Evening star., 1936-09-10

for economic law
and those who believe it is the func-
ton of the Government to perform
ell sorts of social tasks that mean
higher and higher expense to the tax
payers.
Some Of these State fights will be
settled in the primaries, but the fires
kindled will not die down by Novem-
ber The Republican leaders view
these family struggles among the
Democrats as meaning quiet vote
of protest expressed through Repub-
lican ballots in November. My own
feeling is that the development of
more and more independent voters
who will disregard party lines in the
future and the gradual extinction OF
the dyed-in-the-w Democrat or
Republican is what may be looked for.
The West has been for many years
Increasing its independent vote at the
expense Of the straight ticket vote.
Theories Revolutionize Politics.
It cannot be denied that the E. P I.
c. program in California and the
commonwealth federation's "produc-
tion for use" program in the State Of
Washington and the tremendous in
terest in public ownership Of public
utilities and continued liberalization
of the Western States have tended to
revolutionize party politics on the
Pacific Coast and that this has over
flowed into the Rocky Mountain
regions.
Radicalism in 1886 politics, however,
s neither coherent nor well organized
and would not have any real momen-
tum were it not for the effective way
In which the New Dealers in their
desire to get votes have corralled all
these groups and taken them under
their wing. The New Dealers may
think they are going to control these
clements, but they will find themselves
kadly mistaken il State experiments
obviously beyond their own control get
going toward the socialistic side of
things.
The old-line Democrats, Of course
are unhappy and worried. Even
among the organization politicians
who are at heart conservative there Is
much skepticism about the New Deal
strategy. though at the moment it
seems to them to be one way to win
victory.
Roosevelt Initiated.
It Is the fruits of the victory that
will cause concern. For what Mr..
Roosevelt has striven to do in the
Nation generally, many imitators in
the States have also tried to do and
the latter have neither his skill nor
his restraint nor his flexibility and
power to shift quickly as he sees his
cause grow unpopular. The Western
Sevolutionists are crusaders who have
everything to gain and very little to
lose by producing a state Of chaos,
and just now they are engaged in the
very simple task of acquiring possess
sion of the Democratic party while
forcing out the conservative Demo-
Gratis who are joining the anti-New
Deal tide and intensifying the cleav-
age of class and political warfare that
has been engendered by Mr.. Roosevelt
In the last three years.
have been impressed with the way
the Federal agencies, both regular and
''emergency," have become political
and how the spending of Federal
money has influenced the local politi-
cal situation in several States.
The INTERVENING of State and Fed
eral politics grows out Of the land
slide Of 1882. Never before have
there been so many Democratic Gov
ernors. To have 81 out of the 48
States of the same party as the presi-
dency and with heavy Democratic
strength in the congressional delega-
tions is something quite unusual.
Mishandle Power.
The Democrats have not known how
to handle their new-found power.
They have quarreled in many places.
The "spoils" are too precious to be a
matter Of distribution by the Gov
ernor or by the political boss who
happens to dominate State. This