Evening star., 1936-05-07
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G.. Could Lincoln.

IoSt IN tuesdays primary by about 10000
votes to the ''uninstructed" delegates,
Landon managers declare themselves
satisfied. Moreover they are particularly
pleased because a slate of "uninstructed"
delegates, personally pledged to Landon,
defeated the Borah slate in South Da-
kota. The Borah people had counted
rather confidently on winning in South
Dakota, and the defeat was blow for
the Idaho candidate for the Republican
presidential nomination. The margin
by which Borah lost there was narrow,
scarcely more than thousand votes.
Landon was dragged into the Cali
fornia primary by William Randolph
Hearst and Gov. Merriam, but more
particularly by the former. Hearst has
given Landon his backing for months.
Landon planned not to go into the
California primary, but when the Hearst
nd-Merriam- backed slate for Landon-
pledged delegates were put forward the
Kansas Governor let it stand. In the
"uninstructed" delegation picked by the
Republican leaders in California were
eight or nine known supporters of the
Kansas Governor. Presumably they are
still for Landon.
John Hamilton, republican national
committeeman for Kansas and a Landon
campaign manager. declares that the
results in the primaries on Tuesday were
satisfactory He insists that the out
come in South Lakota was particularly
gratifying, since it showed that the
sentiment in the State was for Landon,
although there had been no intensive
campaign made for him there. Carl G.
Bachmann. the Borah campaign man
ager, on the other hand, insists that the
Landon people had been working like
beavers in South Dakota and had eX-
pended considerable sum of money in
| the State to boost the Kansas Governor.
Without making any mention Of the
| row between the Hearst and anti-HearSt
groups in California, Hamilton said "the
| California result was not unexpected.
| The controlling issues which brought
| about yesterdays decision were entirely
local and in my opinion the vote for the
| So-called Landon ticket only reflected
| portion of Gov. Landon's true strength
| in the State" He called attention to the
| fact that many Landon leaders and
| officers of Landon clubs in that State
had requested their membership to vote
| for the uninStructed delegation"
In Mr.. HamiltonS statement was in
| cluded reference to the fact that the
delegates at large to the Republican
| National Convention from Tennessee
would go to Cleveland instructed for
| Gov. Landon and that the district dele
| gates in that State, in Kentucky and
| in part of Virginia had been instructed
also for Landon. 1T would seem," he
| said, Ito indicate that further favorable
| action may be expected in other South
| ern States" The Southern States Re-
| publicans are always a little chary
| about committing themselves to presi-
| dental aspirants before the convention.
| If it looks as though Landon was going
across the line a winner, they will un-
| doubtedly be found on the band wagon.
The support of William Randolph
Hearst for Landon has been regarded
| by some of the Kansas Governors fol-
| lowers as mixed blessing. They realize
! that Mr. Hearst has done much to bring
| the Kansas Governor into the limelight
| in the last six months and to focus
attention on him as a presidential posi-
bility. On the other hand, they have
disliked the idea that Landon should be
known as the Hearst candidate. 1t is
| followers of Landon learned of the Cali
| fornia primary results. Naturally they
| are disappointed that the A delegates
from that State will not 60 to Cleveland
instructed" to vote for Landon. On the
other hand, they feel that the defeat of
| the Hearst slate of delegates. pledged
| to Landon, will tend to remove the idea
| that Landon is in any way Hearst's man.
The decision of Chairman Fletcher OF
| the Republican National Committee to
COPY the New Deal Democrats to the
| extent of having the notification of the
| Republican candidate for President take
| place Immediately after his nomination
| in Cleveland is essentially sound. In the
| first place, it gives all the delegates
| chance to see and hear their new
nominee. 1t starts, or can start, the
campaign with bang and without loss
| of time. 1t does away with the necessity
| of bringing Republican leaders from all
| parts of the country later to a formal
notification" ceremony, when every one
knows that the presidential candidate
| has been fully informed of what the
| national convention did as soon as the
convention did it. Fletcher's plan is to
Cleveland. which seats 10000 people.
| He will have the vice presidential nomi-
nee on hand, too, to be notified" ALI
| depends upon the assent of the success
| full Republican candidate for the preSi-
| dental nomination. 1t looks now as
| though all the principal aSpirants for
| the Republican nomination will be in
Cleveland during the convention, except
Gov. Landon of Kansas. Topeka is some
| distance from Cleveland. But the Gov
ernor could make the trip quickly by
| plane, if he wished, just as President
| Roosevelt flew from Albany to Chicago
| for his notification in 1882. Or, If things
| look particularly bright for the noml-
| nation of Landon, he could start his
| journey toward Cleveland the day before
the nomination is made, or he could
| change his plans and go to Cleveland
| for the convention.
Borah, Vandenberg, Dickinson and Col.
| Knox are all expected to be in Cleveland
| when the convention gets under way.
| There has been talk that BOrah would
| go as a delegate to the convention from
| Idaho. In this way he could become
| member of the committee on resolutions,
which drafts the platform, and also take
the floor in the convention itself, If that
were advisable. Vandenberg is not to be
| delegate. But he has gone to Republic
can national conventions for many years
| and he sees no reason for avoiding this
| one, although he continues to insist that
he is not an active candidate