The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-05-26

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the most optimistic Republicans that
the Democrats will control the next
house of representatives by wide
margin makes the menace OF the La
Toilette Progressive party much
more bearable to Democratic prog
nosticators than might otherwise be
the case.
For the house of representatives,
to be elected this fall, will elect the
next President in December, 1916
IF a third party should prevent any
Presidential candidate from getting
a clean majority of the electoral
votes.
Since the recent consensus of po-
litical experts was taken by News
week, the writer has checked care
fully with some of the more opti-
mistic Republicans to discover
where they expect their gains in the
house. The point is that Presi-
dent is elected by the house, under
the Constitution, when no candidate
has an electoral college majority
by states, not by individual MEM
bers. The majority of each state
delegation determines how their
state will vote in electing Presi-
dent under such circumstances.
There are Is states about which
there is no doubt whatever. Many Of
them will have solid Democratic del
egations in the next house. Since no
political landslide is seen now even
by the most optimistic of the RepubA
licans there seems to be no chance
that the Democrats will not have a
majority in every one of these dele
cations.
These states are the group from
Maryland to Texas, and include:
Virginia, North and South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis-
sippi, Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Ok
lahoma and Maryland.
Ten more states would be needed,
as the Constitution requires ma
iority of all the states to elect
President in this manner. Which, as
the present number of states is 48,
would mean total of 25.
No Hope for G.. O. P.
Examining the Republican hope
chests, it is interesting to note that
there are more than ten additional
states to those already named, in
which there is no hope Of the Re
publicans capturing a majority of
the congressional delegations.
New York, surprisingly enough,
has not had Republican majority
in her house delegation since the
1920 election, despite the fact that
she rolled up an enormous majority
for Coolidge in 1924, and went for
Hoover by small majority in 1928.
Indiana has now only one Republ-
can member of the house. A gain of
two, or at most, three seats there is
all that the Republicans hope for.
Illinois is also apt to continue lop-
gidedly Democratic in her house del
egation. So are Colorado, Califor-
MIA, Oregon and Washington.
Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico
have only one representative each,
but that representative is just as
important when the house is elect
ing a President as New York or
Pennsylvania. Not even the most
optimistic Republican consulted by
the writer since the NewsWeek poll
has any hope of electing Republi-
can congressman from any of these
three little states.
And that makes the ten, which,
added to the Southern states emu
merated, totals twenty-five.
But there are. any number of pos
sibilities to make up for any I'M
expected local upset.
Arouses Curiosity
Inquiries from all over the eoun-
try are reaching senators and Off
Gals asking private advice as to
what is on the horizon to have
caused President Roosevelt to make
his sudden appeal for prompt staSt
on the construction Of two battle
ships.
The general impression on the
part of the inquirers seems to be
that there have been events in the
international situation which caused
this sudden move.
1t may be authoritatively stated
that this is not the case. No one in
administration circles pretends that
everything in the international situ-
alton is rosy. Quite the contrary.
But the international picture had
nothing to do with the Presidents
haste to get battleship construction
started In fact it is admitted by
high officials that If the foreign sit
uation were such that the President
thought the United States were like
ly to be forced into a war within,
say, year, the procedure would
be entirely different.
The President would then, it is
pointed out, be insisting on a very
different type of spending for the
anAervening period, He would want
the money spent on types of weap-
ons which could be completed be-
fore the war was over.