The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-07-21
NEWSPAPERS OPINIONS
THE SOUTH AND THE PARTY-LABEL

And the first thing want to point out is that
hereafter the South is going to have much less TO
say about the affairs of the Democratic party than
it has had in the past The action Of last years
Democratic Convention in abolishing the two-thrds
rule took care of that When the delegates at
Philadelphia decided that hencaOrth the Demo-
cratic party would name candidates for president
and vice president by bare majority of the votes
of national convention by that action they turned
the management of the affairs of the party over to
the big cities and the Industrial and mining dis
tricts of the country The fact that during one
hundred years it has been necessary for the ,vari-
Gus sections Of the country to reach an agreement
on the national candidates of the Democratic party
has insured to the South degree of influence in
the councils of the party in keeping with its long
devotion to that party and its principles But that
is now gone forever. The Democratic party here
after will nominate its candidates regardless of the
wishes Of the South and it will be taken for grant
ed that the South will humbly accept any candidate
and any platform that combination of states like
Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Hi
nois may decide upon .... ....
think it is inevitable that this will change the
whole character of the Democratic party. Thirteen
states in the northeastern corner of the country,
with the assistance of one other bigcity state like
California, let US say completely control all
future Democratic conventions, just as they have
controlled all Republican conventions in the past.
And the character of the population of those states
and their interests are different from the popu-
aton and the interests of the South that this can
not fail to have far-reaching consequences.
1t is necessary only to point out few funda-
mental differences in order to make this clear. Let
me name the states mean so that we may be def
I Tbav New
Ohio Michigan, Massachusetts,, New Jersey, Wis
consin, Minnesota, Connecticut, New Hampshire,
Maine and Rhode Island. These states will have
very close to majority of the votes in any Demo-
cratic convention. Let US add California to this
list and We have safe majority of the votes of
any such convention included The first thing to be
noted about these fourteen states is that all of the
cities Of one million more population within
their borders-a of them. These states also con-
tain all the cities of 100000 more population,
except two, st. Louis and Baltimore Another thing
to be noted about these states is that they contain
more than SO per cent of the factory workers of
the country. The great bulk of the members of
labor unions live in those states and most of the
strikes and other labor troubles of the country
cur in those states And finally, it is to be noted
that less than half of the white population of these
states is of native parentage. That means that a
majority of the white population of those states is
either foreign born, of foreign or mixed parent
age. More than S3 per cent of foreign-born citi-
Gems or citizens of foreign parentage live in those
states. rs IT, sr va, .s.'.sE
These are the states, Of course, which have been
the backbone of the Republican party for more
than half a century. But all of them now in
the Democratic column, largely through coalition
between the big city machines and the labor
unions. And it is proposed to hold those states by
these same means In any event, the leaders of
these elements rapidly gaining predominant
influence within the Democratic party, and they
propose to use that party in future to control the
federal government and to enact legislation which
is so radical in character as to constitute decided
modification, to say the least of our form of gov
eminent. ...s
Now, the question which arises in connection
with all this is whether the South, which is pre-
dominanty rural and agricultural having white
population that is than ga per cent of native
parentage will continue to vote blindly, election
after election, for political party dominated by
the elements have described, and for candidates
and for policies decided upon by these elements
am not describing something imaginary. This is
the real condition. And the South is going to have
to- face this condition in the next Democratic
vention.-Peter Molyneaux in The Texas Weekly.