Evening star., 1936-12-10
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

preston on Republican leaders in Con.
gress, judging from statements recently
made to the press. Three Republican
members of the House, Representatives
Smell and Fish Of New York and Tread
way OF Massachusetts,, have all declared
allegiance to progress-though in varying
terms. Smell, who is the Republican
leader Of the House and is expected to
be reelected to that post, said that it
would not be the policy of the minority
to oppose legislation merely because it
was put forward by Democratic ad-
ministration. Treadway, the ranking
Republican member of the House Ways
and Means Committee, said much the
same thing, although in different Ian
guage.
Mr.. Treadway went even further, for
he called attention to the fact that Presi-
dent Roosevelt had carried his district
by large majority. This, he said, would
impel him to give consideration to the
policies sponsored by the President, since
apparently his constituents desired it.
However, the veteran Republican put in
a proviso that he would exercise q GER
tain amount Of discretion.
Nevertheless, the weight of the election
returns is apparently having its effect on
the Republicans still left in both the
House and Senate. It Is not unnatural
that 1t should. Now the New Deal Demo-
Gratis are numerous enough in both
Houses to put through the bills demanded
by the President, without regarding the
Republican minority any more than a
rhinoceroS would regard q buzzing fly.
The Republicans. with only II members
Of the Senate, for example, could put up
only small fight. Even the deadly fill
buster. dear to the hearts of opposition
Senators-whether Democratic or Re-
publican-would be rather ineffective in
the Upper House.
1t looks as though an EZRA of good feel
ing" would exist in Congress, at least at
the outset of the session, since the Re-
publicanS are talking Of supporting ad-
ministration bills. For If Republicans
can bring themselves to such a point,
how much more easy the Democrats, re-
garding the Roosevelt popularity, will
find 1t to 60 along. When the President
first came into Office, on March 4, 1888, a
crisis confronted the country. due to the
depression and the closing banks. In
those days, emergency measures, recovery
measures, had the support of many Re-
publicans as well as Democrats and went
through Congress on creased wheels.
Some Of them went through so fast that
the constitutional questions involved were
not given careful consideration. The re-
suit was long row of adverse decisions
by the Supreme Court.
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No emergency exists today. The coun-
try Is on the way back to prosperity in a
large way. Congress should have the
time to give adequate consideration to the
bills that come before it. Whether it will
have also the inclination for such study
is another matter. Whip and spur may
be the order Of the day. particularly with
the mandate" which the election is said
to have given the administration. The
Republicans, if they have sufficient back
bone, can render at least one service.
They can demand, and perhaps obtain,
time for real study and debate of legisla-
tion before it is put through. The fact
that better times are at hand may bring
certain degree of conservatism to Con-
gress as well as to the rest Of the coun-
try.
Representative Hamilton Fish would
cast conservatism into the discard. He
wants the Republican party to 60 liberal
in big way. He is out to do Job on the
privileged classes" which is something
for a Fish Of New York. Speaking over
national radio hook-up last night Mr..
Fish took another full swing at the Re-
publican old guard. He discarded
weasel words" warning that the G. o.
P. must 'liberaliZe or die" He wants to
get the party back to the principles of
Lincoln. That sounds reasonable, al
though the Democratic party has travelled
a long way since the days of slavery and
the Wings are no more. In fact, the
Democrats, under the leadership of
Franklin D. Roosevelt. have gone farther
along the course of liberalism than any
major party in the history of American
politics. So far have they gone that Mr.
Fish dubs them the radical" party. That
was the designation of the newly-born
Republican party in 1856 and 1850 Fish
wants the Republicans to be merely
liberals.
BY "acts of commission and omis-
sion" according to Mr.. Fish, and through
the propaganda of the New Deal admin
istration, the farmers and labor generally
nave been led to believe that the Repub-
lican party Is their enemy and that 1t
stands for nothing but wealth and spe-
cial interests. This is largely true. 1t
was quite apparent during the last cam
paign. 1t remains to be seen what the
Republican leaders in Congress and out
of it can do about changing the belief OF
the farmers and labor.
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Mr.. Fish brings up the fact that the
Republican party, in the last campaign,
spent great sums Of money and wound
up with deficit Of more than million
dollars-at the very time its speakers
were demanding q balanced budget for
the Federal Government. 1t is true that
the G. O. p. was making q great effort to
win-and went hog wild in the matter
Of expenditures. 1t had, apparently, to
make a play to offset the huge expendi-
lures of Government money by the New
Deal Democrats. This expenditure Of
Government money ran into the billions
Of dollars. These expenditures were not
made, ostensibly, for political purposes
but to give employment to the jobless and
to pay the farmers for not growing as
great crops as they might otherwise have
done. They had their political effect,
and If the Democrats had expended very
little, instead of several million dollars,
for their campaign, the result would prob
ably have been the same.
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