The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-08-11


and earth to get his Republican min
ers to change their affiliations so as
to vote for Tom Kennedy in the
Democratic primary, and obviously
almost every vote so changed was
a loss for Pinchot. Not only be-
cause of Lewis friendship for Pin
chot, but because Pinchot as COVER
nor made warm friends of the min
ers.
This may or may not be true, but
it would not explain why Lewis
made such a poor showing in the
mining regions. The vote in these
ran just as strongly against Ken
needy as it did elsewhere.
Want to Beat Davis
The chief problem of the New
Dealers. however, is to beat Puddler
Jim Davis, and this looks like an up
hill job indeed. For instance nearly
I'll 900 votes were piled up for for
mer Attorney General Charles J.
Margiotti. Margiotti had denounced
Governor Earle during the primary
campaign, accusing him of taking
money from the brewers.
It must be remembered that the
total Republican vote for senator
was about 5000 in excess of the to-
tai Democratic vote for senator.
This would be insignificant, normal
ly, but it must be considered that
most of the votes cast against Sem
ator Davis were organization votes,
which normally can be expected to
swing to the winner on election day.
Out of the total Democratic votes
in the senatorial race, however, S.
Davis Wilson, mayor of Philadel.
phia, piled up about 1000. Dur
ing the campaign Wilson attacked
Earle bitterly, although he had been
former ally, charging that Earle
had borrowed money from a state
contractor.
Conceivably something might be
done which would bring Wilson into
the Democratic camp. Conceivably
Wilson may even be making
speeches for Earle before election
day. But the fight was SO bitter
that it is very difficult to imagine
all of Wilson'S supporters voting for
Earle in November. Some of them
may have believed the plain intima-
| ton of the man they were support
ing that Earle's actions in borrow
ing this money were not ethical, to
put it mildly.
Zero in Marching
There has been tremendous lot
of marching up the hill and down
again since last month, when the
opinion was ventured that Follow
the Leader" was no longer politi-
cal necessity for senator's and rep
resentatives in voting on measures
affecting business.
But the net result of all the march
ing is pretty nearly zero. Pennsyl-
vania, where the New Deal lost
rot only its shirt, but its reputation
for infallible political prediction,
just about offsets Florida, where a
strongly pro-New Deal senator tri-
umphed in his primary over New
Deal critic seeking his toga.
A good many more cards will be
played, in various states, before the
picture is complete, and it would be
dangerous now to predict thatoeNew
Deal ideals will not be slavishly fol-
lowed by chastened congress after
the primaries and the November
election have recorded their man
dates. But--present conviction in
Washington is that the results will
be mixed, with administrator victo-
ries and defeats SO counterbalanc-
ing that the net result will be, next
session, that Individual senators
and representatives. who want to be
independent will be.
Regardless of what may happen
to the Roosevelt prestige, however,
it would seem next to impossible for
John L. Lewis again to inspire the
political fear in congressional
hearts which has dwelt there for the
last few years. BY the same token
William Green, and the American
Federation of Labor, have regained
the prestige and political power
which they enjoyed until Lewis and
his c. /. O. moved in on Roosevelt.
Political Loser
Important now, however, is the
fact that the labor outfit which has
been dominating the New Deal poll
cies and appointments turns up as a
political loser. Since the Pennsyl-
vania primaries congress is paying
more attention to William Green's
attack on the national labor rela-
tons board.
Shrinking OF the Lewis political
menace in the minds of our national
legislators has also resulted in many
members of the house and senate
paying more attention to the flood
of protests from manufacturers and
other employers of labor as to the
high-handed, arbitrary and discour-
aging methods of the NLRB.
Now congress is being told very
emphatically that the labor policy
of the government is also a wet
blanket on enterprise, and particu-