The Washington times., 1937-07-30
SPLITS WIDEN
IN BOTH BIG
PARTIES
BY GEORGE r. HOLMES
international News Service

O1Ab1Oh4 Ak44Co AAbNO ACNSA bCCA
very rigid in the American party
system. They have bent, swayed
and sometimes broken completely
under the pressure Of economic
conditions, or the imprint of pow.
erful personalities.
Trying to peer through the fog
that hazes the next few years, a
good many seasoned political OBJ
servers-in both parties-belie Ie
today that the country is in for
another period Of busted party
lines, or perhaps even realign'
rnent Of parties along "conserva-
tive" and liberal" lines.
Epic Battle Due
If so, it portends an interesting
struggle for control Of Congress
next year, and an epic fight over
the presidency in 1910, with labor
and certain minority groups
crowding prominently into the
picture.
The Republicans already are
divided and leaderlesS. They are
at their lowest point Of effective
ness since the Civil War. There
is no Republican captain, no unity
Of Republican thought. There
are only some lieutenants and
sergeants who differ among them.
selves as to what type Of candi.
date is most desirable in 1910, and
the platform upon which he
should run.
William Allen White, Kansas
editor who helped make ALI M.
Landon the '36 candidate, recently
called for the nomination in 1910
of Fiorello LaGuardia, the fusion
istnew dealiSh mayor Of New
York, who sat IN one Congress as
a Republican and in another as
q Socialist. To old school Re
publicans, who put up the money,
that is little short of heresy.
Deep Democratic Change
II took the savage, fight over
the Roosevelt Supreme Court plan
to. reveal the cleavage among the
Democrats. The full extent Of
this Democratic split has not yet
been realized, but it is being re-
vealed more every day that Con-
gress stays in session and re-
luctantly gets down to grips with
such matters as wages-and-hourS
legislation, agricultural control,
and extension Of Federal power
into many fields hitherto con-
Sidered State or local business.
This cleavage is partly sectional,
partly economic, and partly social.
And 1t is deep.
With few exceptions, the Demo
Gratis from the South have had
little re Il relish for the philosophy
Of the New Deal, especially the
New Deals experimentation in
economic and social directions.
For the most part, they are con-
sentative.
On the other hand, the Demo
Gratis from the populouS cities of
the North and West are quite gsh-
orally in favor Of the advanced
type Of labor legislation to which
the Administration is committed.
Some Of them parted company
with Mr.. Roosevelt on the court
issue, but generally they are in
sympathy with the philosophy Of
the New Deal in other fields.
See No Way Out
As the New Deal proceeds with
its social aims, the discomfort OF
the Southern conservatives be-
comes more and more apparent.
But Just what they can do about
it is not so apparent.
Any alliance with the Repub-
Ican conservatives seems out Of
the question for many reasons, one
being that it would be politically
ineffective. Numbers control in
politics, and the numbers are on
the other side, as was pretty con-
clusively proven last November.
Meanwhile, Mr.. Roosevelt con-
tinues to court support Of the so
called liberals outside his party,
such as Senator George w. Norris,
Nebraska Independent. and the
La FolletteS in Wisconsin, who
have their own progressive party.
It was not lost upon washington
politicians that Senator Young |
Bob" La Toilette was Mr.. RooSe-
velt'S guest on a recent weekend
trip. The only other guest was the |
newly elected Senate leader, Sen
ator Alben w. Barley Of Ken
lucky, who Is credited with 1910
ambitions on his own account.