Evening star., 1936-02-05
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS

certain to lose and with the consolation
that the new board, taken in its en-
tirety, was pretty fair.
4 \
The Social Security Board has added
another star to it's armament in the per-
son of DR.. Walton H. Hamilton, on
leave from Yale University, where he is
professor of public law. DR.. Hamilton
will head the Bureau of Research and
Statistics which the Social Security
Board proposes to maintain. This dis
tinguished legalite was one-time director
of the Consumers Division under the
N. r. A. and more recently has had
similar post and title under the Depart
ment of Labor. He has served also as
adviser to the Petroleum Administration
Board and on the Advisory Committee
of the co-ordinator of transportation. A
native of Tennessee, DR.. Hamilton was
graduated from the University of Texas
and has Phi. D. from the University of
Michigan. He has taught at the latter
university as well as at Amherst College
His professorship at Yale dates from
1928.
When Philadelphia bought" the Dem
ocratic presidential convention for $780,
900 cash money the Democratic National
Committee had to give to the Philadel-
phia hotelkeepers and business men who
put up the cash some assurance that
they would have chance to recoup. The
principal guarantee was that the con-
vention would last four days On that
basis the premium" figures $50,000 per
day. The convention opens on Tuesday,
June %. The managers still hope to be
able to renominate Roosevelt by accla-
nation. Garner, too, is now slated for
another run in second place. Writing the
platform will be no quick and easy job.
but it will be attended to in Washington
in advance of the convention. The con-
vention itself. stripped of its speech
making and flag waving and band play
ing will be simply rubber-stamp rati-
f1cation party for the ticket and the
platform if Chairman FarleyS present
plans succeed. The entire business could
be transacted in a single day if there
was any need to. The job of the con-
vention managers is to string it out for
four or five days, so as to give Philadel-
phia run for its money, and to give the
delegates the customary rounds Of ora
tory and entertainment. Tentative plans
are now in the making for Mr.. Roosevelt
Ito accept the nomination" at monster
open-air mass meeting in the stadium
of the University of Pennsylvania on
Saturday, June q. If that plan goes
through it insures Philadelphia virtually
a week of political pandemonium.
y
One repercuSsion of the Smith Lib
erty League broadcast has been to START
a lot of speculation about open rebellion
in the Democratic convention itself, of
Roosevelt demonstrations and anti
Roosevelt votes. Such talk Is predicated
upon the assumption that the admins
tration will be unable to prevent the
selection of Smith as member of the
New York delegation to the convention
and that there will be other delegates
from New York and from other States
resolute in their opposition to the renom-
ination of Roosevelt. Some guesses put
the possible maximum at 200. Such talk
entirely overlooks the fact that in the
Democratic convention State delegations
are bound by the unit rule. The vote
of the entire delegation is cast zen bloc"
as dictated by majority vote within the
delegation. It u also to be remembered