Evening star., 1937-08-08

that his leaders In Congress were not
resolute enough, that he would taxa
hold of the situation himself and drive
his court measure through
Reaction Is Key to Future.
When a man is serenely confident.
and when, after feeling that way, he
suffers utter disaster, how does he
react? How does the average man
react? And how does Mr. Roosevelt,
who is not an average man. react? II
you know the answer, you have the
key to important future events.
Some thtrty-siX hours after Mr..
Roosevelt suffered his court bill ca.
tastrophe he went down the Po-
tomac River for a week end of rest.
AS companions he had three La Fol-
lettes: Senator Robert and his wife
and the Senator's brother, Gov. Philip
La Toilette Of Wisconsin. One should
not stretch the significance of the La
Folettes' presence too far. Possibly
the engagement to take them had
been made before the court bills coll
lapse. But assuming there was signi-
lettes, it may have meant that Mr..
Roosevelt was serving notice on the
independent Democrats who had Just
defeated him.
Mr.. Roosevelt is subtle person.
he knows just how to do this sort of
thing. how to create an effect by a
gesture. BY his gesture Mr.. Roose-
velt said to the independent Demo-
Gratis, in effect: Il favor the radicals
and extreme liberals, and they favor
me, propose to &c along with them"
That Mr. Roosevelt's mood was ono
OF defiance of the independent Demo-
Gratis there is much evidence: indeed,
the whole of the evidence is that vav.
Mr.. Roosevelt is not man who takes
licking easily.
Then Gov. Murphy. I
A week later Mr.. Roosevelt, again
on a Potomac trip. took With him
| Gov. Murphy of Michigan. who did
not give the force of the State to the
sheriff who asked for it to evict sit.
down strikers. Mr.. Roosevelt's choice
OF Gov. Murphy as his guest left the
Democrats in Congress in no doubt.
Ihey knew well that Mr.. Roosevelt
wished to notify them that he would
not willingly let them check him, that
he was going the leftWard wav.
One phase of Mr. Roosevelt's mood
VIII express itself in the elections to
| Congress next year and the primarie,
| preceding them. Here are some 36 or
81 Democrats-almost exactly half the
Democrats in the Senate-who have
defled Mr.. Roosevelt, frustrated him
IN way that he obviously resented.
"A number Of these independent
Democrats will come up for renon1i-
nation and reelection next year.
Ihey include Senator's Champ Clark
OF Missouri, Pat McCarran of Me-
oraska, Tydings of Maryland, Van
Nuys OF Indiana, all of whom op-
posed the Presidents court measure.
What will Mr.. Roosevelt do about
these Senators? Will he make war
on them? Will he use the influences
OF his personality and Of the Federal
oenef1ciaries of relief and Of National
Chairman Farley and Mr.. Farleys
machine to prevent these Senators
from being renominated?
| Mr.. Farley in speech last Wednes-
day said there would be no reprisals,
all is to be harmony But Mr.. Farley
was speaking for himself. The real
answer lies with President Roosevelt,
Mr.. Farley will do what Mr.. Roose-
Velt tells him. The real question is.
will the President continue to hold
resentment against the anti-court bill
Senators.
Probably he will. Certainly. this
practically universal feeling is that
Mr.. Roosevelt resents what the inde-
pendent Democrats did. and that in
his resentment he will 60 farther and
farther in the direction of the La
Follettes and the exponents of radi-
} calism or extreme liberalism. ,.I
Cannot Halter Roosevelt. ~
II the independent Democrats who
defeated his court measure supposed
that they were going to put halter
on Mr.. Roosevelt and make him con-
form to their ideas, 1t has not turned
out that way. If they thought ther
were going to establish a kind Of re-
gency over him and make him accept
their ideas instead of them accepting
his ideas, in that case, too. the inde-
, pendent Democrats must be dis
appointed. Or II they thought they
were going to have a genuine treaty
OF peace with him, that he and they
were going to stand together in the
interest of the united Democratic
, party. they were mistaken in that, too.
!, Mr.. Roosevelt will continue to 20 to
the left, perhaps farther to the left,
: than he would have gone had he not
suffered defeat of his court measure.
He will go to the left, thinking he
r can carry the Democratic voters Of
the country with him. II he finds
/ that he cannot; If it turns out in
! next years congressional primaries
and elections that 1t is the independ-
ent Democrats who control the party,
and not Mr.. Roosevelt-in that event
s what will Mr.. Roosevelt do?
, That is what the independent
. Democrats wish they knew.
tCopyrieht. 1877