Evening star., 1937-05-04
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

l
| planning to throw out of the window
the Republican party organization as
1t exists today and to start building q
new party from the ground up. Whether
the party shall continue to bear the
name of Republican Is one point the
| proponents of clean sweep are still
| pondering. They feel that the Repub-
| lican party is under the handicap of
| being a sectional party-since it cannot
and never has penetrated the so-called
solid South except in the 1928 presi-
| dental election, when four of these
States voted against Alfred E. Smith, the
| Democratic nominee. AS soon as Smith
| had been eliminated these States
| promptly swung back into the Demo-
cratic fold. The Democratic party, on
the other hand, is a national party, they
say, and their party also should be
| national. X x X X
! 1t is known that Borah and Nye and
many others in the party believe that
| the G.. o. P. can never get back into the
! position of controlling party so long
| as 1t remains in the hands of the
| present managers and the present ma
| tional committee. There is no way OF
throwing out the present members of
the national committee, since they were
| elected by the State delegations at the
last national convention to serve for
| the following four years. So the in
| surgents plan to let the old organization
! ride-if it can-and to build up an
| organization Of their own, new and out
| side of the present national committee.
| To do this, leaders and the rank and file
| in the various States will be appealed
to, and after State organizations have
| been perfected the plan is to call
| national convention. At that conven-
| ton a national committee would be
elected and questions of party policy
! outlined-and the question of the party
name will be settled. While Borah feels
| that to retain the name Republican
| may initiate, as it has in the past,
| against any large development in the
| Southern States, there are great numbers
| OF voters all over the country who are
| attached to the name, and it may not be
| feasible or possible to Wean them away
| from 1t.
| The insurgents feel that the question
| of the name of the party is not the
major problem. What they wish to
| accomplish is the establishment of an
| entirely new national committee and
| new front for the party. Thus far the
| movement for reorganization has been
| confined to conferences here in WASH
| ington among those who wish to throw
| off the old yoke and to correspondence
| with many men and women out in the
| States. This year-an off year SO far
| as elections are concerned-lS the
| psychological time to effect such a re-
| organization of the Republican party.
| To attempt it next year, when cam
| paign is under way, would be to court
| defeat right at the start. The real drive
| if it is to materialize, will come within
few months. and possibly as soon as
| the fight over the Presidents Supreme
| Court program has been finished.
| Those who are backing a new set-up
| for the Republican party insist that
| great many members of the present
| national committee have been of the
Old Guard. like Roraback of Connect cut,
| Hilles of New York Williams of oregon.
| Such men, the insurgents maintain, can
never attract to the Republican part
| the rank and file Of the people, par
| ticularly the more progressive elements.
The insurgents would sidetrack also the
present national chairman, John Hamll-
AANt
| This is particularly interesting in view
| of the fact that Hamilton is now en-
| gagged in a speaking program on behalf
| of the Republican party and made his
| first speech Saturday night. Borah and
| his friends do not expect to remake the
Republican organization without real
fight. But they are basing their hopes
on the rank and file of the party and
upon those independents and Democrats
who have no use for the New Deal
| Democratic party. Calls for meetings in
every district and county in the country
probably will be the first step of the
reorganizers. 1t will be possible in that
| way to get some measure of the strength
| of the movement.
In the opinion of Senator Borah, the
Democratic party of today bears no
| semblance of the party of Thomas JET
| ferson, of Grover Cleveland or woodrow
| Wilson. Rather the New Deal Demo-
cratic party is the counterpart of the
| party of Alexander Hamilton, standing
| for a stronger centralized party than
even did Hamilton in the early days
| of the Republic. In order to combat
this New Deal party, Borah believes
| that it is necessary to set up party
! which can have the support of the
| masses. That, in his opinion, will never
| happen as long as the Republican party
| as now organized continues to function
| Once the masses have become con-
! vinced that a party represents 'priv1lege'
and wealth, he maintains, the party
| cannot come back. AS he sees it, the
Republican party as organized and man
aged today has become branded as the
party of privilege.
| X
| One thing which troubles the In
| surgent Republicans IS money. They
| realize that to start Nationwide fight
to build the party anew and from the
ground up is going to take considerable
amount of money, even though many OF
! the leaders give their time free OF
charge. They are hopeful that men of
means may be found to make initial
contributions and that small contribu-
tions will come from great number
Of others.
The drive for new party organization
does not come alone from some OF the
Republican members OF the Senate.
There are members of the House who
are heart and soul in the movement, too.
When and If the drive starts, the
chances are for bitter intraparty strug-
gle for many of the old leaders-men
now in position of great power in the
organization-Will resist the effort to
unhorse them. The movement for a
| new Reprblican Darty organization has