The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1938-05-05

Republican situation more than for
the past two years. Most of the po-
litical- gossip has been conferred up
on the Democratic party, because
of the evident split i'm its ranks
and because up to now it has such
complete control of the situation
that the Republicans have been
almost negligible factor in Gov
eminent affairs.
Now, however, the Republicans
are beginning to show some signs
of life. There is enough basis for
Republican hopes to lead observ-
ers at the Capitol to believe that
the party is actually on the way
toward regeneration. There are a
few among those accustomed to
surveying and appraising the politi-
cal outlook who are not ready to
concede that in the fall the RepubE-
cans will gain large number OF
seats in the House now held by
Democrats. There are more than
$50 Democratic members whose ma
jorities in their districts in 1896
elections were so small that a
change Of ten percent of the total
vote would have defeated them.
The Republican Congressional
Committee has been for months at
work on plans to 60 after all of
those thinly-held Democratic seats,
and its spokesman express conf
dence that they will recapture
many of them. Estimates in figures
vary from fifty to $50. The latter
would be enough to give the Re-
publicans a majority in the Lower
House, if they held the 80 seats
they now have. There are '440 Rep
resentatives, so that total of 221
is all that is needed to control, if
held by one party.
G. O. p. Majority Unlikely
That the Republicans will be able
to achieve that objective is not SER
iously believed by astute observers
at the present time. Conditions
may arise which will make that
more probable that it looks now.
But careful analysis of each district
already makes it seem a reasonable
forecast that the Republicans will
gain somewhere between rs and 100
seats, which will not give them
majority but will make them a
much more formidable minority.
And there is little doubt that with
a block of even $50 votes in the
House, there would be few ma
jor Issues upon which the necessary
II votes of disgruntled Democrats
could not be counted upon to 60
along with the Republicans.
When anyone in Washington to-
day kpeaks of major issues" he
means issues or proposals in which
the Administration is lined up
against the Presidents antagonists
in Congress. The issue is frequent
~ not one between Republicans
and Democrats but between Presi-
dent Roosevelt and his opponents,
and the latter include more Demo-
Gratis in Congress than the present
total number Of Republican men,
berS.
There are at least 100 Democrat
ic Congressman who can be counted
upon to oppose any Administra-
ton measure which in any way
smacks of reform. There are
more than that who are ready to
fight any proposal to enlarge the
powers Of the Executive in any de-
gree. There is probably an even
larger number who viii resist to the
bitter end any proposals to give the
President any more BLANK checks"
in the form of lump sums appropri-
atoms to be expended at his discre-
lion.
Revolt q Surprise
The Administration did not fully
awaken to the extent Of the revolt
Of Congress until the defeat Of the
Reorganization Bill disclosed it.
The vote on that measure came as
a complete surprise. Even so astute
an oberver Of politics as Charlie
Nicholson, publicity director of the
Democratic National Committee,
was taken by surprise. He had pre-
pared and sent out to newspapers
in advance an article based upon
the assumption that the bill would
paEs, and for the first time in his
career was obliged to recall care
fully-prepared piece because he had
guessed wrong.
There were lib House Democrats
who went on record against the
Administration on that measure,
which was not in itEelf particularly
Objectionable but which was OPP
posed and defeated principally for
the reason that the President de-
manded it and the belief that it
put more power into his hands. The
nroSpectS of the RenublicanS for a