The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-04-30
My Own Conclusion


 The conclusion seems irre- futable, to me anyway, that the intent of MT. Smiths appearance voluntary or instigated before the judiciary committee and what he unbosomed himself of was to give the impression that the Demo- cratic party in Connecticut is now opposed to the man it reelected to office last November. believe that impression is altogether with out foundation. If MT. Smith thinks his speech expresses the sentiments of the rank and file of his party in this state he has an- other think coming to him. Also the proud privilege of running for any elective office in the party's gift in Connecticut on the plat form of defeatism against the Presidents proposal which he so copiOusly elaborated for the en- lightenment of the senate judi ciary committee. And see where he winds up.
 Alibi
 The alibi which State Chairman Smith offered for his position is most interesting:-
 "The officers of the Democrat
 ic party in Connecticut, so far
 as know, were never consulted
 upon the present proposal either
 before election or at any time
 prior to the submission of the
 bill to Congress. I take it, there
 fore, that the proposal is not
 one which we, as representatives
 of the Democratic party in
 Connecticut, are committed"
 Whats the Meaning?
 What exactly does that state ment mean and what ointment can MT. Smith get out of it with which to salve his troubled po- litical conscience? Does it mean that if the proposal had been submitted to the officers of the Democratic party in Connecticut before election that they. would have left the party because they could not subscribe to itP Does it mean that MT. Smith would have resigned his office as State Chair man? Is it the failure to consult or the nature of the proposal which leaves us as representatives of the Democratic party In Con- necticut un-eommitted? Who does MT. Smith mean when he says "we"?
 President At Fault
 President Roosevelt is certainly to be blamed for not taking State Chairman Smith into his confl- dence and telling him just what he had cooking on the fire. Not only is the President to be blamed but his Supreme Court bill should be beaten just to teach him to mend his ways in the future. MT. Roosevelt perhaps thinks that he carried Connecticut by a hundred thousand votes. Everyone knows that it was i've, as representatives of the Democratic party" who did the trick. That knowledge is not confined to MT. Smith. There are some Democratic congressman and some Democratic senators and some Democratic office holders who know that MT. Roosevelt never would have been returned to the White House if it were not for them. They carried him back into office. He had nothing to do with their election. I hope these gentlemen will make the best pos sible use of their knowledge while they have it and that they rid themselves of the Roosevelt handicap before they run for their jobs again.
 Questions
 It is a serious blunder for any general to fail to consult with the privates in the rear rank over his battle plans and to secure the priceless advantage of their ideas. MT. Roosevelt,s failure to consult the Democratic High Command in Connecticut before he submitted the Supreme Court proposal to the Congress left "the representatives of the Democratic party" free to desert him when the firing began. Those who cannot claim the pre- tentious position of representa- tives" but who only vote the Democratic ticket in Connecticut are asking each other ''Who did State Chairman Smith consult