Evening star., 1938-01-31
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Anti-New Dealers, by which are
meant Republicans and conservative
Democrats. cherish no honest-to-good-
ness expectations of obtaining numerical
control OF the House in the 1888 cam
paign for which battle lines are now
being drawn. The Senate is irrevocably
Democratic until 1941. About all the
anti-Roosevelt combination hopes for
is to capture enough seats to reduce the
present top-heavy Democratic House
majority of 200-odd at which the ad-
mnistration can be checkmated. Repub-
lican leaders are now wishfully talking of
gaining 40 to go seats. Even If the ele-
phant does as we'll as that, administra-
tiorists would still be overwhelmingly
preponderant. though their majority
would be more apparent than real. The
present Congress has shown that Bank
head and Rayburn head a phalanx of
followers in name only. The fate of the
five-point Roosevelt program, stalemated
at every turn, is glaring proof that
New Deal "coptrol" at the Capitol is
effort in many congressional districts
and States Is likely to feature the COM
ing contest. Senator Vandenberg, arch
NOdAtAOA4Aot 10 uAAOCAotOOA w VIC ACoOy
to stump for certain Democratic Sena-
tors endangered for reelection by their
opposition to the Presidents Supreme
Court plan.
When DR.. Glenn Franks 200 Re-
publican best minds pow-wow at Chi
cago month hence, their nominal
business will be to consider party pro-
gram. What will be little less conspicu-
Gus in their minds is the paramount
question Of presidential timber. Com
monest Of all current political comment
is that the Republicans today haven't a
man who'd stand the ghost of a show
against even a third-term Roosevelt
candidacy. While the party isn't devoid
of possibilities" it is notoriously lacking
in a personality possessed Of what it
takes to capture the popular imagina-
ton. Vandenberg is probably outstand-
ing, though he's done little since the
Landon convention to enhance his stat
ure. II the view persists that only
Westerner measures up to 1910 necessi-
ties, Glenn Frank himself may come
into the running. Young Robert A.
Taft of Ohio looms in the same geo.
graphical connection. The Repub-
licans' other white hopes are confined
to the Atlantic seaboard, especially New
England, including Senators Lodge OF
Massachusetts, and Bridges of New
Hampshire, Gov. Aiken of Vermont and
Representative Bruce Barton and Dis
trict Attorney Dewey of New York.
John Moore Allison, American EN-
bassy secretary at Nanking-victim of
the face-slapping incident which has
provoked our latest fracas with Japan
is 33-year-old Kansan who entered the
foreign service after living in the Far
East as a teacher of English in Japanese
schools and business activities in China
and Japan. He was in the consular
service at Shanghai, Kobe, Dairen, Tsi-
nan and Tsingtao before being assigned
to Marking last September. Allisons
official refutation OF the japanese alibi.
for sentry's unprovoked attack on him
carries particular weight at the State
Department because the young diplomat
speeks Japanese fluently and was able,
unbeknown to his tormentors, to under
stand the verbal abuse they heaped on
Americans in general while maltreating
him. Episodes like the Panay and AL
lison incidents" have far more than
surface purpose, in Washington's esti-
nation. The object, Far Eastern au-
thorities feel sure, is to show the Chinese
that Westerners have completely lost
face in the Far East.
President Roosevelt's plan to build up
the Navy by 20 per cent has one tran
scendent reason not generally realized.
It Will expand the United States fleet to
that point which viii enable tis to face
Japan IN the Pacific, Il necessary. with