Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-06-22
DEMOCRATS FACE
PLATFORM WORRY
L.emke Threat Taxes Genius
While Opposition Hogs
Front Pages.
BY JAY G. HAYDEN.

headlines are being stolen by assa1l-
ants of the Roosevelt administration,
striking first from the left and then
from the right. is the chief concern
of the administration leaders as the
time approaches for opening the
Democratic convention tomorrow.
First came Father Charles E.
Coughlin and his third-party ticket,
headed by Representative William
Lemke, to largely crowd the Roose-
welt Democrats off the front pages
through Friday and Saturday. And
no more had this furry subsidized be-
fore the Observation-Disclosures e.
Smith. James A. Reed, Joseph B. Ely,
cambridge Colby and Daniel F.
Cohalan-burst through with a saw
age attack on the New Deal and
demand that the convention return
to the tenets Of Jefferson and Jack
son and throw Roosevelt out.
1t is not so remarkable that the
administration leaders did nothing
to counter the Coughlin-Lemke pub
licity. because it took them completely
SAID of the conservative blast, which
they must have anticipated. The
answer rather is that here is con-
vention that is pulled by just one
string and that from the White
House There are a lot of things that
the administration leaders here might
say or do to capture the national
stage. but no one of them dares move
in any direction until he gets his
orders.
Necessity Of News.
The result of this is that horde
of newspaper reporters. columnlsts,
radio commentators and what not
has been able to collect scarcely
shred of authoritative information as
to the Roosevelt plans and, OF sheer
necessity, they have grabbed at the
opposition announcements as basis
for their convention stories.
There are indications also that this
double headed attack has put Presi-
dent Roosevelt in very tight hole,
from which he is scrambling to es-
cape. The declaration of the con-
servatives. addressed to the conven
ton Sunday afternoon, caused him
no great concern. He fully expected
that. But the plan for third party
designed to white away the left
wing of New Deal supporters, is
viewed here with no such compla-
Cency.
Mr.. RooSeveltS supreme purpose
from the time he was first nominated
for President in 1882 has been to win
the labor vote and the Western
Proeressives, and he was confident
until the Coughlin-Lemke bomb burst
that he had these Elements all bottled
I'D. The problem that he now faces
is to find a way to scotch this left wing
dissension without going so far in the
direction of radicalism as would lose
him middle ground votes.
The controversy now going on In
the administration circle in this re-
gard principally concerns two platform
Misunderstanding respectively to cur
rency and governmental authority,
either national or State, to deal with
wages and hours of labor and other
industrial conditions.
The first threat to Roosevelt. posed
bv the presidential candidacy OF Mr..
1emke. obviously arises from its ap-
neal to the inflationiSt sentiment OF
the West. Roosevelt'S abandonment
of the gold standard; his acceptance
of the Thomas laws, which author
lied adulteration of the currency
either with silver or greenbacks and
provided definitely for purchase OF
silver, and his approval OF the nrst
Frazier-Lemke act, catered to this
sentiment. Now, however, the Cough
iin-Lemke group is stepping out ahead
of him and proposing to go much FUR
ther in the inflationiSts' direction than
he so far has been willing to go.
Industrial Labor Bid.
Second is the bid which the Lemke
ticket is making for support OF INDUS
trial labor and this is illustrated IN
three particular congressional DISTRICTS
representatives of all Of which are
holly demanding that the Democrats
take cognizance of the thlrd-party
movement and so something to check
mate it.
The first of these is in Cleveland.
where Martin L. Sweeney, present
member of Congress and Democratic
nominee for reelection, has gone sled
length for Lemke. Second is the st.
Paul district, where C. J. Doherty,
Couehlinite, won the Democratic NOM
ination for Congress. Third Is the
Boston district, represented by VIII
liam J. Connery, jr., chairman of the
Committee on Labor of the National
House of Representatives. Doherty
and Connery have not yet joined up
with the Lemke third-party, but they
are threatening to do so unless the
Democratic platform goes further in
the direction Of appeasing the labor
vote than its makers have proposed to
60.
First, these spokesman are demand
ing that the Democrats pledge them
selves not to return to the gold stand
ard and to do whatever may be neces-
sary in the way Of currency manipula-
ton to maintain a fixed level Of prices
Second, they demand that the Demo-
cratic party declare its intention to
take whatever steps may be found
necessary to enable the Federal Gov
eminent to deal with economic and
social conditions of the sort which the
Supreme Court has said 1t Is not now
authorized to deal with.
John L. Lewis Aggrieved.
Supporting the latter demand also
Is John L. Lewis. president of the
United Mine Workers, who is partic-
ularly agg1ieved by the Supreme
Courts notification of the Guffey Goa
control act and the failure of the
Congress in its last hours to enact
the proposed substitute for this leg
islation.
There is very little danger that Mr.
Lewis will turn against President
Rooseyelt whatever the Democratic