Evening star., 1936-08-13
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

receive ltS OIuCldl plT vi III CleVeldnQ LnlS
week end If present plans do not fall
through. With the backing of Father
Coughlin the new third party ticket is to
have the Endorsement of the National
Union for Social Justice, which is holding
a three-day convention in the Ohio city.
Coughlin has promised that the conven-
tion will make the Republican National
Convention, held early in June, look like
80 cents or thereabouts.
AS talker Father Coughlin has
acquired all the facility for glib claims
that go with the politician. He has
entered the great game of politics-priest
as he is. 1t looks as through he were
going to play the game very much as
other politicians play it. How many
votes Father Coughlin can really COM
mand when the showdown comes Is still
very much of mystery. They may be
sufficient to cause defeat of the Repub-
hcan or Democratic party in States that
are close. But 1t Is entirely unlikely that
Coughlin and his Lemke-O Brien ticket
will carry single State for themselves.
The stronger the Lemke o Brien ticket
becomes the more of a threat to the
reelection of President Roosevelt. There
are two reasons for this. The Coughlin
following, generally speaking, is recruited
from the Democrats rather than from
the Republicans. Those voters who follow
because of his peculiar views also would,
under other conditions, be found sup
porting Roosevelt rather than Landon.
The second reason Is that Father
Coughlin himself seems to be out to get
the scalp of President Roosevelt rather
than that OF Gov. Landon, the Repub-
lican presidential candidate. 1t wasn't
long ago that the priest in a public
address called the President "liar." He
considers that the President has failed
to drive the money changers from the
temple-as the President promised to
do. So Father Coughlin is intent at
present upon driving the President out
of the White House.
1t looks at the present writing as
though DR.. Townsend-$200-a month
old-age pension planner-was intent
upon hooking up also with the Lemke-
OBrien ticket. If he does, this should
mean more votes for the third party
ticket. But here again, no one can
estimate with any exactitude how many
OF the followers of DR.. Townsend will
obey his directions when it comes to
casting ballots in November. According
to the dispatches, DR.. Townsend has
fired three of his aides. j. B. Keifer,
central region director of the Townsend
movement: William Parker, Eastern
regional director, and DR.. Clinton Wun-
der. national speaker. These gentlemen
hoU Lob 1aI Enia 11-
charged with playing politics. Pre-
sumably they were not playing politics
for the Lemke-O'Brien ticket. DR..
Wunder has declared that DR.. Town
send has undertaken to sell the old-age
pension organization down the river to
Father Coughlin and the Lemke ticket.
1t will be recalled that despite the fact
the TownsenditeS, at their convention
earlier in the Summer, failed to give in
dorsement to the Lemke ticket, Town
send himself declared his intention of
campaigning for the ticket along with
Father Coughlin and Rev. Gerald Smith.
who claims to have inherited the political
following of the late Huey P. Long.
X
Times are bettering. Business is in
creasing and so is employment These
are circumstances which will tend to
decrease the strength of the Lemke
ticket, and the following of both Cough
lin and Townsend They should also
increase the chances of President Roose-
velt for reelection. That is provided the
voters generally agree that it Is better
not to upset the apple cart" when it
seems to be rolling along successfully;
that it is better not to swap horses when
crossing a stream. On the other hand,
the huge debt and the increased taxes
which have already come, with the
promise of future heavy taxation, grow
ing out of the Roosevelt administration
are likely to have an adverse effect for
the President and the New Deal party.
They are things the Republicans will
stress more and more as the campaign
proceeds.
Senator William E. Borah has once
more demonstrated his great strength
with the voters in Idaho. Running in
the Republican primary against Byron
Deffenbach, Townsendite, the veteran
Republican Senator has rolled up a big
vote. His opponent in the November
election will be Gov. Ben Ross, Demo-
crat. 1t does not appear that Ross will
be able to overtake the Senator. Indeed.
the chances are distinctly in favor of
the reelection of Borah. The people of
his State doubtless feel, as many do out
side of Iadho, that to retire Borah from
the Senate would be a distinct dis
service not only to the State but also
to the entire country. Borahs reputa-
tion as a statesman is not an overnight
growth. 1t is the product of 30 years
service in the Senate-a service which
has been as unselfish as that of any
other man in public life in the history
of the country.
Now that the Idaho primary has been
held and Borah been nominated, it is
expected that he will get into the ma
tional as well as the State campaign.
1t has been his desire to support Landon
for the presidency and to oppose RooSe-
velt. It looks very much as though
he was to have his wish in this matter.
If and when he takes the stump for
Landon, it will be great help in the
Western country to the Republican
national ticket.
William Green, president of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, insists that
the federation will maintain its tradi-
tional non-partiSan position in the
presidential campaign-a policy that
was only abandoned once when the fed
Grafton declared for La Toilette in the
1924 presidential campaign. Green's
attitude is in sharp contrast to the