Evening star., 1936-04-24
CHOICE OF SMELL
SEEN AS BARRIER
Held to Give G. O. p. Air OF
AIoofness Toward Lib
eraI Camps.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

believed that in this year Of all years
a progressive rather than reaction
ary attitude was essential.
BY selecting Bertrand Smell as
permanent chairman of the Repub-
lican National Convention, the COM
mittee has at one fell swoop served
notice in effect that the reactionary
wing of the party is in complete con-
troll and that progressives of the Re-
publican. variety and independent
Democrats of the truly liberal school
will of course. be welcomed as on
lockers and spectators, but not as
equal participants ip the councils OF
the Republican party.
Mr.. Smell Is a popular figure in
the House of Representatives and an
excellent presiding officer. But he
was permanent chairman of the 1882
convention that nominated Mr.. Hoover
for reelection and it did look as if
he and and others might be willing
to pass the honor around bit,
especially when there were so many
persons in the progressive list from
which to choose.
The selection of Senator Steiwer Of
Oregon as temporary chairman will
meet with general approval, but he
might better have been given the job
Of permanent chairman so that the
temporary Craftsmanship could have
gone to some one who. on the open
ing night of the convention, would
give the country realistic proof that
the Republican party was undergoing
a regeneration.
Mrs. Simmons Suggested.
There is, for instance, Mrs. George
B. Simmons of Missouri who thrilled
the Grass Roots" Republican Con-
vention by her eloquence-she is a
farmers wife who knows how to ex-
press an opposition to the New Deal
in understandable terms. Then there
are such noted Democrats as Lewis
Douglas, former director Of the budget,
and Col. Henry Breckenridge OF the
constitutional Democrats. Here at
least was a chance for genuine ges-
ture of friendliness to the Democrats
who are being driven out Of their own
party by the Roosevelt violations OF
the Democratic party platform OF
1882
All of this point of view was fully
known to the Republican leaders
weeks ahead of the Cleveland meeting
this week, but unhappily Republican
political machine sticks so closely to
precedent and tradition as to forget
that nowadays the Republican party
is in the minority and that millions Of
independent voters must be won over.
Among these are many millions OF
people who haven't made up their
minds about the New Deal and who
will have to be given convincing evi-
,dence that defeat of Roosevelt doesn't
,mean return to reaction and ultra
conservatism.
AloofnesS Indicated.
What the Republican National Com
nittee has done in Cleveland this week
by its method of handling the perna-
nent Craftsmanship of the coming con-
ivention is to corroborate the growing
belief that the Republican party is
unwilling to form a coalition with
other groups in the country and pre-
fers to go it alone in the Autumn
election. This must be predicated on
the assumption that there are enough
ystandpat Republicans anyway who will
vote against Mr.. Roosevelt to defeat
him. Nobody with the slightest
amount of political experience be-
1ieves any such thing, but the Re-
publican leadership evidently does.
1t would be incredible if the pro-
gressiveS in the Republican party took
this latest blow at their viewpoint
lying down. There is nothing per-
sonal in the opposition to Mr.. Smells
appointment. If conservative we're
to be chosen, he is the best of that
group who could be selected But
as symbol of standpattism, Mr.. Smell
confirms the view held by critics of
the Republican party that it is not
awake to what is happening in the
Nation, and that it hasn't discovered
as yet the real reason why the New
Deal has made such tremendous polit-
1cal headway in the last three years.
The New Deal is getting votes and
keeping them because it has given
the masses clearly to understand that
the Roosevelt regime Is closer TO the
heart and interests of the average
man than Is the Republican party.
The Republican leaders and spokes-
men have done nothing to refute that
impression. Words will not do it.
Deeds that are conclusive evidence of
Republican reorganization or rebirth
would be effective. and the handling
of a convention affords always such
an opportunity.
Essence of Strategy.
AS long as the party machinery Is
in the hands of men, however, who
though sincere and conscientious
believers in ultra conservatism and
high protective tariffs and all other
PHILOSOPHERS of special privilege for
the few as against the many, there
will be little chance for the helpless
Republican voter to express his dis
sent except by an open fight, deplor-
able as that may be in an election
year. But the principle is SO vital to
the winning of popular support in the
form of votes that it is the very
essence of party strategy itself. For
If the action this week is criterion,
the Resolutions Committee, which
writes the Republican platform, will
be made up of ultra conservatives,
too.
This means that the delegates to
the national convention will have to
take the matter in their own hands.
1t will be interesting to see whether
Gov. Landon, who hopes to reconcile
eastern and western Republicanism,
can afford to stand on the side lines
and let the steam rollers of stand
pattism retain power in the Republic
can party or whether he will do as
Woodrow Wilson did in 1912, when