Evening star., 1938-12-31

ing served as David Lawrence.
Speaker of the
House of Representatives as we'll as
leader of his party, and 1t is really
out of this experience that his pres
ent position of unique power is de-
rived.
When the news dispatches report
that the new Secretary of Com
merce, Harry L. Hopkins, goes to
the Capitol to call on Vice Presi-
dent Garner, it Is Immediately
seized upon as meaning that Mr..
Hopkins is discussing prospects OF
confirmation or possible public hear
ings on his record in the w. P. A.
Even more unusual is the fact
that Mr.. Garner sits in the cabinet
of the President of the United
States by invitation of the latter.
So, peculiarly enough, he has an
inside knowledge of what the ex-
ecutive branch of the Government
is doing and an inside knowledge
of what the legislative branch is
planning.
Mr.. Gamers opportunity for
leadership and for reconciliation OF
conflicting viewpoints is, therefore,
unparalleled. His personality, of
course, is a big asset. He is well
liked by Observation-Disclosures, the
press and the legislators themselves.
Few men have his magnetism or
his shreWd intelligence in legisla-
tive matters.
Acquires New Significance.
All this is not unfamiliar to many
ypersons hereabouts, but it has &C
uuired a new significance and will
have much more important mean
ing now than heretofore because
the Democratic party is itself di-
vided into two camps-the radicals
and the liberal conservatives.
Mr.. Garner is the one man in
Washington who has the reputa-
ton of talking rather frankly to
the President and who can back
up his views with certain power
In the Senate as we'll as in the
House, which is vital to the sue
cess of Mr.. Roosevelt's administra-
ton.
There are some admiring friends
who think Jack" Garner is a logical
choice for President on the Demo-
cratic ticket in 1910, but he hasn't
encouraged any boom in his behalf
and it would be surprise, indeed,
If he ever considered it seriously,
though most any man who has
served his country as long and as
Mrfaithfully as Mr.. Garner must in
evitably think of what he might do
if intrusted with the highest office
in the land.
Strict Party Man.
Possibly the most damaging blow
to Republican prospects would be
the nomination of Jack Garner be-
cause he would attract many mil
lions of Republican votes. But, on
the other hand, the New Dealers
fear he is not liberal enough and
they would be tempted to join with
RJhird party advocates in an effort
ITO put a more liberal candidate in
the field.
But anybody who puts Mr.. Garner
down as an arch-conservative is mis-
taken. He is, first of all, strict
party man and believer in har-
mony as the very first requirement
to party behavior. His dissents are
most unostentatious and he has
given, publicly at least, less COM
fort to the opposition party than
any so-called conservative Democrat
- IN Congress.
AS for his conservatism, there Is
the speech which the Vice President
delivered off the record in the clos
ing days of the 1886 campaign to a
group of businessmen in New York
City. He talked to them about lib
eralism as they doubtless hadn't
been talked to in long time. Those
who know Jack Gamers legislative
record will never put him in a
strictly conservative category. They
will classify him as a sensible lib
~eral liberal who knows how to get
liberal policies adopted without
wrecking the party that is espousing
liberalism. In other words, Mr..
Garner knows from legislative ex-
perience when to make an issue and
when to get the best legislative set
tlement that can be gotten on con-
troversial point. He is probably the
most experienced leader on legisla-
ton that we have had in America
in the last 20 years. He used to
Josh Bert Smell, the Republican
minority leader, who had only SO
Republicans, and point out what he,
Jack Garner, used to do when the
Democratic minority in the House
wasn't not much larger.
Time for Cleavage Over.
What does President Roosevelt
think about Vice President Garner?
He probably likes him personally
very much and respects bis judg-
ment-but at the same time he can't
! be very happy over the necessity of
making concessions to the Garner
point of view He would be tempted
to test Mr.. Garner's judgment and
carry an issue to the country. But
the time for cleavages and tests of
that kind are over. The protest vote
In the last election indicated q need
for getting together inside the DEM
ocratic party as an antidote to the
Inflated purge campaign. So Mr..
Garner is apt to set forth the pro-
gram and the President, being more
than ever anxious not to see his OBJ
jectives wrecked, will listen to the
veteran statesman from Uvalde.
Tex, who more than anybody else
J In the last so years has demon
strated that even if you are the
Wire President yo,I cap haeoy,a &C