Evening star., 1937-02-25
's'Swing'' Politics.

Senator Vandenberg of Michigan.
writing in the Saturday Evening Post,
undertakes to answer the question: How
dead is the Republican party?" His con-
cluslon is that it is no more defunct
than was the Democratic party after it's
disastrous defeats in 1920, 1924 and 1923;
that it is no deader than was the G. o. P.
itself after the election of 1912, when the
Republican candidate for President re-
ceived exactly electoral votes-as did
Governor Landon in 1886.
A rather soul-Searching dissertation is
Senator Vandenberg's article on the
present status of the political party to
which he gives allegiance. He admits
that in the heyday of its power the
G. o. P. was "smug" and that it made
mistakes. But that does not mean that
the party cannot purge and purify itself;
that it cannot and will not gain much
from its very defeats.
The Senator does not undertake to
propheSy when or in what vein the Re-
publican party will return to power. He
merely asserts that undoubtedly it can
and will. And certs inly the political
history of this country. particularly dur
ing the last quarter century, seems to
bear him out. The pendulum swings
invariably. And at times the swing is
very swift.
What is to be the ultimate political
effect upon the so-called Democratic
party of today-and upon its opposi-
tion-of the present effort of the Roose-
welt administration to rewrite the Con-
stitution of the United States without
going to the people for its amendment?
What Is to be the political effect of a
spending program that is heaping
heavier and heavier burdens upon the
tax-paying people-all of the people
despite efforts to make it appear that
the burden is falling and is to fall merely
upon the rich? What is to be the effect
of a failure on the part of an admins
tration to insist that the laws for the
protection of property be enforced-as
in the case of the sit-down strikes which
now are Springing up throughout the
country like mushrooms? And what is
to be the effect of the creation of great
bureaucratic government which is in
terfering more and more with the ordi-
nary activities of the people? It would
be major prophet indeed who could
answer these questions in detail. How
ever, it is permitted even the layman
to guess
One thing is certain. If the Repub-
lican party will think first of the in
terestS of the American people and
the country as whole, it will progress.
If it will stick to the principles of the
which America has grown great and the
people have enjoyed huge benefits, it
will have its definite place.
1t would be both idle and unfair to
contend that nothing of good has been
done by the New Deal administration.
But it would be just as idle and GER
tainly incorrect to maintain that the
New Deal has not inflicted wounds upon
the people from which they will be many
years recovering.
The next four years are full of polit-
ical portent. And yet. the main issue,
as always. is the greatest good for the
people. 1t is an issue that transcends
all parties and smashes all party lines.
When the time arrives, If it does, that the
country is convinced that the New Deal
maintains itself only by passing out
favors for which the people pay through
the nose in dollars and in loss of liberty,
it will turn to another leadership. It is for
such leadership that the G. o. p should
prepare itself.