Evening star., 1936-10-25
EWDEAL FAVORED
IN WEST VIRGINIA.
Neutral Observers Look for
Roosevelt Victory by
About 35, 900.
BY JOHN H. CLINE,
Stan Correspondent OF The star.

CHARLESTON, w. Va, OCTOBER
s4-Two bitter political battles are
under way in West Virginia-one be-
tween the Democrats and Republicans
and the other a strictly private scrap
between the youthful Senator Rush
Dew Holt and his elderly colleague,
Senator Matthew M. Neely. Both
rooted in personal differences, the
Nicely Holt affray is pretty much in
the nature of sideshow to the major
struggle between Gov. ALI M. Landon
and President Roosevelt.
Most political observers agree that
Senator Hollis broadsides will have
little if any effect on the outcome OF
the presidential race. His nightly at
tacks on Senator Nicely, who is run
ming for reelection, receive scant no
tice in the press, while the pros and
cons of the national election are de-
bated vigorously on virtually every
street corner.
Gov. Landon, who is coming here
next week to make campaign speech.
is fighting under heavy handicap for
this States eight electoral votes.
In the first place, business, large
and small, is definitely much better
than it has been for years. Secondly,
the large organized labor vote is apt
to be heavily against him. And finally,
to the amazement of the Old Line Re-
publican leaders, substantial bloc OF
the $1,000 colored votes are going to
be cast for President Roosevelt.
Factors Favoring Landon.
Factors favoring the Republican
presidential nominee include:
l. The support of most, but not ALL
Of the so-called big business men.
2. Plenty of money.
3. An active and alert Republican
State organization that is capitalizing
some dissatisfaction among w. P. A.
workers, preaching the gospel OF
ruinous Federal expenditures and
nourishing spreading suspicion
among non-organized labor that the
social security program IS going 10
hurt as we'll as help them.
The business improvement, amount
ing almost to a boom here in Charles
ton, is the biggest obstacle in the Re
publican path.
Conversations with number OF
small business men lend little comfort
to the Republican cause. They are not
going to vote for the overthrow OF an
administration whose term OF ONCE
has seen the return of the old cash
customers.
It makes little difference to them
whether the customers are because OF
or in spite of the Roosevelt administra-
ton. The important thing is that
! they are out of the red for the first
time In several years.
Business Mans Comment.
As the owner of the city's leading
furniture store put it: I'm going to
vote for Roosevelt and the State
Democratic ticket 1t may be that
their policies haven't helped, but you
can't laugh of the fact that my busi-
ness Is better than it's been for 10
years"
West Virginia's miners, virtually all
OF whom are organized, cast about
100000 votes and approximately IS
per cent of them will be for Roosevelt.
Event the Republicans don't claim
more than Is per cent OF organized
labor's vote.
The miners probably would be al
most unanimous for Roosevelt were it
not for some dissatisfaction with the
activities of labor bosses. For one
thing, they don't like having their
leaders selected from out of the State
and they apparently resented the an
nounced determination Of John L.
Lewis to "pick out an honest Gov
ernor" for them. At any rate, they
failed to support the Lewis-indorsed
primary candidate, L. R. Via, who was
beaten badly by the Democratic at
torney general, Homer G. Holt, in the
gubernatorial primary race.
Loss of Colored Vote.
There Is good reason to believe the
Republicans in this election are go
ing to lose about 40 per cent of the
colored vote. which has been solidly
Republican and the real balance of
power in the past.
The Republicans don't know Just
how they lost the support Of the COL
ored voters and the Democrats don't
know why they have come to them.
But the fact remains that private
surveys indicate a very substantial
detection.
The lure of relief work has won
some of them over and others have
gone Democratic as result of the
activity of labor union organizers.
But the majority, apparently, have
swung over to the Democratic fold for
no tangible reason. The explanation
may be found in the observation of a
Republican leader, who said: Il think
the colored voter likes to be on the
winning side.''
Another factor operating against the
Republicans is that the Democrats,
who have had control of the State
since 1882, have turned out very ef-
e