Evening star., 1938-09-22

| ocratic nominees for Senate and House
| in the November elections. The DEM
ocrats are closing ranks, now that the
intraparty primary contests are over
including the purge"
The President is doing no gloatine
| over the success of the efforts to
purge" the party Of John j. O'Connor
although he admits he is glad that
James H. Fay, O'Connor's opponent
won: As the President sees it, the
race in the New York 18th congress
sional district was a question of per.
sonalities. Whatever it was, the Presi-
dents man, Fay, won and O'Connor
| who fought the Presidents reorgani-
zation bill. and as chairman of the
in the side of the New Dealers. was
! licked.
O'Connor Ranked High In Purge.
The New Dealers have figured, how
| ever, that it would be much to their
advantage to eliminate the chairman
OF the House Rules Committee. In
| deed. some of them have contended
that it was more valuable to the cause
OF the New Deal to displace O'Connol
| than to defeat any or all of the recall
| cltrant Democratic Senators.
The President has disclosed the fact
that he believed Senator Tydings
would defeat. Representative David j
Lewis in Maryland's Democratic sena-
torial primary just as badly as Tyd-
ings did beat him. That being the
case, the administration surely must
have had something in mind for Mr.
Lewis when the battle was over. Mr.
Lewis Is fine and honest legislator
He could have remained in the House
beyond doubt had he not been per-
suaded to go into the race against the
administrators foe, Senator Tydings
1t has been suggested that he will be
made an Assistant Secretary of Labor
there is vacancy. Mr.. Lewis could
fill the position more than adequately
The administration. however. has it.
hands rather full of 100 per cent
New Deal lame ducks ks"-members O.
Congress who were denied renomina.
ton. There Is the chance, of course
that the number will be increased
after the elections in November. But
even now 1t is not unimpressive. What
is to be done. for example, for Senators
McAdoo of California, Pope of Idaho
Dieterich of Illinois. or Represen enta.
tive Maverick and Mclean of Texas;
Will Federal Offices be found TO,
them?
With the primaries a thing oi
the past, when charges few thick
| about the use of the w. P. A. ir
politics, for administration candidates
and against the nti-administratior
Democrats, the latest report of Harry
L. Hopkins. w. P. A. administrator
on the Kentucky charges come ir
the nick Of time. Mr.. Hopkins asserts
that he has investigated all the
charges against members of his or.
ganization and finds only one stands
, up. That is the case of James B
Boddie, director of w. P. A. in dis
trict l, who had lists of w. P. A
workers prepared and turned over tc
the Barkley campaign managers. Mr.
Hopkins however, does not consider
that sufficient crime to warrant the
discharge of Mr.. Boddie. So he has
informed Senator Sheppard, chairman
Of the Senate Campaign Investigating
Committee, whose Investigators wen,
into Kentucky and turned up a lot
of evidence which they insisted showed
efforts to coerce the voters to support
Barkley.
It does seem that the Senate Cam.
| paign Investigating Committee might
have reached the conclusion before
this that the only way to clean ur