Evening star., 1938-10-25


race for presidential nomination.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Just as President Roosevelt had his
Jim" Farley to sow the presidential
seeds in many States in 1881, SO Mr..
McNutt has his Frank McHale Mr.
McHale is Democratic national COM
mitteeman for the State of Indiana
man of any candidate for presiden-
tial nomination. He is big and Irish,
and a pratical politician. Further
more, he is thinking all the time, day
and night, what can be done to
strengthen the candidacy of his friend
Mr.. McNutt.
Keeps Fingers on Pulse.
McHale is recognized in Indiana as
McNutt's contact man. Far away in
the Philippines as United States High
Commissioner, the Hoosier Democrat
needs to be in contact, particularly
with the Democratic organization in
his own State. McHale converses over
the telephone with Mr. McNutt every
week or tWo-and at more frequent
intervals if there is necessity. The
mails, via the clipper ships-airship
these days-supplement the contacts.
Not much goes on in politics in In
diana-and in the national Democratic
political arena-With which Mr.. Nc
Mutt is not quickly made acquainted
There are rumors that Gov. Clifford
M. Townsend. who succeeded Mr. NC
Mutt in the Governors Office, with the
assistance of McNutt, is not quite as
close to the McNutt as he used to be;
that he has political ambitions of his
own-one being to become the Demo-
cratic vice presidential nominee in
1910 Under the terms of the Con-
stltution, President and a Vice
President may not be chosen from the
same State, and If Gov. Townsend
were to satisfy such an ambition it is
plan that Mr. McNutt would have to
forego his own desire to be President.
However that may be, Gov. Town
send up to date is riding right along
along with Mi. McNutt, and presum-
ably taking his orders. Indeed, it was
q 'CiiS binholiNC lCiCpllOllS Call lIDHl
McNutt in the Philippines which
brought Gov. Townsend to the point
OF calling Senator Van Nuys back to
Indianapolis to accept the Democratic
senatorial nomination a few months
ago. That and threat of Van Nuys
to lay bare a few scandals which he
charged to the Townsend administra-
ton. McNutts interest in preventing
a disastrous split in the party and in
preventing also an expose of Demo-
cratic scandals in Indiana this year
was entirely obvious-if he desired to
be a candidate for the presidential
nomination in 1910.
McNutt Has Everything"
The Hoosier Democratic leaders in
sist that McNutt is the logical after
Roosevelt" nominee for the Democratic
party. They say that they do not
believe that the President will be
candidate to succeed himself McNutt.
they say. has everything" He is
young he is handsome, he is able to
speak eloquently to a crowd or to
small group He has been national
commander of the American Legion as
well as Governor of Indiana and is
known from one end of the country to
the other. He put the New Deal into
operation in Indiana before President
Roosevelt took command in Washing
ton, for he came into Office as Gov
ernor in January and the President
did not enter the White House until
March, 1898.
And after they have extolled McNutt,
these Hoosier Democrats will tell you
why other presidential possibilities do
not quite fill the bill They say that
Vice President Garner and Secretary
Cordell Hull will be bit on the old
side by the time 1910 rolls around to
take on the job of becoming President.
They say that Senator Bennett