Evening star., 1937-09-04


welt, or his New Deal lieutenants, have
adequate knowledge, much less ap-
probation, Of what they really owe
him. AS an organizer and as per-
sonal salesman of party fidelity and
party mechanics, there has never been
any one like him. He is indefatigable
He travels constantly-and I was
wrong in my dispatch the other day
in saying that he does it at Govern
ment expense. For I should have
remembered that the Postmaster Gen
eral. under this and under Republican
administrations, carries pass for free
transportation on railways and air.
ways. This is because one Of the Off
cial duties of the head of the Post
Oflce Department is to inspect rail-
way mail and airmail services. Nat
urally, too. Mr.. Farley is entertained
by local officials and party chieftains
so he can hardly be called an expense
to the Government in that sense.
Time and Energy Unstinted.
The present chairman of the Demo-
cratic National Committee could never
be sufficiently compensated by the
New Deal. He has given his time and
energy to the Roosevelt cause in un-
stinted measure. He has personally
visited nearly every State. he knows
more individual chairmen of State,
county and city organizations than
any man in politics today. He keeps
them in line.
One does not have to accept the
Farley doctrine-"to the victor be-
longs the spoils'-or his conception
that a party organization must follow
the President blindly, right or wrong,
TO stay that one of the principal rea-
sons why Mr. Roosevelt has so much
strength in Congress is because of the
skill and ingenuity used by the Post
master General in seeing that appoint
ments to offices are strategically al
located by the administration
Nor does one have to agree with Mr..
Farley's views on national policies to
say that he may make one of the most
effective and successful executives in
the business world if he turns his
talents in that direction.
In way it is regrettable that Mr. |
Farley doesn't go back to New York |
State and run for Governor there next
year. There are occasionally sug-
gestions that he may do so. Mr.. Farley
has congenial personality. He makes
and keeps friends. He has SO long
been in the habit of bowling to the will
of his chief, President Roosevelt, that
1t would be interesting to see him in
some office like Governor where he
would have complete responsibility on |
his own to the electorate
There is some reason to believe that |
Jim Farley has at heart no more SYM
pathy with some of the unsound eco
nomic theories propounded by the |
New Dealers than have most of the |
conserva tives. AS matter of fact, the |
so-called young liberals" hereabouts |
have no faith in Mr. Farley as lib
eral. no matter how much he utters
liberal doctrine in his public speeches
defending the administration.
Logically the Democratic nomina-
tion for Governor of New York be-
longs to Mr. Farley because President
Roosevelt does the nominating of Gov
ernors in the Democratic party now
adays, and this is a prize which Mr..
Roosevelt ought not deny his cam
paign manager if he really wants it.
Plans to Stay in Business.
There are rumors, however, that Mr..
iS p1a t1 hA w, k,,e
ness for several years to come and is
not going to seek any public Office
once he retires from the Post ONCE
Department.
The administration will not seem
the same without Postmaster General
Farley. To him politics is a game
in which all seems fair until the peo-
pie by SO many votes say otherwise.
His idea has been that reforms can
not, of course, be carried on by party
out Of power, but only by party or
candidate successful at the polls To
win elections, therefore. he feels is |
everything. Just why he sanctioned |
the sale of campaign books to corpora
tions has never been explained but |
outside of that mistake, and it is a |
serious one nobody can say that Jim
Farley has played the political game
any different from the political man
ayers OF the Republican party in the
past; in fact, he has improved on the |
Mark Hanna and Penrose tactics and |
modernized the technique
Spoilsmanship politics, as such, will !
be developed by true liberals, but nev-
ertheless many so-called liberals right |
here in the idealistic New Deal have |
been glad enough to accept with char
acteristic political expediency them