Evening star., 1935-12-29
BORAH HELD UNVERSED
In ADMINISTRATIVE WORK
Idahoan May Be Hampered in Presi-
dency by Lack of Familiarity With
That Type of Duties.
full fight to get the prize for his candi-

lul IlSuI UO get Tie prize IOI Ills CdIlul"
date.
All this works to the detriment Of
Senator Borah's getting the nominal
ton. And it does not make for the
happiness of the country. What the
country wants and needs, what that
part of the country opposed to the New
Deal hungers for, is leadership, man
equipped by conviction and tempera-
ment to say clearly and firmly "thiS Is
the way" And leadership of that kind
can hardly be provided by a man who
is uncertain In his own mind, or who
has indirect purposes collateral to the
overt one, or about whom the public is
mystif1ed.
If Senator Borah continues a pos
sibility for the Republican presi-
dental nomination, If interest in him
in that connection grows. there will
be searching of his record to find the
relation between his convictions and
past actions, and, on the other hand,
the new issues now before the coun-
try. The record is literally an open
book-for nearly 80 years Mr.. Borah
has been speaking and voting in the
Senate. No other man mentioned in
connection with the coming presi-
Dental campaign, and hardly any man
who ever aSpired to a presidential
nomination, is so fully on record
on so large a variety of public ques-
tions.
Search of Senator Borah's record
will bear out the common inpres.
sion that he has been strongly in.
dividualistic, that he has not con- :
formed uniformly to the party he be-
longs to or to any other party, and
that some of the positions he has
taken have been puzzling. have not
gone through the bound volumes Of
the Congressional Record for nearly
80 years-it would be a chore, but
somebody ought to do it, if Mr.. Borah
continues to be an important possi-
bility for the Republican nomination.
speak largely from memory, with
some casual refreshment of my recol-
lection. The record undoubtedly suS-
tains the common feeling that the
Idaho Senator has been often un. =
guessable. 1t sustains also the inn
preston that some of the positions
Mr.. Borah has taken In the past make
him umpalatable to large numbers Of
voters with respect to issues which
viii be important next year.
Two Groups Of Issues.
The issues in next years campaign
fall into two groups: First, preserva-
ton of the American system of So
ciety and the American form Of Gov
ernment. Second, sound monetary
and fiscal practice.
AS respects the second of these is
sues, Senator Borah's record Is not
orthodox. Those who believe sound
monetary and fiscal policies to be the
paramount issue in next years cam
paign viii find many reasons to take
exception to Mr. Borah's record.
As respects the other group Of is
sues, preservation of the American
form of society and the American
form Of Government, Senator Borahs
record convincingly commends him to
those who believe this issue to be
paramount.
To summarize: First, the Constttu.
ton. Senator Borah, as much as any
other man in public life, and more
than most, believes In the Constitu-
ton, understands it and supports 1t.
With special earnestneSs he defends
those parts of the Constitution that
are brought into question by the New
Deal He believes in the rights OF
the States; and he believes in the
rights and liberties of the individual
as set forth in the bill OF rights
within the Constitution. Since Mr..
Roosevelt openly holds that there must
be q transfer of some rights from the
States to the Federal Government:
and since 1t Is inherent in the New
Deal that many Of the peoples ia
miliar constitutional rights must be
surrendered, it follows that the Con-
stitution will be much debated In next
years campaign.
Second, the division Of Government
into three powers, with each required
to respect the others. So strongly does
Senator Borah believe in this that on
occasion, though himself Senator,
he has defended .,ze presidency against
encroachment by the Senate.
Third, the courts, and their inde-
pendence, their freedom from sub
lection by the executive, or limitation
by Congress. On this point Senator
Borah's record suggests that he is as
vigilant for the courts as the courts
themselves could be. It is true that
Senator Borah some 10 years ago in
troduced In the Senate. by request, q
measure which would require that
two-thirds Of the Supreme Court, In
stead Of a majority, must agree In
order to declare o law unconstitu.
tional Later. however, Senator Borah