Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-03-03
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

llUl ID 81 IUIllpACh llldp ~ 40
Il possible to discuss it only by
considering several different
facets of it, some of them very
extraordinary indeed.
If by Autumn of next year We
should be well on the way back to
normal or even the clear promise of
normal, demagogues and radicals will
evaporate and become one with
the similar spectacular figures that
emerged In previous depreSSionS-
"Sockless" Jerry Simpson, "Whiskers"
PETER, Mary Ellen Lease, who thought
Kansas should raise less corn and
more hell" and earnestly followed her
own advice; the Gov. Waite of Colo
RADIO, who was accused or credited,
with saying he would "'ride in blood
up to his horses Bride: 'Pitchfork
Ben" Tillman of South Carolina-men
who in their day shocked the con-
servatives and agitated the country,
but today live only in the yellowed
files Of old newspapers. Of descend
ants of some of those I have named,
or few old friends of theirs still liv-
ing, think I do injustice by grouping
them with demagogues or with each
other, my reply is that there is no
space to make the distinctions that
fairness calls for.)
But If by 10 to Is months from now
We are still as conscious of depression
as now, in that event the stump
beaters will be formidable, let no one
doubt it.
Will Invade Convention.
The demagogues will come to the
next Democratic National Convention,
now only 16 months away. holding in
their hands the delegates from States
they control certainly, and quite likely
whole or partial delegations from
other States
Will Upton Sinclair have the delega-
ton from California? Senator Burton
Wheeler, now going strongly toward
the radical left, will have the dele
gates from Montana and perhaps
some delegates from other North
western States.
In the Democratic convention radi-
Gals and all the others combined will
have little weight. President Roose-
welt and Postmaster General Farley
will have carefully handpicked fully
three-fourthS and perhaps four-fifthS
OF the delegates, and Mr.. Roosevelt
will be nominated Overwhelmingly.
denomination of Mr.. Roosevelt by the
Democrats is one condition we can tie
to in political situation which as a
whole bubbles like Mount Etna about
about to erupt.
But in the convention how will
President Roosevelt and Mr.. Farley
treat the radicals? Will the admins
tration Democrats throw them out of
the convention? The radicals will be
intent on making trouble, and well
they know how to. They will intro
duce resolutions and practice other
strategy designed 10 put Mr.. Roosevelt
and Mr.. Farley ''on the spot" in the
sense of making the administration
take positions on resolutions and issues
designed to ALLEVIATE the disconnected
from Mr.. Roosevelt and thereby build
up case for third party.
"Third Parties" Next Year.
That Huey Long will have a third
party next year seems convincingly
likely. Will there be other third
parties" of the same type? Will
Father Coughlin have a party of his
own or will he join Huey Long? Can
any two such egos be accommodated
within one party? Will Senator Bur-
ton Wheeler of Montana run for Vice
President with Long, as he ran for
Vice President with senior Senator
La Toilette in the latters third party
in 1924?
This matter of third parties
number of them and the aggregate
strength of them-will be important
next year. It may be decisive as be-
tween the Democrats and Republicans.
Will Upton Sinclair have third
party? How large a vote will the
regular Socialist party have? Will
1886 be the year in which the Social
st party, after being negligible in
half a score campaigns, never rolling
up more than 3 per cent of the vote
will 1886 be the year in which the
Socialists at last become important?
I doubt that.
What will the La Toilette brothers
do? They are in politics as career,
just as other men are in law or bust
ness or newspaper work. They now
have party Of their own. So far,
the La Follettes' Progressive party has
only in their own State,
But if the La Follettes'
party Is to be a going concern, with
hope for the future, they can hardly
afford to let the coming presidential
go by without having
candidate in the field, presumably one
of the La Follettes. Such a party
might get many votes of the type now
called Progressive Republican in the
territory near by Wisconsin.
May Join La Toilette.
And will that Farmer Labor party,
which during some years has been
able to elect and re-elect a Senator
and Governor in Minnesota-will it
spread its wings with a presidential
candidate next year? Probably not
probably the Farmer-Labor strength
will unite with the La Follettes.
All these possible third parties are
Of one general type. All are radical.
All therefore will. speaking broadly,
take their votes from the Democrats
and from Mr.. Roosevelt. From the
they will take practically
none. 1t IS difficult to think of any
Of the some IA million Republicans,
who in the congressional elections last
November voted Republican, ever turn
ing to any of the potential third par
ties have named. But it would
be quite easy to imagine radical move
mentS taking as many as 5 to 8
million away from the some II mil
lion who in last Falls congressional
elections voted for the Democrats and
the New Deal. If anything like that
should happen-and it is more than
q possibility-it would be menacing
to Mr.. Roosevelt and the Democrats.
Radical third-party defectionS might
readily be enough to let the Repub-
licans slip in between Mr.. Roosevelt
leading a middle of -the-road Demo-
cratic party and the radicals on the
left.
A Democratic Strategy.
Those close to President Roosevelt,