Evening star., 1936-09-30


BY adding the above 1853 to the
solid South of los, you have 27S votes
and it is necessary to have only 266
electoral votes to alect President Of
the United States.
There are, of course, a host of
States and cities. Something like 80
States have Democratic Governors
and dozens OF cities have Democratic
mayors, which gives the political ma
chine a chance to sprout.
Now it is not accurate to say that
the above bloc of l68 electoral votes
In States where big Democratic ma
chimes exist are in the bag for the
New Deal. Thus the fight against
Curley in Massachusetts, is hurting
Roosevelt's chances there. But the
battle is between the machine con-
trolled cities where the bosses domi-
nate and the rural areas and small
towns where there is an Embossed vote.
Work OF Machine.
II Mr., Roosevelt wins these States
Il will be to no small extent because
the machines have succeeded in regi-
rnenting enough voters on behalf Of
the ticket to swing the electoral vote.
Many of these bosses are by no means
In personal sympathy with the New
Deal, but the Roosevelt policies have
furnished them with splendid op-
portunities for the exercise OF political
influence as. for instance. through
wPA and relief and through public
works projects in which they or their
friends have participated.
Not all Of these machines are alike,
either in their purposes or in their
methods. Some are less Objectionable
than others. Writing in the st. Louis
Post Dispatch. Democratic paper,
Marquis w. Childs says OF the Kansas
City-St. Louis machine:
Missouri's Pendergast is in the ira
dition Of the nineteenth century
. bosses. A former saloon-keeper, he
looks like picture of the masters Of
old Tammany, short, thick, in his
late SOS. with fierce blue eyes. His
word in Missouri is absolute.
Kansas City is his kingdom. 1t
Is wide-open town with gambling,
organized prostitution, and slot ma
chimes existing at the sufferance Of
the political organization. A close
friend Of Farley, Pendereast Is loyal
10 the administration although pri-
vately he reviles the New Deal"
Pendergast has his allies in st.
Louis. OF Mr.. Roosevelt's Missouri
majority of 100000 in 1882, these two
cities furnished about 100000 and,
with Republicans going back into the
fold in various parts Of the State, and
general impression that Missouri will
be carried by Mr.. Roosevelt by about
10000 ma jority. it is easy to see how
much of determining factor the
Pendergast machine and its affiliated
organization in st. Louis become In
achieving q victory for the New Deal
Registration Frauds.
Lately some big registration frauds
have been uncovered in st. Louis and
the scandal was so shocking that the
Democratic Governor had to dismiss
the Election Board, even though 1t
was of Democratic creation. Nearly
$4,000 names of registration list In
st. Louis could not be found at the
addresses given. The cleanup has
produced q wholesome effect in St.
Louis, but here in Kansas City, where
the registration Is of unprecedented
proportions, and where the Kansas
City Satr cries out that 1t is "too
high" no such cleanup has as yet
occurred.
But even with unpadded registra-
tion lists, the powerful machine domi-
mates because it has favors to dispense
and because it has get-out-the-vote
machinery from house to house which
is hard to beat unless the Republicans
have the money to carry on an effect
I've campaign in the Embossed areas,
and to get to the polls the people who
don't want to see the bosses increase
their power.
For a while the New Deal was cold
to the Pendergast machine but as the
presidential election approached, dif-
,ferences were patched up and there
fore Missouri can truly be said to be
"in the bag" because as goea st.
Louis and Kansas City, where Pen
dergast controls. so goes Missouri.
Copyright. 1936) -
Yt.iu h,. y,laeaA all ;v,,orts and