Evening star., 1937-08-20
THE POLITICAL
BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

campaign at Roanoke Island, N. c., We'd
nesday. 1t has familiar sound. In
fact, 1t differed not at all from the line
taken by the President in the 1886 and
earlier campaigns. His enemies-and
that means the enemies of his New Deal
ARE tories, princes of privilege, economic
royalists or what have you. That is the
kind of declaration that the President
has banked on in the past. 1t has been
| effecttve-particularly effective when
backed up by the expenditure Of billions
| Of dollars of public funds.
progressive Senator, one of those who
supported President Roosevelt ardently
IN 1882 and later in the Senate itself, dis
| cusslng the overwhelming victory OF the
President and the defeat of former Gov.
Landon of Kansas, soon after Congress
assembled last January, said:
Poor Landon, so few people seemed
to realize that he went into the presi-
| dental race with tremendous handicap.
| There were 100000 voters receiving
cash from the Roosevelt administration
| at election time. in the shape Of one kind
| OF relief or another, or on the Govern
| ment payroll as employees With that ad-
|
| President
Congress has provided the President
with another billion and half dollars
| plus to expend for relief during the pres
ent fiscal year. He may get another large
| sum before the elections take place, for
Congress will be asked to appropriate
again next January. But even with only
billion and half dollars, considerable
| effect can be had from the mere expendi-
| ture Of the money.
The President must bring about the
| election OF Congress next year that is
strongly pro-New Deal, or else he will
| have great difficulty during the final two
! years Of his present term of office. He
| has had trouble enough with the Con-
| gress now holding It's first session. In
| fact the amount of trouble he has run
! into is one Of the major political upsets
/ of recent years.
Apparently the President Is confident
| that he can get along by using the same
tactics he adopted in earlier elections,
| He may be right. But an increasingly
! large number of voters who have a real
| stake, though small in the country are
| beginning to back away in alarm from
| the continued Government expenditure
| OF billions Of dollars from increased taxes
| and from the increased cost of living.
Presumably the President, In his
| Roanoke Island speech was attacking
| the opponents Of his plan to increase the
| membership of the Supreme Court so as
| to obtain the kind of Interpretation of
| the Constitution he desired. He may be
| able to convince many persons that the
| opponents of this program are tories.
| but not many who know what has been
| going on. 1t was only year ago that the
| President was doing his utmost to per-
suade Gov. Lehman Of New York to run
| again for office He wanted him on the
| New York ticket to help make the State
| sure for Roosevelt. In those DAYS Leh-
| man was great liberal and progressive,
| according to the President. Chairman
| Farley of the Democratic National Com
| mlttee and the Democratic National Con-
| vention at Philadelphia They got right
| down on their knees fguratively, and
| mplored Lehman to run again. Yet
| Lehman wrote to the President denounc-
| ing the court program. saying that 1t
meant the breakdown Of the American
system and an independent judiciary.
That was several months ago. Finally
| Gov. Lehman wrote letter to Senator
| Wagner Of New York, urging him to vote
| against the Roosevelt court program. He
made the letter public. This was bitter
| pill for the President. Will the President
| urge the Governor to run again for chief
executive of New York next year?
The fact is that many men, liberal and
| progressive, were unable to stomach the
| Presidents plan for the domination of
the Supreme Court Their characterize
ton now as tories and economic royalists,
as selfish minority. is not going to make
them feel any better toward the Roose-
velt administration. If anything. it will
drive deeper wedge into the Democratic
New Deal party.
| This is an off year in elections. There
! is, however, tremendous interest in the
election of Mayor of New York, as al
ways. The situation there is strange
enough. Mayor La Guardia, who sup
ported President Roosevelt for reelection
| last year, is a candidate again on a Fusion
ticket for his present job. The Demo-
cratic leaders friendly to Roosevelt in
Greater New York are backing jeremiah h
T, Mahoney. The anti-Roosevelt Demo-
Gratis and some of the Republicans are
backing Senator Royal S. Copeland. If
| A Democrat is to be elected Mayor of New
York, certainly the administration in
Washington would like to see Mahoney
win. 1t would be great blow to the ad-
ministration if Copeland should be the
victor At the same time, does any one
believe that the President would shed
| many tears if Mayor La Guardia was re-
elected?
The first round in the battle over the
| New York mayoralty will come in the
| primaries. Copeland is running in both
| the Democratic and Republican pri-
maries. If by any chance he can carry
the Democratic primary against Ma
| honey, it would be bitter draught for
| the Roosevelt administration to swallow.
Copeland has become one of the most out
| and-out anti-New Deal, anti-Roosevelt
Democrats in the upper house. 1t was
he who made public attack on the Presi-
dents newly appointed justice OF the Su-
preme Court, Senator Black of Alabama,
! charging Black with being connected
with the Ku Klux Klan. That attack
doubtless was calculated to have its effect
on the very large Jewish vote, Negro vote
and foreign born vote in Greater New
York.
The confirmation of Senator Black by
an overwhelming vote Of the Senate
seems to have ended that stage Of the