Evening star., 1937-08-24
THE POLITICAL
MILL '
BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

Seventy-f1fth Congress, recalcitrant or
independent, depending upon whether it
Is New Dealer or an anti-New Dealer
VINO makes the comment, has quit WASH
lngton. 1t has gone leaving uncom-
pleted or defeated the major part Of
president Roosevelt's recommended pro-
gram. The President failed to dominate
the legislative branch for the first time
since he entered the White House. Deep
cleavage has arisen between the Execu-
tive and very considerable number of
Democratic members of Congress- Not
the leadership of the President or the
extreme pressure which was brought to
bear was able to prevent the defeat Of
the court bill or to force through at this
time the wages and hours bill, the ever
normal granary bill or the bill giving
the President power to reorganize the
| executive departments and independent
| agencies OF Government at will.
4
Immediately there is talk Of a swing
across the continent by the President for
the purpose of taking his pet measures,
particularly that relating to the Supreme
Court, ito the people" He is being
| urged, 1t Is said, by some Of his advisers
| to make such trip and on the trip
| to deliver speeches calculated to rouse
| the voters to his support and to sound
the death knell OF some Of the Demo-
cratic Senators who defled him.
There was another Democratic Presi-
| dent not SO long ago, defeated In his
| effort to put through the Senate the
Versailles treaty and its accompanying
| League OF Nations covenant, who went
| to the people in q swing across the
| country.
1t was a group OF independent Demo-
| cratic Senators, allied with Republicans
who defeated that Presidents plan to
| put the United States into the League
| of Nations. 1t was the beginning of
| the political downfall of the Democratic
| party which had been in power for half
| dozen years. President Woodrow Will
! son, had he been willing to compromise,
| might well have won his fight for Amer
lean participation in the League of Ma
| tions. President Roosevelt might have
won something had he been willing to
| compromise months ago on his court
| program. He was unwilling-until too
| late.
There are signs that the conglomera-
ton of voters groups which supported
elections-1932 1884 and 1936-is break
ing down. 1t was inevitable that the
| President could not please all of them
all the time. Now he is told by the
| conservative Democrats from the South
and the North-and some from the
| West-that they cannot go along with
him in certain measures desired by the
radicals who in large part represent the
/ big city population of the country. The
radicals, incensed because the President
has been unable to compel Congress to
put through the court bill, the wages
and hours bill and some other measures,
are threatening to bolt the Democratic
party and leadership and form a political
party OF their own.
How much the attack of John L. Lewis,
head of the c. 1. o. and dominating
force in labor's Non-Partisan League,
on the Democratic leadership means has
yet to be disclosed. It may be merely
shadow boxing for the purpose OF driv-
ing the recalcitrant Democrats to the
support of President Roosevelt and his
program again. So far neither Mr..
Lewis nor President Roosevelt has been
| willing to 60 along without the other
| The backing Of the administration for
| Lewis and his C. I. o. was indispensable
| during the earlier days of that organiza-
| tons struggle to get under way. The
| President kept his hands off when Lewis
| and his labor unions were engaging in
| Sit-down strikes in the automobile and
| other industries.
Now Mr.. Lewis and other labor leaders
! are openly threatening the formation of
| national labor party. Such a party
would draw materially from the swarm
| Of voters who supported Roosevelt in
| the last election. Mr.. Lewis on one
| occasion at least earlier this year took
| the entire credit-along with his fol-
| lowers-for the reelection of the Presi-
dent But whether such labor party
would be strong enough to win a ma
tional election is decidedly another mat
ter. Lewis and his outfit would not
appeal strongly to the great rural vote
OF the Nation. The farmers. generally
speaking, are more conservative.
So far in the political contests OF
1887 the Republican party has figured
very little. 1t has been quiescent, ex-
cept for few forays In the House and
Senate. What is to be the effect upon
the G.. o. P. of the ructions in the
Democratic party and of the ostensible
row between the Lewis labor group and
the Democratic leadership only time
will show. II anything could blow the
breath of life into the Republican party
| it would appear to be just such
dissenSions in the New Deal party.
| There is still much doubt, however, that
the mass Of voters are ready again to
come to the support of the G. o. P.
A question which is asked constantly
in this part of the country is, Who can
be nominated to defeat Roosevelt in
case the President is a candidate for
third term?" At the presents time it
looks as though the only man who could
defeat Roosevelt is Roosevelt himself,
paradoxically speaking. The President
still has a big following among the
voters. He has lost some ground, be-
yond a doubt, in the last six months.
But the belief of many politicians to-
day is that If he had to 60 to an election
today he would win hands down. 1t
all depends upon what happens In the
next couple of years and whether he
loses much more ground. With de-
cided swing against the President and
his New Deal, almost any candidate
could win in 1910 against either Roose-
velt or any other candidate he might
pick to succeed him.
y \
When Senator Guffey Of Pennsyl-
vania went on the air Friday night and