Evening star., 1935-08-18

have better chance than the others.
Indeed, 1t Is quite certain that Sen
ator Dickinson and Senator Vanden-
berg will be important in the Repub-
lican picture next year. Between the
two, there is faint distinction. With
out checking carefully the record OF
all the Senate roll calls since March 1.
1888, should say that Senator Dick
inson has wholly and uninterruptedly
opposed the New Deal, opposed all OF
it and all the parts Of 1t. Senator
Vandenberg. while strongly and very
effectively opposing the fundamental
principles of the New Deal, has ac-
cepted or tolerated some minor parts
of it. This slight distinction between
the two may have some weight next
year. depending on public feeling at
the time, and on what line the Re-
pulican platform takes.
Borah a Man Apart.
There is another Senator, Borah Of
Idaho. He is Senator, but he is more
than a Senator, in all respects a man
apart, and in most respects a man
above. He has been in the Senate
nearly 80 years; he Is now the old
est in service. In every presidential
year since 1908, Senator .Borah has
been mentioned as possibility for the
Republican nomination. Once or twice
perhaps. had he chosen to go after it,
he might have had it. He has never
fo nI e.
groups and individuals who wanted to
bring the nomination to him, he has
been smilingly Indifferent. He may be
the same again next year. 1t is fact,
however, that large numbers of Re-
publicanS in the Middle West and
West would like to get behind Senator
Borah next year. Perfectly regular
and orthodox Republicans in the West
favor him. By backing Borah they
can be regular and also appeal to the
progressive and farm sentiment. It
is quite possible that whether or not
Senator Borah himself does anything
about it, a considerable number of
delegates may be voting for him when
the convention opens.
In the list of rs Republican posi-
bilities, three are members Of the
House Of esentatives-Bertran
H. Smell, James w. WadSworth and
Hamilton Fish, all of New York. Rep
resentatives. like Senators, are slightly
handicapped by having gone on record
on all. or substantially all, the meas
ures that have been before Congress
since the New Deal came in. While
this Is handicap. it is slight. Imean
no more than merely to say that as
between a Congressman and, for ex-
ample, Governor, other things
being equal, the Governor would have
slightly the better chance.
G. o. p. Governors Qualify.
Three on the list of Is are Re-
publican Governors-Republican Gov
ernors are small tribe just now. and
almost any Republican who succeeded
In making himself Governor in the
year 1882, by that uniqueness, qualities
as a presidential possibility. The
three on Mr.. Lucas list are Cows.
Harold G. Hoffman Of New Jersey,
Alfred M. Landon of Kansas and
Harry w. Nice Of Maryland.
Within this three there Is an in
teresting distinction. Messrs. Hoff-
man and Nice are Republican Gov
ernors of Eastern States; Mr.. Landon
is the Republican Governor of a Mid
die West State. AS between the two
geographical locations the Middle
West would, under normal conditions.
have the more appeal. As of today,
one would say that Gov. Landon of
kansas is decidedly man to watch
There is a group Of four who, speak
ing very roughly, can be treated as
having to slight degree a common
quality. They are ex-President Her
bert Hoover, former Secretary of War
Patrick j. Hurley, former Secretary
OF Agriculture Arthur M. Hyde and
former Secretary of the Treasury
Ogden L. Mills. The fact in common
about these is that all were mey4 4bers
OF the Hoover administration. If any,
body is selected from that admins
tration, there are obvious reasons why
it should be Mr.. Hoover himself. If
there is a handicap to Mr.. Hoover
the same handicap applies, in minor
degree, to the three members of his
cabinet.
Three Others Remain.
There remain three - Theodore
Roosevelt, son of the great Repub-
lican, Theodore; Arthur r. Robinson,
who until this year was q Republican
Senator from Indiana, and Frank
Knox, publisher of the Chicago Daily
News. In this particular group Mr..
Knox has rather the best chance. In
deed, the arrangement of this article,
which brings me to Mr.. Knox as last
to be mentioned, must not lead any
one to take that as a sign of Mr..
Knox's rating among the whole rs
Republican possibilities. Decidedly
the contrary. A record of what
is now going on would say there
is rather more activity in behalf Of
Mr.. Knox than for any other one.
The reader will understand that
this disquisition about a list of Is
Republican presidential possibilities
does little more than resolve them
into groups. Hardly ever was it so
little possible to predict, nearly a
year in advance, who the presidential
nominee OF any party would be. I
have suggested that, other things
being equal, the nominee is more likely
to come from the Middle West than
from either the Atlantic Coast or
the Pacific. But even this likelihood
may change One cannot pretend to
even suggest the respects in which
the picture may change by 10 months
from now.
As of today, one might say, roughly,
that as among the Senators, Mr.. Dick
nson and Mr.. Vandenberg have rather
the best chance; that among the Gov
ernors, 1t Is Mr.. Landon Of Kansas:
that If any one identified with the
Hoover administration Is nominated,
1t would likely be Mr.. Hoover him
self, and that among the candidates
not now or previously identified with
public office, Frank Knox is the
leader.