Evening star., 1936-08-10
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

anti-Roosevelt Democrats will have to
be considered. They are going about
their job Of defeating Roosevelt for re-
election in business-like manner. Their
organization is reaching into a score of
States whose electoral votes are exceed
ingly important, even in some of the
Southern States these Democrats op-
posed to the New Deal may make trouble.
n
No attempt is being made to commit
all these anti-RooSevelt Democrats to
the Landon standard. That probably is
a wise way of going about the matter
leaving the Jeffersonians free either to
campaign outright for the Republican
nominee for President or to cast their
votes for third party candidate or just
to stay away from the polls. Their
most effective course would be to vote
and work for the election of Landon. 1t
is course which most of them will
eventually adopt, in all probability, after
the campaign has warmed up. The
declaration adopted by the Jeffersonians
declares that the Democratic party must
be rescued from the Rooseveltians. The
only way that can be brought about
Is through the defeat of the President
With Reed of Missouri and Ely of Mas
SachuSettS, both forceful campaignerS,
taking the stump for Landon, as they
will along with others among the JEFF
fersonians, the fur is going to fly. Ely,
former Governor of Massachusetts and
firm friend of Al Smith, has predicted
that Smith will make at least one speech
in the Bay State opposing the reelection
OF Roosevelt. Smith himself has said
that no such announcement was author
lied. But it seems dollars to doughnuts
that at the proper time AL Smith will
open up on the Roosevelt ticket Any
one who listened to his speech in WASH
lngton last Spring and who read the
letter addressed to the delegates to the
Democratic National Convention urging
that genuine Democrat" be nominated
in place OF Roosevelt can scarcely doubt
he will have something to say before
the campaign is over.
Gov. Landon has let it be known that
If he is elected President he intends to
place some able and well-qualif1ed Demo-
Gratis in high office, including cabinet
positions. His selections for these posts
will certainly come from among the
Jefersonian Democrats. No New Dealers
in the campaign Landon will announce
the names of one or more of these
Democrats whom he will invite to sit in
his cabinet, if he has one.
The organization of the "Jeffersonian
Democrats is good break for Landon.
The group will have as many, and prob
ably more, distinguished Democrats
among its members than the group of
hol
guished former G. O. P. supporters when
it was organized in 1882 to support
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The
truth of the matter is that the Repub-
lican party, with its platform and its
candidate, more nearly squares with the
principles of government adhered to by
Thomas Jefferson than the New Deal
party.
1t looks as though the row between
John L. Lewis and his Committee for
Industrial Organization on the one hand
and William Green and the American
Federation of Labor on the other was
another good break for the Republican
candidate. The President and his ad-
visers have played strongly for solid
labor vote. Such vote is becoming more
and more sine qua non for the New
Deal President. If there is measurable
split at the polls next November, with
a considerable vote cast for Landon, for
Lemke or for Thomas, the Socialist
candidate. Roosevelt's chances for re-
election become rather remote.
Lewis was the first of the Labor leaders
to come right out for the reelection of
Roosevelt. He is personal friend of the
President. And Roosevelt is more and
more regarded as supporter of Lewis.
If the Slogan-"A vote for Roosevelt is
vote for Lewis'-gets wide circulation
and sinks in, it's effect on the election
is likely to be great. 1t could scarcely
fail to be so, when Lewis and the c. 10.
have come to a real break with the
American Federation of Labor. Should
the labor leaders and the rank and file
OF the A. F. Of L. become convinced that
a victory for the President will mean the
weight OF the presidential influence for
Lewis and his rival organization, it is
not difficult to understand what will
happen.
The Roosevelt administration iabored
desperately to prevent the break be-
tween Lewis and the American Fed
SAoeASAA Va AubOi' 1IIC UICdk CdItlc,
however. Now the job of the Presi-
dent is to persuade the followers of
Green that he is as much their friend
as he is of Lewis and his c. I. o. This
is likely to be tough job, particularly
as the President in the past has been
more partial to Lewis and his sup
porterS than he was to Green and the
A. F. of L. There were number of
instances where the President refused
absolutely to go along with the leaders
OF the A. F. of L., as, for example, when
the Senate was fighting over an amend
ment to relief bill providing that the
prevailing wage" must be paid on
work relief projects.
The President stood out for the So
called security wage" at that time,
much to the disgust of the labor leaders.
He has more recently been forced into
a position where the prevailing wage is
paid these workers, but it was not be-
cause he desired 1t.
X X x X
John L. Lewis is president of the
United Mine Workers of America. He
Is buSily engaged in lining up the coal
miners in many of the States for Roose-
velt, and he has apparently been having
good deal of success in Pennsylvania,
West Virginia and elsewhere Here is
quotation regarding the coal mining
industry that sounds quite pertinent
today: Let us admit at the outset that
the coal industry was not conceived,