Evening star., 1936-05-03
O.. o. p. FAILS TO INVITE
ANTI.NEW DEALERS In
Many Observers Feel Republicans Miss
ing Opportunity in Withholding
Gesture to Dissenting Democrats.

I possible the public may see the first
group as the true sages of the party;
and it Is possible many Democratic
voters may choose to follow the sages
rather than those whose leadership is
complicated by desire to remain in
office.
No account Of this situation would
be complete without alluding to the
private beliefs held by many Demo-
Gratis who are in Office and who will
go along" with the program of re-
nominating and trying to re-elect Mr..
Roosevelt. For one Democratic leader,
such as Senator Glass, who has
publicly avowed his dissent from the
New Deal, there are scores who pri-
vately hold the same views. It is at
least conceivable that many of the
Democratic leaders who, because Of
expediency, will give lip service to
the reelection of Mr.. Roosevelt, will
| nevertheless not shed much sweat in
any effort to get votes for him In
short, detection of Democratic leader
ship which may not express itself
publicly may yet express itself pri-
vately in the campaign and in the
election in the form of tacit non-re-
sistance to the migration of Demo-
cratic voters toward either voting the
Republican ticket or remaining at
| home.
Gesture of Protest.
In any event, at the present time
and without prospect of change that
can now be foreseen, the only organ
ized opposition to the denomination
of Mr. Roosevelt lies in the program,
which is not organized in any for
midable sense, of Henry Breckenridge.
Breckenridge is submitting his name
in the primaries of some States as a
candidate for the Democratic presi-
Dental nomination. Breckenridge does
not expect to get the nomination nor
to carry any one State. Probably he
does not even expect to get a single
delegate to the convention or have
vote for himself when the convention
meets. His is purely gesture Of pro-
test. He provides an opportunity for
Democrats opposed TO the New Deal to
express their sentiment by voting in
Democratic primaries against Mr..
Roosevelt for the presidential nomi-
nation From the number of votes
Breckenridge gets in these Democratic
primaries we may be able to make an
estimate of the number of anti-New
Deal Democrats there are in the coun.
try. 1t will be assumed that most Of
the Democrats who in the primaries
vote for Breckenridge will in the
general election in November again
cast their votes against Mr.. Roosevelt.
There remain possibilities that may
emerge after the two parties have held
their national conventions It is quite
certain that a large number of DEM
ocrats are implacably opposed to the
New Deal. One way or another, they
will express themselves. They can
organize a third party composed Of
arti-New Deal Democrats. calling it
the constitutional Democratic" party.
or the independent Democrats" or
whatnot. Or. without organizing a
third party, they can express them
selves at the polls. At the November
election they can remain at home; or,
If their convictions are sufficiently
compelling, they can make their votes
count double by casting their ballots
for the Republican candidate for Pres
ident. AS between staying home and
voting Republican, something depends
on what the Republican National
Convention does. as respects their
presidential nominee and their plat
form.
Opposition in 1885.
The largest possibility of organized
Democratic opposition to Mr.. Roose-
welt and the New Deal existed during
late 1884 and early 1885 About that
time Democratic Senator Glass of Vir-
ginia had said the New Deal was a
disgrace: Democratic Senator Byrd
OF the same State had said that triple
A amounted to having a Hitler in
America; Democratic Senator Bailey
OF North Carolina said that COM
pulsory control over cotton farmers
meant the end of America as a free
country; Democratic Senators Tyd-
ings of Maryland and Gore of Okla
homa uttered deep-felt criticism Of
the New Deal.
At that time there were materials
which, if organized. might have
caused the Democratic party to shake
of the New Deal. Why this possi-
too long to tell here. The reasons are
several. One was the action of the
Supreme Court in May. 1885. in de-
clar;ng that N. r. A. was unconsti-
tutional This was followed in Janu-
airy of this year by a decision invali-
dating triple A.
N.R.A and Triple-A we're those parts
of the New Deal which were most un-
American. which would have carried
the country automatically into vari-
alton Of the new conception of society
and government in Europe. When the
Supreme Court rescued America from
these innovations, Democrats and
some others opposed to the New Deal
felt the danger was past. They saw
the Supreme Court as saviour ard
assumed it would always be there.
They did not and do not yet seem
fully to realize what may happen to
| VIC ouRl CLlC SOu1L OllC 4NCW ACdL
remains entrenched for another four
years. Of the nine justices of the
Supreme Court six are 20 years old or
older. In the course of nature, who-
ever is President during the next four
years may have the opportunity prac-
tically to remake the court. Omitting
that opportunity for the New Deal to
establish itself the New Dealers have
in mind putting limitations on the
power of all the courts and making
changes, direct or indirect. in the Con-
stitution. Again and again, directly
or by innuendo, President Roosevelt
expresses his conviction that the courts
must not be permitted to maintain
insuperable obstacles to the New Deal.
There have been introduced into Con-
gress some 20 measures designed to
reduce the powers of the courts. For
the present session the measures have
been shelved. But If the coming gen