Evening star., 1938-10-16
Capital Sidelights
By WILL p. KENNEDY,

Many persons, politically wise and
otherwise, are raising their hands in holy
horror because Representative John j.
O'Connor of New York, chairman Of the
House Rules Committee, 'purged' by the
President as Zip service" Democrat who
picked New Deal legislation" is now a
Republican candidate This swapping of
party labels is an old story in politics
and particularly in Congress In no case
was it more fragrant than in that of
Mayor Fiorello II. La Guardia of New
York, who was far more effective in
achieving Mr.. O'Connors defeat in the
Democratic primary than was President
Roosevelt. La Guardia, after serving in
three Congresses as Republican, came
into the Sixty ninth Congress as So
cialist and then into the Seventieth as a
Republican Progressive-so he can't point
a derisive finger at O'Connor. But they
are both still in good company, for Henry
Wilson, Vice President during the Grant
administration-who real name was
age of % he had it changed by the Leg
islature-walked out Of the Whig Ma
tional Convention In 1848 and served as
president of the Free Soil National Con-
vention in 1852. After failing as Free Soil
candidate for Congress and for Governor
OF Massachusetts, he was elected to the
United States Senate by a coalition of
Free Soilers, Americans and Democrats
to succeed the noted Edward Everett. He
was elected Vice President as Repub-
lican. There is another noted case of
Henry NJ. Teller, who upon the admission
of Colorado as State was elected as
Republican to the United States Senate,
served as Secretary of the Interior in
President Arthurs cabinet and was again
elected as Republican Senator. But he
subsequently led fight in the national
convention, walked out and came back to
the Senate as an Independent Silver Re
publican, and when his term had expired
came in next as Democrat. New Yorl,
gives another notable Observation-Disclosures
p. Fitch. who was elected as Republican
to the Fiftieth Congress and came back
to the Fifty first, Fifty second and Fifty
third as Democrat, and was later con-
troller of New York City and president
of the Trust Co. Of America Similarly
Joseph G. Sibley of Pennsylvania was
elected to the Fifty-third Congress by
combination OF Democrats, Peoples Party
and Prohibitionists. His case is anal
ogous to O'Connor's because he did not
live in the district. Then Sibley failed
of reelection as candidate of the Demo-
Gratis and Populists. but subsequently won
out as Democrat in the Fifty-sixtn
Congress. Then he snapped parties and
came back for the next three Congresses
as Republican. In 1902 he was chair
man of the Republican State Convention.
In recent years M. Clyde Kelly, elected
first as Republican, shifted his party
afhliations. Representative Charles H
Randall of California was first elected
as nominee of the Prohibition and Demo-
cratic parties. but subsequently served
also under the label of Republican and
Progressive parties. Robert H. Clancy
was secretary OF the Democratic Congress
sional Committee when Representative
Frank E. Doremus was chairman, then
he held several important posts under
the Democratic administra ation-secretar
to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce,
United States customs appraiser for the
State OF Michigan, manager of the War
Trade Board in Detroit, ETC. He was
elected as Democrat to the Sixty-eighth
Congress, defeated for the Sixty ninth
and came back to the Seventieth Con-
gress as Republican. There are other
cases too numerous to mention.