Evening star., 1935-05-19
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
WILL NOTB EPARTY FIGHT
Issue Will Be Between New Dealers
and Ants, With Leftists
Joining Roosevelt.

reject what Mr.. Roosevelt calls his
new economic order"
But for the purposes of the presi-
dental election next year the New
Dealers have immense advantages.
They have the $4,000 100000 which
Mr.. Frank Kent correctly describes as
the largest campaign fund in his
tory" 1t is inevitable that the use
of this fund will have the effect of
promoting the New Deal conception
of society. One Of the men who will
have the disposal of the money, Mr..
Harry Hopkins. Is. it seems tenable to
say; an ardent and forceful believer
in changed order of things in
America.
Urges Class Consciousness.
Certainly it seems tenable to say he
believes in stirring up class conscious
ness. In the newspapers recently he
was quoted as saying, to gathering
of his assistants who will have charge
of distributing $1,O00,000,0 900 or more,
UNLESS you realize that this Is a fight
between the 'haves' and the have
nots,' you do not belong at F. e. r. A.
headquarters" I have not verified
that quotation attributed to Mr.. Hop
kins. It was published in a syndi-
Gated column in upward Of 100 news
papers. 1t is sufficiently akin in spirit
to formal public utterances and
speeches Mr.. Hopkins has delivered to
justify belief that 1t correctly repre-
sents his philosophy and attitude. It
Is tenable to expect that the power of
the money Mr.. Hopkins will now have
to administer will be used to inculcate
among the distressed and the discon-
tented what radical terminology de-
ScribeS as "claSs consciousness.
Another who will have control of
much of the $4,00O,0 ,000, 900 is Prof.
Rexford Tugwell. To any one who
has read Prof. Tugwell's books, or who
knows his past associations, 1t Is i'm
possible not to believe that Prof. Tug
well has a kind of personal dislike
for the American system of private
ownership and business conducted for
profit, and that he earnestly wishes
to bring about in America some de-
gree and form of collectivism. Can
any one doubt that Prof. Tugwell, in
administering the money at his dis
posal, will follow the law of his ma
ture? Can we doubt that, so far as
Prof. Tugwell has discretion, he must
incline to administer the funds in
way likely to promote his notion of
society?
Walker Will Be Factor.
The New Dealers will have vet
another advantage from that four bill
lions. One of the men in charge of
it is Mr.. Frank c. Walker. Acuuaint-
ances of Mr.. Walker give a good ac-
count of him; they describe him as
an able man with practical ability
who does not share the ideas of Mr..
Hopkins and Prof. Tugwen. But Mr..
Walker is the former treasurer of the
Democratic National Committee. Can
any one doubt that that fact will
figure in Mr.. Walkers distribution of
the relief money? If, by any chance
rather too great to conform to human
nature. Mr.. Walker personally should
not deliberately direct the four bill
lions so as to re-elect Mr.. Roosevelt
can any one doubt that beneficiaries
OF the money, men who approach Mr..
Walker to ask for large ALLEGATIONS,
Will assume that they can commend
themselves to Mr.. Walker and to Mr..
Roosevelt by so disposing Of the money
they get as to promote Mr.. Roosevelt's
reelection?
Allied to this is another advantage
the New Dealers will have. The cam
paign to re-elect Mr.. Roosevelt will be
managed by Postmaster General Far
ley. Mr.. Farley is not really a New
Dealer in the sense of entertaining
any notions about a fundamental
change of society. Probably all this
stuff about new social order goes
over his head. If he ever put his
mind on it I suspect he would be
shocked by it.
Practical Politician.
To him, thinking in terms Of votes,
the phrase New Deal" is probably
just a good vote-getting slogan. Mr..
Farley is practical politician, a po-
litical organizer, a piler-up of votes.
And II the program is to get the votes
OF the radicals and the discontented,
those are the votes Mr.. Farley will go
after. He will have the aid of the
othceholderS, vast army of them,
men for the most part like Mr.. Farley
himself, who give little thought to
any novel New Deal theory of society,
but are profoundly interested in hold
ing on to the offices.
The sum of these forces working for
the New Deal and Mr.. Roosevelt next
year is very great. In the face of this
immense and compact force on the
side of the New Dealers, is there any
excuse for the anti-New Dealers to be
divided? Is there not a duty on Re-
publican leaders and Democratic lead
ers alike to find way to consolidate
the conservatives? To give opportu-
nifty for expression to all who in both
parties oppose the New Deal? To
see that next years election is a clear
contest between those who want the
New Deal to go on and those who
want it ended?
There are several possible ways.
One would be for the Republicans to
give their presidential nomination to a
Democrat who is as qualified to be
President and as sound in conserva-
tive thought as any Republican is.
One such Democrat is Senator Carter
Glass OF Virginia, but Senator Glass
is n; and in spite of the example of
Clemenceau and Hindenburg, that is
rather old for the onerous role of
heading country. Two other such
Democrats are Senator Harry Byrd of
Virginia, and Mr.. Lewis Douglas, until
recently President Roosevelt's director
of the budget.
SchOn1hovs RIM