Evening star., 1935-07-01
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY C.. Could Lincoln.

Leagues for the advancement OF va
rious presidential booms in the Repub-
lican party are cropping up. One of the
latest is the Vandenberg-for President
League in Illinois, sponsored by Vandorf
Gray, Chicago attorney. Senator Van
denbergs reaction to the announcement
of the leagues formation was laconic;
mot interested" He added that he did
not know Gray. That, however, Is in
line with the attitude of the Senator
from Michigan ever since his presiden-
tial boom was mentioned. He says fatty
that he is not candidate for the presi-
dental nomination. OF course, that
does not mean that the Republican
National Convention next year may not
nominate him for President or that he
would not accept the nomination If 1t
came his way. No man could well afford
to reject presidential nomination from
one Of the great political parties. But
1t does mean that Senator Vandenberg
Is not making campaign for the nomi-
nation.
Whether the Republican nomination
will be worth anything next year it is too
EARLY to say. However, there is the
chance always that a change in political
sentiment may come over the American
people. The Republicans are anxious
to be ready to take up the political
leadership and control of government
II the break comes. Senator Vanden-
berg's voice is becoming better and bet
ter known to the people. His state
ments are carefully weighed before they
Tndou ha nj ad m tho
Presidents tax program, and urged that
If Congress is to stay in Washington this
Summer to pass tax BILL 1t be "a real
tax bill and not mere political appeal
to mass prejudice" He insisted that the
administrations tax plans as so far re-
vealed were no more than mere sop
to political strategy"
In the opinion of Senator Vanden-
berg, it is much better for the country
to pay high taxes than to have dose
of imitation. Furthermore, he insists,
the people will come to value economy
in Government expenditure when they
begin to pay the billS-and Government
waste of money will be halted. The tax
program suggested by Vandenberg, how
ever, is considerably at variance with
that announced by the President. He
insists that new tax bill should be de-
signed to really balance the Government
budget-not merely to f1irt with the idea.
Obviously it is not the wish of the Demo-
cratic administration to impose any such
taxes on the people right on the eve Of
a national election.
There has been a lot of discussion
about the Midwest Republican Grass
Roots" Conference, which was held early
in June. in Springfield. Ill. How did it
come to be named a grass roots" con-
ference? Senator AShurSt Of Arizona, a
Democrat, with an amazing memory and
a student of political affairs for years,
insists that the term grass roots" orig
mated with the late Senator Albert j.
Beveridge of Indiana. Beveridge, Sena-
tor AShurst says, used the phrase first
when he was chairman of the Bull
Moose Convention in Chicago in 1912,
where the late President Roosevelt was
nominated on the Progressive ticket for
President.
The Arizona Senator has been con-
siderably amused over the various sug
gestions regarding the grass roots"
One OF the suggestions was that the
name for the Republican conference in
the Midwest grew out of the speech
made by former President Herbert
Hoover in Madison Square Garden in
the 1882 convention. In that speech
Mr.. Hoover predicted that the grass
would grow" in the streets OF American
cities If the Democrats came into power
and abandoned sound money and did
other things. This is far-fetched idea.
1t certainly was far from the thoughts
Of the Republicans who proposed the
Midwest Republican conference.
The attempt to smoke out Herbert
Hoover is on again. Is he to be can
didate for the Republican presidential
nomination, or Is he not? One OF the
latest reports is that Mr.. Hoover some
time during the Summer will issue q
formal statement declaring that he is
not a candidate for the nomination. A
good many Republicans seem to believe
that would clear the atmosphere. They
seem to think that the possibility of Mr..
Hoovers candidacy is a threat to Re-
publican success. II Mr.. Hoover would
be as weak a candidate as these gentle
men say, how on earth could he be nomi-
mated at the 1886 Republican conven-
tion? The answer. of course, is that he
could not be nominated. So why should
they worry?
If Mr.. Hoover is to make a declara-
ton that he does not desire to be nomi-
mated, there are a lot of political OBJ
servers and politicians who hope that
he will not say, II do not choose" to
run. Back in 1928 they had a great
deal of trouble trying to decide what
choose" means in such connection.
Right up to the time of the Republican
convention of that year many of the
Republicans were still guessing whether
the late President Calvin Coolidge would
accept a presidential nomination If it
should be handed to him. They never
will know.
Statements by Presidents and former
Presidents on the subject Of whether or
not they would be candidates for Chief
Executive have not been very happy.
Take the statement issued by the late
President Theodore Roosevelt just after
he had been elected President in 1904.
He said at that time that he would not
be q candidate again. He wasn't, when
1908 rolled round. He had had about
seven years in the White House as Presi-
dent. So the late President William
Howard Taft was nominated and elect
ed. largely through the influence of Col.
Roosevelt. But in 1912 Col. Roosevelt
bobbed up again as a candidate for the
presidential nomination.
Mr.. Hoover may or may not say what