Evening star., 1936-10-04
KEYSTONE STATE
WILL HEAR SMITH
Second Blast Against New
Deal Thursday Night in
Philadelphia.
BY WALTER ID. ROOS,
Special Correspondent Of The Star

Special Correspondent Of The Star.
HARRISBURG, Pa, October 3.-Al
Smith Is coming into Pennsylvania to
campaign next week. In Philadelphias
Metropolitan Opera House Thursday
night, the Happy Warrior" is sched-
uled for a speech which is expected to
be his second campaign blast against
the New Deal.
The invasion OF the former. New
York Governor is expected to shift
the vortex of the PENNSYLVANIA cam.
paign from the western to the east.
ern front. The center Of battle has
been held this week bv the Pittsburgh
district, with President Roosevelt and
Col. Frank Knox speaking at rival
rallies.
Still smarting at the campaign
maneuver by which the Presidents
speech was scheduled not only for
the same night, but almost the same
moment as the major Republican rally
OF the Western Pennsylvania cam.
paign, the Republicans this week
by TWO moves sought to turn the tables
TO embarrass the President.
1882 Speech Quoted.
In advertisements appearing In vir.
tually every daily newspaper in the
State on the eve of the Presidents
arrival, the Republicans quoted the
Presidents Pittsburgh speech in 1892
and dared him TO explain that speech
in the same city in 1895. His Pitts
burgh speech Of four years ago pledged
economy In Government and strict
adherence to the Democratic plat
form. Then, Mr.. Roosevelt denounced
unprecedented magnitude of Federal
deficits" promised reduction in Fed
eral spending and pledged to cut
costs of the Federal Government by IS
per cent.
The Republican State Committee,
meeting in Pittsburgh few hours be-
fore the President spoke, also attacked
him on broken promises and scrap
ping of the 1882 platform. The COM
mlttee, adopting a platform which in
cluded the national planks, pledged
adherence 10 it not only for the dura-
ton of the campaign but to make an
honest endeavor to enact it into law
in the State and Nation after the elec-
tion as well.
The announcement of Smiths
speech in Philadelphia next Thursday
has brought reactions in the two major
political parties which are almost the
direct opposites of the way they re-
garded his campaign efforts eight
years ago. In 1928 Smith, as the first
Democrat to poll more than 900 900
votes in Pennsylvania, shattered some
of the Republican strongholds which
until that time had been considered
the most impregnable.
Smith Campaign Marked Change.
1t was the Smith campaign of 1928
which marked the beginning of the
rise Of Democratic strength which re-
suited in turning Pennsylvania Demo-.
cratic in the State election two years
ago and which makes the State doubt
full in the presidential balloting this
year.
This year Republicans hope and
Democrats fear that Smiths attack
upon the New Deal may swing enough
of his followers in Philadelphia and
the anthracite region to decide the
issue in those two hotly contested
backgrounds. Democratic managers
contend Smith no longer has the
potent appeal to voters he did in 1928,
and Republicans, conceding this may
be true, maintain that if he can in
fluence even a stable percentage OF
his 1928 adherents, the anti-Roose-
welt vote in these two sectors, plus
the Republican rural districts, will
be too large for the Democratic ma.
jority in western counties to over.
come.
Republicans hope Smiths cam
paigning will not only array the old
Smith wing of the Democratic party
definitely against Roosevelt. but will
loosen the New Deals grip on certain
racial and religious groups which
have been Democratic ever since they
followed Smith in 1928.
In Philadelphia it was Smith in
1928 who first cracked the Republi.
can strength of the old Ware organ.
ization. He cut the Republican ma
jority in that city to l44,000, which
was 100 1000 below the G. o. P. lead
two years earlier.
In the anthracite counties the situa.
ton is the same.
Smith Faction Ignored.
While Smiths 1886 influence with
foreign-born voters is subject OF
disagreement, it appears more likely
that his position may win direct
support from active groups in the old
Smith faction. That wing Of the
party has not been happy under New
Deal leadership. despite the fact that
Senator Joseph F. Guffey, the Roose-
velt leader in the State. had also been
the Smith leader in 1928. The Smith
faction, to a large extent, has been
ignored by the New Deal leaders.
While the Smith meeting may help
the Republican cause, it will not be
a Republican sideshow in any sense
of the word. The meeting was ar.
ranged and is being staged by Jeffer-
sonian Democrats, a group of the old
party stalwartS who refuse to sub
scribe to the New Deal tenets. No
Republicans will speak at the rally:
in fact, none but Democrats will be
permitted on the stage.