Evening star., 1935-06-02
CONSERVATIVES MERCER
is TAKING DEEPER ROOT
Joint Ticket Of Republican and Non.
Radical Democrat Urged to Test
ROOsevelt's Power.

Inc RepuDllcanS VINO resist the
notion of giving their presidential
nomination to a conservative Demo-
crat are moved in part by hope that
the Republicans may be able to win
any how-running in the usual way.
Many Republicans lately have come
to feel "cocky": they think the tide
is running against Mr.. Roosevelt and
the New Deal, and that If the tide
keeps up the country may vote the
Republicans into power without any
necessity of the Republicans putting
conservative Democrat on their
ticket, either for the presidential or
the vice presidential nomination.
The Republicans who feel this way
underestimate the forces of practical
politics that will work powerfully in
Mr. Roosevelt's favor.
Patronage Vital Factor.
He has the largest force Of office
holders in American history. Office
holders in either party at all times
fight to keep the existing administra-
ton in Office. Next year the Office
holders will be better organized for
the election than ever before-Post-
master General Farley has that sort
of skill to an extraordinary degree;
he learned it where the art Is highly
developed, in New York. To use
partisan phrase that clear-Sighted
Republicans occasionally speak, the
Democrats have "Tammanyized" the
Office holders. AS Mr.. Paul Mallon
puts it. the Democratic high command
Have built up strong precincts or
ganizaticns throughout the country.
These certainly compose the strongest
national political organization the
Democrats ever had. The nucleus of
the old perpetuating Republican or
ganization was largely centered in
postmastersflips and regular Federal
Offices The Democrats have doubled
or trebled the extent of this old basis
through various new Government
organizations"
How effectively these officeholders
can work was illustrated by the recent
farmers march" to Washington.
There are throughout the country as
many, I should say, as 10000 men who,
part time or whole time. directly or
CSt4y, dlC AAA IAlC pdy VI IA "a
Some 10000 in A. A. A. alone, to say
nothing of the other New Deal organi-
cations. In A. A. A. there are some
5000 county agents" who are paid in
part by the Department of Agricul-
ture; there are additional thousands
of adjustment administrators" paid
by A. A. A., and there must be some
5000 county chairmen of crop COM
mittees paid on per diem basis with
funds coming from A. A. A.
These thousands have not only the
ordinary motive of oficeholderS, the
motive that politicians of Andrew
Jackson's day used to describe as
keeping their hold on the Treasury
teat" In addition to that motive, COM
mon to all off1ceholders, the thousands
of A. A. A. employees and the other
thousands of employees of other New
Deal innovations have the motive of
zeal. The A. A. A. agents really be-
lieve in the new dispensation are
ardent about it, want it to continue,
will fight desperately to prevent the
overthrow of it. What men thus moved
can do to swing an election hardly
needs saying. Through these men
come checks to millions of farmers.
These men move about among the
farmers, see them in their homes.
Some farmers, probably considerable
number in all, have little access to
newspapers except rural weeklies and
small city dailies. They are susceptible
to propaganda and organization car
ried on by the A. A. A. agents.
$4,000, 100000 More.
Then Mr.. Roosevelt has $4,000, ,000.-
900 of relief money to lay out. He says
he expects to put 3,5O0,000 persons to
work. That 3,500,000 alone, if they
were actuated in a body, would be a
sufficient margin to determine the
election. 1t may or may not be that
each and all of the 3,500,0OO direct
beneficiaries of relief will feel like vot-
ing for Mr.. Roosevelt. But it is certain
that the workers in the relief organi-
zation, the offceholders. will want to
see Mr.. Roosevelt reelected and will
do what they can to cause the bene-
ficiaries of relief to vote for him.
But why go on? The unusual sources
OF strength Mr.. Roosevelt will have
next year, in addition to the ordinary
strength accruing to any President in
Office, must be clear to all. At this
time the probability of Mr.. Roosevelt
being reelected next year is very
great. Almost the only really promis-
ing way for the conservatives to defeat
him is by all the conservatives in both
parties getting together. the Republic
ans and the conservative Democrats
uniting in some kind of common
action.
(Copyrieht 1Q35)