Evening star., 1935-12-01

to their followers. In general, to con-
tinue to see the Republican presiden-
tial nomination as a duty and 're-
spo'isibility rather than a personal
prize, to preserve the attitude Of
search for the best possible man to
lead the fight in the campaign, the
bes' to be President. if he should
be elected. The public, the local Re-
publican leaders and the voters, can
help by seeing the convention not as
an exciting race for a prize, but as
a grave deliberate body, dedicated
to writing a thoughtful declaration
Of principles and to naming the best
man to personify the principles and
make them clear to the public.
Delegates to national conventions
are often chosen perfunctorily. In
the present situation there is urgent
reason for each district to select as
its delegates the community's most
thoughtful and Understanding men.
And as the issues stand. the extraor-
dinary issues which have little rela-
ton to party politics, it is not essen.
tial that the delegates necessarily be
/ orthodox Republicans. The coming
/ Republican convention should be like
/ the 1856 one, in which men came
| together not to confirm the principles
Of any existing party but rather to
state principles called for by a wholly
| new situation.
Incidentally, it will be an advan-.
tage if most of the delegates to the
Republican nomination are new men
and younger men. The "oId guard" Of
the Republican party, nationally and
| everywhere locally, the men who have
had leadership for from IS to 80
years, are old in years, and in many
cases even older in mental process.
1t is not necessarily a supreme de-
STABILITY that either Gov Landon or
Col. Knox be the Republican NOM
inee. 1t may be that among the other
possibilities there is a better, or one
as good. But if these two have within
their respective personalities the
qualities appropriate to their present
place in front of all others, it is then
desirable that two such men should
not be killed of BY the mere working
out Of an illogical detail Of political
mechanism and crowd psychology.
Two Beneficiaries Seen.
II Gov. Landon and Col. Knox enter
the Republican convention next June
having the relations to each other and
the whole situation they now have, II
each has roughly 200 to 300 delegates
tout of a total of upward of 1.000),
and if each fails to gain conspicuously
in the early balloting, there are two
men who might become beneficisries
of that situation. They are Senator
Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan and
Senator L. j. Dickinson Of Iowa. OF
the two, Senator Vandenberg would
be likely to have the earlier chance.
If the convention reaches that stage,
If Gov. Landon and Col. Knox have
each, in the political phrase, been
given run" and if each fails to
move strongly toward a majority, in
that case probably it is Senator Van.
denberg who would be given the next
run" If he, too, should fail sum-
ciently to impress the delegates and
the country, perhaps Senator Dickin.
/ son would be next.
If the convention should take this
course, if the four men named should
be surveyed. and not approved by
/ majority, probably the convention in
/ that case would become very fluid.
( 1t is possible it might turn to ex.
/ President Hoover, and somewhat less
/ possible that it might look toward
Senator Borah. Or it might turn to
some man not now as conspicuous
as the ones named.
Landon Has Advantage.
Among candidates for the Repub.
hcan presidential nomination Gov.
Landon of Kansas has one advantage
that is based upon precedent, prece.
dent that is accompanied by logic. In
the last so years every President Of
the United States had previously been
a Governor of State except Messrs.
Hoover, Harding and Taft. And Taft.
as governor of the Philippines, had
had experience of roughly the same
kind. Cleveland had been Governor
of New York. Mckinley of Ohio. Theo-
dore Roosevelt of New York, Woodrow
Wilson of New Jersey, Coolidge Of
Massachusetts,, Franklin D. Roosevelt
of New York. Two who were nomi.
mated but lost had been Governors,
ex-Gov. Cox of Ohio as the Democratic
nominee in 1920 and ex-Gov. Smith Of
New York in 1928.
Distinctly there is a tradition that
| ic ~ he ~
United States should have had previ.
Gus experience as Governor. The
reason is not mere whim of prece.
dent. The Governor of a State ac-
quireS experience in dealing with his
Legislature, and the experience Of q
Governor in dealing with a Legisla-
ture is much like that of President
dealing with Congress. This is spe-
cial technique. A President cannot
deal with Congress, nor a Governor
with his Legislature, by the same rules
as, for example, corporation presi.
dent deals with his board of directors.
1t is relation calling for give and
take, calling for consideration by the
executives of the constitutional powers
and the dignity of the legislative
branch of Government.
Those who best understand this ne
ceSsity are men who have been mem.
bers Of Congress or Of State Legisla.
lures. Because most national conven.
tons contain a considerable number
Of delegates who are or have been in
Congress or in State Legislature, it
follows that, other things being equal,
a Governor has slightly better
chance to win presidential nonina.
tion from convention than one who
has not been a Governor.
! (Copyright, 1935.D