Evening star., 1937-04-24
Republican Leadership.

At time when politics-party politics
seems to have gone into nose dive,
except in the case of the New Deal party,
which is supreme, Ogden Mills, former
Secretary of the Treasury, complains of
a lack of Republican leadership. The
100000 voters who opposed the re-
election of President Roosevelt and
continuance of the New Deal policies,
he maintains are just 1900 900 disor-
ganized Individuals although they are
the heirs of American tradition"
The Republican party is described as
"disorganized" because of repeated de-
feats at the polls during the past six
years. Where issues have been raised,
the Republican party has had the less
popular side. The Republicans have, in
fact, been defeated because the majority
of the people became convinced that the
G.. O. P. was not giving them a square
deal. This conviction was, of course,
stimulated by the opposition party. But
whether they were rightly or wrongly
convinced, that was the opinion of the
majority of the voters.
When the people become convinced
that the New Deal Democratic party is
not giving them what they want, or is
giving them something they distinctly
do not want, the Democratic party will
be "disorganhed' also, and some other
party, presumably the Republican party,
will be well organized and take command
of the Government. In the meantime,
the best the Republican party can do is
to help keep the people informed of
what is going on. That is job which
the press has always on its hands, and
also the members of Congress through the
sounding boards of the Senate and House
debates. No selection of leaders by the
G. o. P. will make any material differ
ence. Issues are of far more Importance.
Issues of major interest are raising
their heads-iSsues which may be very
effective in the campaigns of 1888 and
1910. These issues are excessive spend
ing, high taxes, overwhelming debt and
the usurpation of power by one branch
of the Government. These, it may be
said, were put forward as issues in the
last campaign by the Republicans and
they got them nowhere. But now the
shoe is beginning to pinch. Either the
administration must continue its huge
spending program or it will lose favor
with those whose hands have been filled
with money from the Federal Treasury
If it continues its spending, there is
danger of unpopularly high taxes or in
fation or financial crash. In other words,
the day of reckoning is drawing nearer
The Presidents proposal to add mem
bers to the Supreme Court in order to
obtain the kind of decisions he desires
has driven a wedge among the people
who have been supporting him. 1t is
not Republican leadership that is caus-
ing the administration leaders concern.
1t is the issue which has arisen which
worries them.
One thing seems reasonably certain.
The people are not going to follow any
Republican leadership which seeks to
take them back to the conditions which
existed when the Republicans were last
in power, conditions both before and after
the crash in 1929 The people are de-
manding greater advances socially. They
will not be satisfied with what they had
In the past, before the New Deal took
command. But they may become dis
gusted with the bureaucratic regimen
tation of the New Deal, with its waste of
money and its imposition of high taxes