Evening star., 1935-12-20
SOUTH MAY GAIN
CONTROL ON HILL
Fight in Primaries Will Be
Whether People Want
Real Democrat.
ny DAVID LAWRENCE.

There's one phase of the current ex-
citement about plans to re-elect or
defeat Preident Roosevelt which seems
to be getting scant attention. 1t Is
| what kind of Congress is going to be
elected in November, 1886.
The editor of a large Southern
newspaper, who happened to be here
the other day, called my attention
to one or two aspects which doubtless
have been overlooked.
Folks in the North" he said, "are
all agitated about whether Mr.. Roose-
velt Is o. Is not going to be reelected.
Now, personally, am against the New
Deal, but it so happens that my State
inevitably will cast its electoral vote
for Mr.. Roosevelt. Likewise, it will
be the duty Of my paper to support
him for reelection as against any
Republican named, no matter how
good he is. We couldn't run a South
ern newspaper any other way.
Congress Not Blameless.
But am one Of those persons who
believe that the New Deal could not
have become what it is today without
the votes Of Congress. If Mr.. RooSe-
welt has made mistakes, Congress Is as
much If not more to blame for having
given him such wide powers.
In my city there will be primary
election next year to nominate a
Democrat. Now, mind you, I said
Democrat and not Socialist The
people of my district will have an
opportunit- to decide whether they
want =. Socialist to win the Demo-
cratic primary or whether they want
to choose a real Democrat. That's
going to be the issue in the South,
and we're going to hold the Con-
gressmen who pledged themselves to
the 1889 Democratic platform to a
strict accountability for having voted
for legislation that departs from it
and for having embraced instead the
Socialist party platform of 1882"
What this Southern editor says
about the impossibility of supporting
Republican in the South brings up
| a very practical matter which oppo-
nents Of the New Deal are ignoring
The fight in the North between Re-
|
for Congress is likely to be in most
instances a clear-cut pro and anti
New Deal affair. II Mr.. Roosevelt
carries with him a substantial num-
Der Of the pro-New Deal candidates,
whether they happen TO be Western
Republicans or Democrats generally
in the North, the balance Of power
in the next Congress might easily
be held by the Democrats from
Southern States
Under such circumstances, the pri-
mary campaigns in every Southern
| State become of transcendent i'm
portance to those who believe two
opposite PHILOSOPHERS Of government
are going to be offered to the people
and not just two rival candidates or
parties. The primaries in the South
are equivalent to elections, for Who
ever wins the Democratic nomina-
ton is assured Of election in the No
vember elections. Thus, the primary
is the important affair, after all.
Talk Of Independents.
In political circles, much talk Is
heard about the possibility Of enter
ing independent candidates in many
Southern districts in order to give
the people an opportunity to express
themselves on the issues involved in
the New Deal. Various organizations
are trying 10 line up the anti-New
Deal sentiment, and it is to be noted
that, in Georgia, Gov. Talmadge may
even enter the presidential prefer
ence primaries as against Mr.. Roose-
velt. 1t is unlikely that this will be
duplicated in many other States.
(CopyriRht. 1880