Evening star., 1935-10-10
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G.. Could Lincoln.

udIe III tHc lielu LOT Tie HcpupilCdu
presidential ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Hamilton Fish, jr., Of New York. Mr..
Fish's name has been put forward by
some of his friends for many months
including Representative Harold Knut-
son of Minnesota and former Repre-
sentative Royal johnson of South Da-
kota. 1t has been generally understood
that Mr.. Fish fell in willingly with the
plan. He has been actively on the stump.
as matter of fact, with many speeches
in many parts of the country.
Mr.. Fish has been an active and con-
stant foe of the Roosevelt New Deal. If
there is anything good about the Roose-
welt administration the New York Rep
resentative has yet to discover it. He
is serving his ninth term in Congress,
a Representative from the congressional
district which boasts that 1t is the home
of President Roosevelt. He will be Al
years old in December, played on the
Harvard foot ball team and was captain.
During the World War he served over
seas and had the rank of major when he
left the Army.
Mr.. Fish's presidential candidacy has
not been taken seriously as yet in
number of quarters. However, there are
reports that he has considerable support
among the war veterans, and particu-
larly in the American Legion. The idea
Is advanced that it is about time that
the veterans of the World War had
representative in the White House. Vet
Grams Of the Civil War after the con-
fiict were recognized by the electorate
why not veteran of the World War?
The Fish candidacy does not conform
at all with the demand made in many
Republican quarters that the next presi
dental nominee of the G. 0. P. should
hail from the West, preferably from one
of the great States of the Middle West.
But Mr.. Fish and his friends do not see
why the populouS States of the East
where the electoral votes are thick, should
be ignored in the search for candidate.
II Fish goes into the presidential prefer
ential primaries in many of the States
which hold such primaries as it is now
declared he will, the story of his can
didacy may be quickly told If he makes
no impression in these States, he is out.
But if he showed we'll, for example,
in Ohio, or some of the other States,
he might become a contender.
r
What the Empire State Republicans
will do about the Fish candidacy remains
to be seen. They have a number of out
standing men in the party-among them
Representative James w. WadSworth, jr,
former Senator: Representative Smell,
Republican leader of the House, and
former Secretary of the Treasury Ogden
Mills. These gentlemen have played
prominent part in the party councils in
the past. Generally speaking they are
regarded as too conservative. too much
linked with the ''old guard" to be avail
able for the presidential nomination
next year, despite their very real abilities.
Fish, on the other hand while he has
been member of the House for many
years, has played more of lone hand.
X
The idea that the cabinet of the next
Republican PreSident-if he be elected
in 1936-should be a bipartisan affair
has been advanced by several Of the
gentlemen whose names have been men,
toned in connection with the presi-
Dental nomination. Mr. Fish, it appears,
is one of the latest to advance it. The
appeal in such plan, of course, would
be to the Democrats who do not like
President Roosevelt and his New Deal.
One of these presidential possibilities, it
is known, plans to announce, if he be-
comes the party'S choice at the Repub-
lican National Convention, the names
of half his cabinet at least during the
campaign. Such plan would definitely
commit him to the selection of these
men who would be his reliance after he
took office. They would be invited to
accept appointment and would have
| accepted, before their names were an
nounced. Holding back half of the men,
bership of the cabinet would leave sew
eral big plums to be awarded after the
election had been concluded. Cabinet
jobs have been used to reward men who
have been active in the campaign in
the past. as we'll as to obtain key men
to carry forward the work of the
Executive.
Should a Republican President be
elected next year, he would have to
face Democratic Senate. Under no
possibilities, barring a plague that
wiped the Senate slate almost clean,
could the Republicans have a majority
in the upper house in the next Congress.
The Democrats now have 10 seats-in-
Guiding the seat made vacant by the
death of the late Huey P. Long. Louisi-
ana will send Democrat to fill that
vacancy. One-third of the membership
Of the Senate only comes up for re-
election, and of that one third only l9
are Democrats. If every one of them
were defeated by Republicans, the
Democrats still would have So seats. A
majority of the Senate is 40. Under
such conditions, it is clear that if a
Republican administration hoped to
accomplish anything, it would have to
be with the aid of some of the Demo-
Gratis in the Senate. The House, too. is
strongly Democratic today, more than
three to one. But the entire member
ship of the House is to be up for re-
election. Should Republican President
be elected, it seems entirely likely that
the political complexion of the House
would also be Republican in 1887.
X X
For President to place one or two
members of the opposing political party
in his cabinet would be nothing par
ticularly new. But if he should have
an almost even division between Demo-
Gratis and Republicans, a precedent
would be created. A coalition govern
ment in this country looks like an i'm.
possibility, but the plan to have a BIZ
partisan cabinet, heading the various
executive departments of the Govern
ment, would come nearer to it than
anything else yet suggested.
The Republicans are angling for sup
port of anti-RooSevelt Democrats. There