Evening star., 1938-02-12

whole plan is Just
. lot of political
bunk and those
who conscientiously believe something
will come Of 1t to make the Repub-
lican party more eligible for the votes
Of the country than they have been at
any time since 1928--their last over
whelming victory at the polls.
The problem facing the Policy Com
mittee is one that its members may
not at the outset appreciate. but as
koon as they get down to writing re-
ports on public questions and attempt
to set forth principles they will dis
cover why the Republican party has
been beaten regularly every two years
IN national elections ever since No
vember. 1880, when they lost control
of Congress. 1t may be predicted even
now that the Republican Policy Com
mittee either will bring about regen-
Grafton in the party, causing for
time split that is an inevitable coun-
terpart of its own evolution toward
liberal front. or else the same Policy
Committee will 60 on record with the
same old platitudes that will be buried
at the polls as overwhelmingly as be-
fore.
Platforms Meaningless.
The Republican dificulty is that 1t
wants to be liberal party and an
ultra conservative party at the same
time. Hence phrasemakers usually
employed to write platforms that are
meaningless. The struggle between
the progressive and conservative wings
of the Republican party began in 1912
and caused bitter feeling. The con-
servatives hated President Theodore
Roosevelt, the progressive leader. and
his anti-monopoly crusades, almost As
much as they today hate President
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Though the Republicans patched up
their differences on the surface in
1916, they actually did not heal the
breach. The Western Republicans have
pretty much gone along their own way.
independent of Eastern conservative
Republicans for 40 years. Though
President Harding had Republican
Congress in name, the majority of the
Senate was coalition of Western Re-
publicans and Democrats.
Today the issues are not any less
clear. The Republicans of the East
and the conservative group want a
high protective tariff. they want to
do away with the Hull reciprocity
agreements, they do not believe in A
subsidy to agriculture and they want
the Wagner Act buried and its spon-
sors hanged politically higher than
Eaman.
As for the Republican progressives
they see some merit in many OF the
measures proposed by the two Roose-
elts These progressives lean more
toward the Wagner law though they
want some corrections made and
abuses cut out. There is friendliness
to the reciprocity idea in the Middle
West and a belief that concentration
Of capital in modern enterprises II
economically desirable must yield to
some forms of social control.
- Believe Personality Decisive.
Many observers think It's all a mat
ter Of what personality Is chosen to
lead the party in 1910 and what mis-
takes Mr.. Roosevelt has made by then.
They brush aside talk of new principles
or adjustment of these fundamental
Issues between conservatives and pro-
gressives, between East and West.
But anybody with a rudimentary
knowledge of politics will be able to
tell the Republican Policy Committee
that a Republican party which goes
to the country in the next election
with lukewarm Endorsement Of the
Wagner labor relations law 10 going
90 lose the labor vote, which nowadays
is better organized for political ac-
ton than 1t ever has been before
throughout our whole history.
The average voter knows a friend
Of labor in politics when he sees one
and he is not going to be misled by
carefully phrased series of sentences
that carry water on both shoulders
All this the Republican Policy Com
mittee will discover in due time, but
what they may not feel till they get
further along in their deliberations Ia
Sthe impact of the conservatives who
have beer such an importance factor
In money raising heretofore. The
younger members Of the party are al
ready trying to get a better system
of campaign contributions devised 60
that large sums will not be accepted
from men associated with big corpora
tions even though, as permitted under
law, they give money in their individ-
ual capacities. The Frank committee
may make the mistake of compromis-
ing this year or next with the ultracon-
xervative viewpoint which appears so
unbudging today on fundamentals.
But this will all be of educational
value in building up the strength Of
the progressive wing of the party,
which must dominate the platform.
name the candidate and give every
evidence Of sincerity that its heart
throb for the masses Is counterpart
OF the man who really founded the
n