Evening star., 1936-08-14

Primaries IN a number of States this
week have removed speculation on the
outcome of the presidential elections a
little farther away from the straw
vote" stage and brought it appreciably
nearer to the realm of actuality. Def
mite conclusions can not always be form
ed from the results of the primaries,
but they enable the political prognoSti-
Gators and all others who are interested
in watching developments to gauge with
considerably more accuracy than has
been possible heretofore the trend OF
events. Accordingly, they are analyNng
the results of this weeks scattered pr1-
maries, in which large number OF party
candidates were selected, with an eye
to the effect on and the relation to cor
responding situations elsewhere and the
bearing on the wider national outlook.
Recognizing that many voters do not
turn out for the primaries and that the
November vote in most instances will
be considerably larger, and furthermore
that new factors will change some votes,
nevertheless political observers believe
that the lineup as shown in these elec-
ton preliminaries can be taken as a
fairly safe, basis for making forecasts.
Unusual political significance is at
tached by observers here to the unher-
aided conference on the tax situation
held by President Roosevelt with Secre-
tary Morgenthau and the leaders OF the
Senate and House tax-adjusting COM
mitteeS, just before his departure from
Washington on his fiood-prevention in
spection trip through Pennsylvania and
New York. With Senator Harrison,
chairman Of the Finance Committee.
flying to Washington from the midst
|. of a hotly contested primary campaign
in Mississippi, and Chairman Doughton
of the House Ways and Means Com
mittee making a hurried trip from his
home in North Carolina, at the call OF
the President, it was indicated that the
question of giving consideration to the
tax problem was of pressing importance
The fact that the two chairmen after
ward announced their intention of call
ing their committees together in the
near future to begin study as to the
possibility of change in the tax pro-
gram and future legislation on the sub
ject was interpreted in many quarters
here as a move on the part of the ad-
ministration to answer some of the
criticism which has been leveled at
the present law and to forestall further
attacks along this line.
X II y X
When President Roosevelt slipped of
quietly the other afternoon to the home
of his Assistant Secretary of State, Sum-
ner Welles, at Oxon Hill, Md, where he
had a conference with a number of the
political leaders of the State, 1t was with
that typical boyish delight that num-
Der of previous occupants of the White
House have shown in "eluding" for a
time some of those who are most con-
cerned as to their whereabouts. In this
instance it was the State Department
which was trying to get in touch with
the President in order to secure his ap-
proval to making public story, finally
given out late that evening, on this
Governments interference with in
ternal affairs in Spain" The President
had started out to make call on Secre'
tary of War Dern, vino is sick in thu
hospital. His visit to the home of Mr.
Welles was a surprise"
A "battle of legal Titans" is now II
progress in the Federal Court Of Vir'
ginia, at Roanoke, with Sudge John Pau