Evening star., 1938-03-25
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY g. GOULD LINCOLN.

ignored Senator George, who introduced
him, and gave praise to Gov. Rivers who
was on the platform. Senator George
was strong opponent of the President
in the fight over the court bill last year.
Gov Rivers on the other hand, has been
an ardent New Dealer
Take it by and large the Democratic
members of the Senate and House from
Dixie are pretty sore over the Presidents
speech. They think that it was not
chubby thing for the President to 60 to
Gainesville for the dedication of new
civic center, built with Federal aid after
the disastrous tornado two years ago
mad wrecked the city, and make an attack
upon the Southern industries and their
wage scales. Nor do the Southerners
relish being called ''feudalists" by the
President, or having the President re-
mind them that feudalism is just as bad
as Fascism or Communism.
II the President is seeking to drive
conservative Democrats of the South,
or any Democrats of the South, out Of
The party, the party leaders here want
to know about it. Some Of them feel
that if the President is going to let them
they should follow further the feudal
political system which the President has
set up with himself at the apex.
They feel that the Presidents Gaines
vile address was calculated to affect the
coming primary elections, when the
Democrats of the South pick their candi-
dates for the House and for the Senate.
Senator George himself is up for renOm-
inatjnn nd napnsrati,. in,
the deep South is the same thing as
election. Senator George in his intro
ductOry remarks called Mr.. Roosevelt
the greatest President since the Civil
War. Senator George, who is regarded
in the Senate by his colleagues as a man
OF great ability and integrity, a great
lawyer and legislator, Was not mentioned
by the President at all. Some Of Senator
Georges friends believe that the Presi-
dent is anxious to have Gov Rivers go
into the senatorial primary and defeat
George. So far Rivers has not yet an
nounced himself as a candidate. The
Georgia primary does not take place
until September g. There is plenty of
time. And if Gov. Rivers decides instead
to announce himself candidate for re-
election as Governor, it will be probably
bNNeuoS liS NtOSo Ilol OCllCfc lfldt Ile CAN
defeat Senator George. or because the
President wants Rivers to 60 ahead with
the program for the State which he and
the President have outlined. Mr.. Roose-
Welt looks upon Georgia as his second
home State-he spends most of his yaca-
ton periods there.
Up to date, it does not appear that
the Presidents speech has reacted
against George or in favor of Rivers
When he addressed the crowd in Gaines
ville-Which had expected a very diff
ferent kind Of Speech-he was listened
TO in silence, The crowd was cold to
his remarks. And since then the reading
OF his speech in the newspapers through
the South has brought various criticisms
and interpretations.
Georgia members of the House have
been opposed to the President on his
wages and hours bill. which they con-
slider measure designed to aid the mills
of the North and to crack down on the
industries of the South. Only one. it is
said. has favored the President in this
legislation.
The President in his Gainesville speech
denounced the selfish few" to whom he
attributes apparently, the depression m
business that has set in and which the
New Dealers have sought to minimize by
calling a recession" This is the same
kind Of an alibi he and other New
Dealers have sought to establish in other
speeches.
While the President is attacking the
selfish few in the South. members of
the Senate Finance Committee. includ-
ing some of the Southern Democrats
whom the President no longer likes, have
stricken from the new revenue bill the
undlStrlbuted profits tax on corpora
tons root and branch. The adminstra-
ton leaders succeeded in having the
House retain the 'prlnciple' Of the un-
distributed profits tax, while modifying
the tax itself SO that it would not apply
TO many smaller corporations. 1t was a
1ace-saVlng device for the President, who
has sponsored this form of taXation-a
tax on thrift, it has been called. Senator
Pat Harrison of Mississippi is the chair
man of the Senate Committee, and
other Southern members are George of
Georgia. Connally of Texas, Bailey of
North Carolina and Byrd OF Virginia.
Only one of these Senators, Connally of
Texas, voted against striking out this tax
In some quarters the Presidents ad-
dress was regarded as a first blow in
campaign to control the State delega-
tions to the Democratic National Con-
vention in 1910. Here and there are
Democrats who believe that the Presi-
dent, in an effort to control the conven-
ton delegations, discloses that he is a
candidate, or probable candidate, for
a third term. This may be seeing things
in the dark. But the very discussion Of
such matters shows the underlying
bitterness which the President has
aroused.
The President is mixing more and
more in the party primary fights for
senatorial and congressional nominations
sometimes openly and directly as in
the case of Senator Barkley of Kentucky
Senator F.. Ryan Duffy OF Wisconsin and
others. Yet from the White House comes
reiteration after reiteration that the
President is keeping his hands off in
intra-party contests for nomination
that that is his policy always. It looks
as though he had definitely asked for
some one to beat Senator George
whether it be Gov. Rivers or some one
else. Senator George, however, will take
a lot of beating before he is defeated.
Out in Wisconsin, Senator Duffys
greatest difficulty lies with the La
Toilette progreSSives, who insist they will
have candidate in the field for Senator.
None OF the progressives has yet for