomi-
mating rule, which has disrupted
several national conventions in
the past, and which for a time
threatened Mr.. Roosevelt's nomi-
nation at Chicago in 80.
The question of party finances
Is the most pressing. The Demo
Gratis have not been out of the
'red" since the Gay that Glen
Shaver turned over the national
committee to John J. RaSko to
conduct the AL Smith campaign
in 20. Currently, the party deficit
is in excess of 100000, with a
new campaign at hand which is
going to require more money.
Successive Democratic cam
paigns to reduce this deficit and
to assemble a war chest have
been anything but successful
The slow trickle of contributions
has been barely sufficient to de-
fray operating expenses during
the three years of the Roosevelt
Administration.
Find Hard Shedding
With industrialistS, bankers and
"big business" generally at ODDS
with the Administration over
Roosevelt social and economic
policies, the party fund solicitors
are finding tough shedding in
getting contributions. Important
money from these sources is going
the other way, to the Republicans,
who have managed to clear up
their deficit from the last cam.
paign, and face the approaching
campaign in relatively easy finan.
cial circumstances. There will
be some stern talking about
finances when the Democrats
gather here January 7-8
1t appears to be uncertain at
the moment whether the Demo
Gratis will seize the opportunity to
abrogate the old two-thirds rule.
1t can only be done in a year
where there is little or no contest
over the nomination.
The Roosevelt people found that
out in Chicago three years ago.
They were fearful that blocking
minority of one-third might upset
their chances at Chicago, and en-
deaVored to change the rules in
the middle of the game. They
abandoned the effort only when
1t became apparent that if they
persisted it meant a bitter party
split.
Southern Democrats, for the
most part, are opposed to the
abrogation of the two-thirds rule.
The Southerners always have
been jealous of their veto power
over the big city delegations Of
the North, and are extremely
loath, even now, to relinquish it.
Farley says it is up to the con-
vention to decide, but it will be
up to the national committee
whether to make a recommends
tion on the subject. In all proba-
bility there will be some sharp
fighting over the matter, either
in the committee or the conven.
tion.