Evening star., 1936-11-06

No comment on President RoOSevelt'S
staggering landslide victory is more con-
Spicuous than speculation as to whether
he will eventually turn to the right or
the left during the second cycle of the
New Deal. Opinion on the subject is
widely divided and in some cases is
merely wishful thinking. Agreement is
encountered on only one Score-that,
with the mighty mandate just given him,
F. D. r. can proceed in almost any di-
rection he pleases, assured alike of con-
gressional support and popular approval.
Those who believe the President will
beat no retreat from the liberalism of
the past, and even 60 farther in that
direction, base their convictions mainly
on the Madison Square Garden speech,
in which Mr.. Roosevelt signaled continue
ance Of his policies and breathed de-
f1ance Of his detractors, especially the
moneyed classes. The school of thought
that foreshadows q rightest Roosevelt
trend considers that the President, hav-
ing achieved reelection, can now be ex-
pected to concentrate on making a rec
ord for posterity. The holders of this
theory are confident that, while con-
solidating all New Deal objectives at
tanned during the past four years, Mr..
Roosevelt's future actions and programs
will reflect the more conservative ideals
that are Unborn in him.
Another lively field Of post-election
discussion reveals regret that Capitol
Hill for the next two years will be de-
void Of effective political opposition.
Even exuberant Democrats voice the
view that more formidable Republican
minorities in House and Senate would
be wholesome thing for Mr.. Roosevelt,
on the ground that intelligent, potent
criticism is an invaluable condition in q
democracy. A sizable minority not only
acts as a check on willful majority, but
is capable itself of projecting construc-
tive measures, besides serving as q stim-
ulant to public opinion respecting the
programs Of dominant government.
With G. o. p. strength in Congress re-
duced to o shadow, opposition at the
legislative end of Pennsylvania avenue
becomes q mere term, without sub
stance or influence. There is no indi-
cation that the Democrats are disposed
to ride roughshod, but their ability to do
50 is beyond question. This almost un-
paralleled state of affairs may turn out
to be the Republicans best talking point
when they enter the congressional lists
again in 1898. Many of Mr.. Roosevelt,s
friends are persuaded he would not hesi-
tate to apply the brakes on headstrong
tactics.
Young Senator ELECT Henry Cabot
Lodge, jr., of Massachusetts,, sole ray of
cheer in the otherwise universally desc
late Republican picture, already looms
as the elephants white hope for 1910.
The grandson of the famous New Eng
land statesman whose name he bears
will be 38 years old four years hence,
two years older than William Jennings
Bryan when the Nebraskan was nomi-
mated for President in 1896. AS to
Lodges eligibility, much will depend on
the record he makes in the Senate and
the extent to which he appeals to the
countrys Imagination. He is an uncom-
monty agreeable and able personality,
with all the ancestral fair for politics
and none of the austerity of his grand
father. During his two terms in the
Massachusetts, Legislature in which he
served as chairman of the Committee
on Labor and Industries, Lodge in
gratiated himself with Bay State work.
ers, who gave him strong support In his
recent campaign. The Senator-elect Is
. student Of international affairs, hav-
ing Travelled widely In Latin America,
Europe and the Far East.