Evening star., 1936-12-06

Western Progressive Republican sen
tinaent expressed itself in public life
through q group Of Senator'S who
were called the Western Progressive
Republican Senators. The group
ranged in number, as the years went
by, from about 10 to about Is. In
the year in which Franklin Roose-
welt first ran for the presidency the
number was about 10. And-this Is
the point-every one of those West
ern Progressive Republican Senators
has departed from the Republican
party, most Of them departed in 1892.
more in 1886. say every one"
There is one exception, Senator Nye
Of North Dakota; Senator Nye ap-
pears to have supported the Repub-
lican candidate, Landon, in the re-
cent election; but Senator Nye's Re-
publicanism Is so dubious that he is
hardly real exception.
All Supported Roosevelt.
johnson of California. Norris Of
Nebraska, Cutting Of New Mexico,
La Toilette. jr., Of Wisconsin, all sup
ported Mr. Roosevelt in 1882. To
them was added Norbeck of South
Dakota in 1896; and also Couzens Of
Michigan-although Couzens died dur
ing the campaign he had. before his
death Endorsed Roosevelt. One Of
the Western Progressive Republican
Senators, Frazier of North Dakota,
supported Lemke in the recent elec-
ton. Borah of Idaho, did not support
Roosevelt in either 1882 or 193s-but
neither did he support the Republican
candidate, Hoover, in 1882, nor Lam
don in 1886.
In the same list belongs, to some
slight degree. at least, even Senator
McNary of Oregon. Although Nc
Nary is the official Republican leader
of the Senate. his support of Governor
Landon in the recent presidential
campaign was perfunctory. McNary
was himself a candidate for re-elec-
tion and apparently found it prudent,
knowing Western sentiment as he
does, to make his personal campaign
without taking on the Republican
presidential candidate as what would
have been a handicap to him. It is
said that so well understood was
Senator McNary's leaning away from
the Republican party and toward the
New Deal that the Democratic Ma
tional Committee refrained from max
ing any marked fight against him
for Senator.
The sum of all this is that all
but one of the Senators who have
been spokesmen for Western Repub-
lican Progressive sentiment, are now
out of the Republican party-either
all the way out of it and over into
the New Deal, like Senator Norris
OF Nebraska, or half way out of it
and existing in kind of political
no-man's land, like Senator Borah Of
Idaho. In all the territory from the
Western boundary of Pennsylvania to
the Pacific Ocean, out of forty-six
Senators in twenty-three states, there
are only three real Republicans.
Not individuals Who Count.
When we count the Western Pro.
gressive Republican Senators and
find them practically all gone from
the Republican party. it is not they
as individuals who count, it Is the
political sentiment they reflect. Those
Senators did not go away from the
Republican party until after q ma
jority of their voters had gone. They
are astute politicians and they have
the instinct for self-preservation that
every man in elective political life
has. They went because the voters
had gone. 1t is not merely the West
as a geographical term that has gone.
is the West as a prevailing state Of
political mind.
Now here is the West. utterly gone
from the Republican party. And
ironic situation-here Is the present
management and official leadership of
the party located in the West, in the
persons Of Gov. Landon Of Kansas, as
titular head (because he was the re-
cent presidential candidate) and Gov.
Landon's Topeka townsman, John M.
Hamilton. as national chairman. To
say this is no derogation to these indi-
viduals. No one. so far as I know, is
able to name any one else whose leader
ship at this time, would promise any
better
About all that can be said is that
time must pass before any one can tell
what is to be the future of the Repub-
hcan party. 1t had more than Is .0Oo.-
900 voters in the worst defeat it ever
suffered. That is nearly 40 per cent
of the total vote Of the country. In
three recent elections the Democratic
party has had less than that percent-
age. On each Of these occasions,
prophets wrote obituaries of the Demo-
cratic party, only to see it arise and
shine. There Is less occasions for
requiems over the Republican party
today.
(Copyright, 1850