The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-05-27

WASumBtou, May H.-One tning becomes clearer as the campaign be- gins to crystallize- there will be no united Third Party movement this year in the sense of big Farmer. Labor or Progressive coalition.
 THE COMMONWEALTH MovE- AlkIIE HAS GOTTEN NOWHERE. THE PROPODED HUEY LONG, COU0HLIN TOWNSEND UNION 19 TOO LATE TO BE A FACTOR. THE FARMER-LABOR AND PRO- GRESsIVE GROUPS OF WISCON- SIN AND MINNESOTA HAVE NOT EVEN BEEN ABLE TO GET TO. CIPHER WITH EACH OTHER. THE COMMUNIST EFFORT TO UNITE RADICAL PARTIES IN A COMBINED LEFT" MOVEMENT SEEMS DOOMED TO FAILURE. TRUE, THEY MAY SUPPORT THE SOCIALIST CANDIDATE WITH THE SAME KISS OF DEATH THAT ALMOST RUINED DAN HOAN IN MILWAUKEE, BUT EVEN THAT NOW SEEMS UN- LIKELY.
 Labor as . whole has Shied away from Q labor party as such, though no one can deny its greater interest in direct political action and the fact that labor party for lo40 looms larger and larger as each month passes.
 Labor's Balance of POwer''
 But the fact that labor will not have . party as such does not mean that 1t will not carry great weight in the election this fall. Here's how: certainly two of the critical states, with 03 electoral votes between them (a factor in 6 total of 63O are New York and Pennsylvania.
 In the latter state, the United
 Mine Workers are very strong,
 and it is expected that John
 Lewis can lay at least 16O,OO0
 votes on the line whenever hO
 commands. Yn 10S2, the republic
 cans got the 90 electoral votes
 from that state, by . popular
 vote of 1,4E3,64O to 1,206,94S.
 That's cl0se enough 50 that 16O,- i. GO more democratic votes would
 have made it ding dong race,
 perhaps changed the results.
 New York, while its 47 electoral votes went for the democrats in 1889, is conceded to be Q race again this year. The democrats won in io32 with 2,634,960 popu- laS votes to the republican l,037. .063. Again, that 1s close enough that 100000 votes or SO from the Ay1al- garnated Clothing Workers, Inter- national Ladies Garment Workers Union, and similar unions might well be c deciding factor.
 The Court-and Votes
 Al the baiance-of- f-powcr factor, labor may well be highly impport- ant this year, and the supreme court by It's adverse decision on labor and social legislation has undoubtedly made many e democratic vote. If 1t be true, as MT. Dooley's old poll ticai saw had 1t, that the supreme court follows the election returns, the mine old men" may follow with special care results this fall.
 Incidentally, some of the unions which are radical or left-wing in philosophy are planning 10 get around their difficulties this fall by supporting Roosevelt, but not the democratic party. That enables them to avoid wasting their votes on hopelessly minority candidates, while keeping their political con- sciences clear.
 'WalkOut Year"
 This year of grace io3s may be known to history as the Year of the Great Walkouts. Al Smith and con- servAtive Democrats threaten to take walk" on that party. Dem- ocratic socialists threaten to walk out of the lcft-controlled convention of that party. Dr. Townsend walks out on the congressional investigat- ing committee.
 EVEN THE U. s. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS ITS WALKER CUTTERS. EDWARD A. FILENE LIBERAL BOSTON DEPARTMENT STORE MAGNATE WALKS OUT ON THE CHAMBER, INSISTING THAT IT NO LONGER BASES ITS FINDINGS ON FACTS AND IM- PARTIAL STUDIES, BUT SIMPLY ON THE PREJUDICEs, OPINIONS, AND INTERESTS OF POWERFUL MEMBERS.
 Maybe the campaign song ought to be resurrected from the past: Remember? "M-m-ml Would you like to take Q walk?"
 Copyright, 1886, NEA Service, Incl