, 1935-08-19
WASHINGTON
RY Raw Tucker

Spectacle-Poltical undercurrentS
are swirling along unanimously these
days and carrying waves OF water
over the washington dam. They are
upsetting personal and political crafts
on 1855 high seas.
National navigatcrs r revising
their charts 10 wit: There Will DC
no coalition between republicans ana
democrats because the COP Is too
| cocky since little Rhode Islands
flop. There will be no well-organiz-
ed third party because most pro-
gressives will line up with the presi-
cent. There will be no rump demo-
cratic movement because anti
Roosevelt conservatives in North and
South viii not surrender their party
status.
The new and unannounced threat
to Mr.. Roosevelt Will be a turbulent
battle within the democratic con-
vention. Inside advices hint that the
Smith-Ritchie -Baker-GlaSS faction
will try TO embarrass the president
by withholding q unanimous renom-
ination. Huey Long will help on the
other wing. They don't expect TO win
but they hope tc stage q spectacle
as depressing as the McAdoo-Smith
duel In Madison Square Garden
Al-Fantastic as It may seem. New
York state will be the spearpoint OF
this intra-party attack on the presi-
dent. His enemies are organizing TO
prevent his home state from giving
him an instructed delegation.
Upstate New Ycrkers are reported
as bitter against the New Deal. Nor
mally republican. this territory has
returned to It's traditional mornings,
and the democratic bosses Of the
rural provinces have turned sour
against the president. Tammany
hates him and Is warming UP 70 his
ancient friend and enemy, Alfred
K. Smith. And Al Is conserving with
anti-New Dealers these days.
Il hope you republicans will nom
mate q man I can support In 1885"
he recently told a group OF COP
ers. Il couldn't back Borah, OF
course. I couldn't get behind an CID
fashioned politician like Dickinson
OF Iowa. But / like Frank Knox"
Costs-Morris L. Cooke Is the
arch-diplomat Of the New Deal. AS
chief Of the Rural Electri.ication
Administration he is enlisting the
public utilities IN his one-m2n cru
SADIE to furnish electricity to the far
mers OF the United States.
He has convinced the private ccm-
panies that tapping this market viii
eventually mean money In their cof-
fers. His engineers are cooperating
with the company's men In reduc-
ing costs Of generation and con-
~struction of lines. He has persuaded
contractors TO standardize electrical
supplies OF All kinds. Eventually he
believes that ne can place all the
comforts Of electricity within reach
Of the humblest farmhouse.
His enthusiasm Is contagious. He
buttonholes the president, judges,
senator's. 70 talk rural electricity. He
asks them tc guess the price at which
he can provide standard bathroom
furnishings under his plan. The
presidents estimate was SIS. Senator
Shipstead OF Minnesota. who ought
10 know better, figured IL at $500.
You're both wrong" chuckled Mr..
Cooke. ITS less than S25."
ProEram-President Roosevelt's
advisers are having plenty OF trouble
ind rafting preliminary outlines OF
the public addresses for his western
trip. Everybody around the White
House realizes that much may de-
pend upon the impression he makes
In the Progressive West.
The Frankfurter faction would like
him to emphasize his reform prog
ram and dwell upon its supposed
benefits for the average citizen. The
Harvard professor has virtually hv-
ed al the White House fer the past
month. The mere practical school
believe that MIR. Roosevelt should
stress recovery as reflected in the
economic charts, and 10 hold out
hope for even greater advances in the
fall. Chairman Kennedy Of the Sc
curity Exchange Commission heads
the moderates. "A skilful blending OF.
both ideas will be the final product.
Mr.. Roosevelt has consulted lead
ing p~rogressives in preparation for
this swing. Senators like Morris,
johnson and LaFolette feel that the
west backs him and will be his
mainstay in 1926. But there have
been signs OF discomfort which he
will try to smooth down with a re-
statement Of his underlying aims
and current accomplishments.
PuzzIe-The COP command Is
holding Indignation meetings over
Bob Lucas one-man poll OF county
chairmen's presidential preferences
for 1896. They don't like the idea Of
an outsider butting into their af-
fairs with regular announcements
that the boys back hcme want this