Evening star., 1935-01-27

elections OF next year, much OF
Il politics Is going to be gamble,
a particular kind of gamble.
For the first 10 or IL months, from
now until the Spring of next year, the
gamble will be on whether prosperity
will or will not come; and for the re-
naming months. until the election. a
gamble on whether prosperity has or
has not come
For simplicity's sake, start with the
radicals. I mean the thoroughgoing
radicals. They may be enumerated,
without pretending to attempt ex-
treme exactness, as Senator Huey
Long of Louisiana, the Socialist Mr..
Upton Sinclair of California, Father
Charles Coughlin, the leaders of the
Farmer-Labor party in Minnesota and
;hereabouts. and the La Toilette broth
ers with their new Progressive party
in Wisconsin and neighboring States.
(The La Follettes have formally di-
vorced themselves from the Repub-
lican party and now have Progressive
party" as their definite brand; in the
Congressional Directory, Senator La
Toilette is now labeled simply Pro
gressive"-without the word "Repub-
lican" after it,
Perhaps I should apologize for
grouping the La Follettes with Huey
Long; but the distinctions are too in
tricate to deal with in this limited
space: anyhow. as respects what I am
here discussing, the gamble these two
are making, and that all the radicals
are making is the same.
Radicals in Third Party.
All these radicals are third party
men, none Of them expect to function
inside the Democratic party. unless it
be Huey Long. And Huey Long. if he
uses the Democratic party at all, will
use it only as a springboard. This fact.
that all the radicals are potential
leaders Of third parties, is important
to bear in mind.
The gamble of all these radicals is
that industry and business, what We
speak Of as "the times" will not be
better by November of next year. The
radical leaders know that if the times
are not better they will prosper and
acquire larger followings. Huey Long.
with his characteristic directnesS, so
impudent as to be almost engaging, is
quite frank about it. He says that if
the times are no better he is going TO
be elected President. He won't be that.
But his general thesis is sound: that
If times are no better the radical
leaders will enlarge their followings.
All the radical leaders gamble on
times being no better. Only by that
condition can their brand of politics
prosper. Because this is their gamble.
they have one principal policy, shared
by all of them. 1t is to "out-radical"
Mr.. Roosevelt. That way alone lies
the only kind Of prosperity they are
interested in.
Absorption Avoided.
If Senator La Toilette, for example.
is only radical to the same degree as
Mr.. Roosevelt then Senator La Toilette
and his Progressive party are to a
large extent absorbed by Mr.. Roose-
velt-and naturally the La Toilette
brothers are not simple enough to
permit themselves to be absorbed.
lAC 4dAlOdlo lIlucL
Roosevelt. All of them, in their sew
eral ways, must do that. Sometimes.
watching the politics Mr.. Roosevelt
practices, I wonder if he is really
shrewd on this point He keeps going
to the left, or placating the left He
seems to think he can absorb Senator
La Toilette, get Senator La Toilette
behind him as part of his own, the
Presidents following. Hence the
speech Mr.. Roosevelt made in La
Follette's Wisconsin last Summer
when the campaign was getting under
way. Hence Mr.. Roosevelt's almost
openly expressed preference that La
Toilette should be reelected to the
Senate rather than a Democrat.
But surely Mr.. Roosevelt must
realize that Senator La Toilette can
not afford to be absorbed by Presi-
dent Roosevelt, and therefore cannot
afford to get behind President Roose-
welt. Senator La Toilette is young
man. He will not be 40 until the
9th of next month; if once he were,
so to speak, merged with the Presi-
dent. everything for which Senator
La Toilette lives will have disap-
peared.
No, the only thing for Senator La
Toilette and all the radicals is to get
in front of President Roosevelt, or to
the left of him. To maintain their
identity. to get anywhere, to cut any
figure next year, they must out
radical" the President. If Mr.. Roose-
velt proposes a four billion appro-
priation for the unemployed, the radi-
Gals must propose 10 billion. If Mr.
Roosevelt proposes $50 a month as
old-age insurance, the radicals must
propose $40, or $50, or $50 or SlOO. If
Mr.. Roosevelt proposes that old-age
insurance begin at 65, the radicals
must fix the age at so, or lower.
To Raise Relief Bid.
only the necessary policy of the radi-
cal leaders have named; it is also
the policy of Senators with local
radical followings, such as Mr.. Wheeler
of Montana, MIR. Costigan of Colo
RADIO and some others. To one sitting
in the gallery their mental processes
seem inevitable. When Mr.. RooSe-
velt'S budget message proposes four
billions for relief one feels sure the
radical Senators are the next moment
going through the mental process of
raising the Presidents bid.
This out-radicalling of Mr.. Roose-
welt is based on one assumption. one
gamble. 1t is that times will not be
better next year. And if that turns
out to be the condition, the radical
leaders will profit by having bid
higher than Mr.. Roosevelt for the
votes of the discontented The radi-
cal leaders might readily get many
votes-Mr. La Toilette million or
two, the Farmer-Labor party a mil
lion or two. million or more to Sim
clair, another million or so to Father
Coughlin, if he should start party,
and to Huey Long perhaps as many
as three or four millions. If the
times are really bad, if discomfort is
acute, if the conditions are good for
the rabble -rouser, then Huey Long
will profit most, for the very good
roos0n thot ha ic hoct OF 70 hhIa