Evening star., 1937-06-20

| parry.
Whatever is to follow will emerge
early next year, in the Democratic
primaries. 1t depends on Mr.. Roose-
velt. II President Roosevelt and
National Chairman Postmaster Gen.
eral Farley undertake to excommuni-
cate the anti-court measure Demos
Gratis we shall see one result. II Mr..
Roosevelt and Mr.. Farley keep their
hands of, We shall see a different
result. Either result will have mo.
mentous consequences.
Consider, as an example, the case
OF Democratic Senator Bennett Champ
Clark Of Missouri. I cite him as
merely one example, as typical of
some 80 or 35 anti-court measure
Democratic Senators.
Senator Clark is opposed to the
Presidents court measure. yaliantlv
opposed to it. And he comes up for
denomination in the Missouri Demo.
cratic primaries next Spring II Mr..
Roosevelt and Mr.. Farley do not
prescribe him he should win re.
nomination. And if he wins the
denomination, he is likely to win the
election, for many Republicans will
vote for him out Of approval OF his
stand against the court measure,
In that event Mr.. Clark will be
back in the Senate with some 30 or 35
| other Democrats similarly situated,
all having opposed Mr.. Roosevelt's
most impost measure. If all, or sub.
stantially all, the Democrats opposing
the court measure win denomination
IN the Democratic primaries next
Spring they will be entitled to regard
themselves as the true Democratic
party. They will have submitted
their record to the voters of their
party. If they are renominated, that
will mean the Democratic voters will
have approved their course.
| On the other hand, il Mr.. Roose.
velt and Mr.. Farley undertake to
excommunicate Senator Clark, II they
use their power to try to prevent
MIN from being renominated, in
teresting possibilities will arise.
Sees Vote Won by Republican.
Senator Clark might take his ex.
communication and his defeat for
denomination lying down. But il
he does, many of the Democratic
voters who support him Uill not.
These Democratic voters will express
themselves in the general election.
Being deeply stirred against the Presi-
dents court measure and deeply re-
sentful against the accommodation
OF Mr.. Clark, they will vote for the
Republican candidate for Senator.
But would Senator Clark himself
take his accommodation lying down?
There are 80 to 35 other Democratic
Senator'S IN the same position. all
opponents OF the court measure.
True. only some 10 of them come up
for denomination next year; the rest
come up in 1870 and 1912. But il
Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Farley embark
on policy Of accommodation, all
80 or so of the Senators are likely to
make common cause. In this situation
lies the possibility of formal split
In the Democratic party, the anti
court ones perhaps calling themselves
the true Democrats, the Jeffersonian
Democrats.
The better guess is that the anti.
court measure Democrats will win.
They will win the fight on the court
/ proposal, and with that momentum
they should win the right to regard
themselves as the true Democratic
party. They will win, in part, be-
cause they include the stronger Demo-
cratic Senators.
Pro-Court Senators.
In the court measure fight there
are some strong Democratic Senators
on the side of the President-but they
are there mainly for reasons OF party
solidarity, Of following the Presidents
leadership. Hardly any one in WASH
ington thinks that such Democratic
Senators as Mr.. Robinson of Arkan-
sas, Mr. Harrison of Mississippi and
Mr.. Byrnes of South Carolina be.
lieve in the Presidents court measure
in the way the President himself
believes In it. It is difficult to assume
that on the court measure, or on
other major questions of policy, these
three Senators feel any differently
from Senator's Glass and Byrd Of
Virginia, who are strongly opposed to
the Presidents position about tho
court.
Senator's Robinson. Harrison and
Byrnes are official leaders. Accepting
the obligation of leadership, they
support the Presidents court pro-
posal But if it should become clear
In the primaries next Spring that a
majority OF Democratic votors pre-
fer Democratic Senators opposed to
the court measure, In that event the
obligation of leadership would call
upon Messrs. Robinson, Harrison and
Byrnes to support what appears to
be the verdict of the Democratic
voters. And much of Washington
thinks that the three Democratic
Senate leaders would be rather happier
commanding an anti-court measure
than they now are.
Surmise as to Future.
The sum of all is that there Is
under way struggle to determine
who and what school of thought
composes the true Democratic party.
What is said here is largely about
the future and therefore contains
much surmise. The possibilities Of
new alignment throughout Ameri-
can politics during the three years
until the next presidential nominating
conventions are very numerous. They
include the possibility that the anti.
court measure Democrats may DOM
mate the party: that the court
measure Democrats and those who are
in general the Presidents friends may
dominate the party; that the Demo-
cratic party may be. by 1940, a Labor
party or Farmer-Labor party: that
there may be a separate. new Labor
party, with its own candidate for
President.
In one or another of these permu.