The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-10-23
BY LYLE c. WILSON

BY LYLE c. WILSON
 (United Press Staff Correspondent)
 Indianapolis, oct. 2S-(UP)-The votes of laboring men and women probably will put President RooSe- welt ahead in Indiana.
 The contest will be close. Mir. Roosevelt cannot hope for anything like the fat plurality he got in 1882. Record breaking registrations of voters and reluctance of thousands of them to indicate their presiden- tial preference confuse political pro- phets on both sides.
 But polls and the probable effects of relief checks suggest that the democrats have broken the republi- can monopoly on Indiana's negro vote and have pulled abreast or ahead in populous industrial areas where republicans have a tradition of strength.
 Here as in other lake states the issue of comparative prosperity now as compared with 1932-is a tremendous political factor. It is aiding MT. Roosevelt against Gov. Ali M. Landon. A state tax issue appears to be hurting the democrat ic state ticket from governor down. A democrat familiar with Indiana politics and a member of the party hierarchy here predicted MT. Roose- welt would carry Indiana but that the democratic state ticket would lose.
 Lemke Aided By G. o. F.
 William Lemke, presidential can- didate of the Union Party, is on the Indiana ballot. He has no Union Party candidates for state offices. Republicans and most democrats be- lieve Lemke's vote will cut sharply into MT. Roosevelt's strength. Re- publicans are giving him indirect and perhaps effective assistance.
 Harry c. Fenton, secretary of the republican state central committee, estimated that there were 40 Town send Old Age Pension clubs with an average membership of 800 persons. If the bloc of votes were cast solid ly for Lemke it would offset the Negro vote democrats expect to poll in Indianapolis.
 Gov. Paul V. McNutt, democrat, confidently predicts a statewide Roosevelt plurality of 100000 votes but he condedes that Marion County, which contains Indainapo- lis, is fighting ground.
 Negro Vote May Decide
 This state is included by Chair man James A. Farley of the demo- cratic national committee among those in which "the Negro vote IS the balance of power" McNutt told me the republicans never had been able to carry Indiana without the Negroes. And the battle for the black belt is on, with some major advantages lying with MT. Roose- welt.
 Jesse Owens, Negro Olympic hero, has been here on the special train which is provided him by the republicans for this campaign. He addressed 4,000 Negroes in Tom linson hall and told them: "The two greatest thrills of my life were when won Olympic contests and when I shook the hand of Gov. All M. Landon."
 Democrats hope to bring Joe Louis into the state to counteract Owens influence, but the big Negro boxer probably will not come.
 Relief checks are a vital factor in l bidding for Negro votes because Negroes swarmed the relief rolls here. Estimates of Indiana's Ne gro voters ranged up to 45,000 and many thousands of them live in ai, unattractiye community lying on each side of Indiana avenue Tn this city.
 Federal Project Helps
 Sprawling over an irregular, trl- angular lot which is about one third of mile long on it's greatest dimension is Federal Project No. H-1601. H-160l is 8 brick and mor- tar bid for Negro votes. It is a low cost housing project for which Public Works Administrators liar old L. Ickes, past president the CalCAgO DTaIlCIl VA tlAC, NueAoAAsAA Association for the Advancement of Colored People, advanced $S,025, 900 of federal funds.
 Carl Ferguson, Indiana director of the Emergency Housing division 1 of PWA, told me the project would be reserved for Negroes. It will ac- conimodate 750 families.
 Republicans somewhat discount H-l60l's vote-getting power on the theory that word has spread among Negroes that its rents will be around $7.5O room. Ferguson suggested q as more likely fig- ure.
 Democrats are confident, never theIess, that H-160l will be an cleo tion day asset. fs.. Similarly in other industrial areas, notably Lake county where there is a concentration of steel mills democrats look to the New Deal labor record to counteract re publican arguments Chat the cost oi