Evening star., 1938-09-04
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

The real test of the Presidents purge"
directed against those members of Con-
greSs who opposed his New Deal policies
starts this week. There are three out
standing legislators against whom he has
spoken forcetully, urging their defeat for
denomination in Democratic party pri-
marleS: Senator Walter F.. George of
Georgia on whom the voters are to rem
Ger their decision Tuesday: Senator Mil
lard F.. Tydings of Maryland, on whom
the voters render a decision September
II, and the President vigorously entering
the State in the closing days of the cam
palgn to make personal appeal to the
voters at Denton. on the Eastern Shore
on Labor Day. and Representative John
j. OConnor. New York chairman of the
Rules Committee, on whom the voters
register their will on September 20.
4 +*
Presidential interference In party
primary contest is not an innovation
started by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The
precedent was established by Woodrow
Wilson in 1918. Previously no President
had the same opportunity for the State
wide party primary system was not set
up until 1904 and then only in two States
Wisconsin and Oregon-but In 1917 it
was established in A States and Wilson
had his opportunity to seek the defeat of
his little group of wilful men" How
ever Wilson sought their defeat only by
letters and interviews. He did not per-
sonally 60 into their States and make
speeches against them-as Roosevelt has
done with George in Georgia and as he
announced he will do with Tydings in
Maryland.
Wilson himself wrote: 1T have never
undertaken and I would never presume
to undertake to dictate to the voters of
any State the choices they had made. but
when my views have been sought bv those
who seemed to have a right to seek them,
1 have not heSitated to give them" Bv
strange coincidence that letter was writ
ten to Clark Howell as national commit
teeman for Georgia. when Wilson sue
cessfully opposed the denomination of
Senator Thomas w. Hardwick. saving
that "he has been a constant and active
opponent of my administration Three
years later Georgia honored Hardwick
by electing him Governor Senator
George, the present object of the presi-
Dental purge" was a protege of Clark
outstanding supporters against the
purge
President Roosevelt, speaking in Sa-
vannah on November 13. 1888. called
Georgia my own State" He beg gan 60
ing to Warm Springs for treatment for
lnfantile paralysis in 1924 He now owns
and operates a farm there, where much
Nf tho nO1jtioo1
nomination for the presidency was de-
veloped in the spring of 1882. Also. much
OF the groundwork of the New Deal was
laid there-especially the outlines of the
N. r. A. Mrs. Roosevelt's grandmother
was Bullock of Georgia. In that
speech in Savannah five years ago the
President tried out his Tory charge.
which ne has been repeating during the
present purge He said that Certain
modern Tories accused him of great
experimentation to which he pleaded
guilty. He then cited the founding of
the American Colonies, the Revolutionary
War; the trek away from the Eastern
seaboard despite the doubling Thom-
ases,' and John Stuart Mill, all to prove
that nation which does not experiment
IS nation that dies. He really sounded
the keynote of his campaign for re-elec-
ton in Georgia, November 20. 1854
oe1ense OF the New Deal borrowing policy
One Of the candidates against George
in Georgia for the United States Senate
is former Gov. Eugene Talmadge. AS
Governor he welcomed the President
warmly at Savannah, in 1888. but by the
end of 1885 had publicly rejected the New
Deal. Talmadge in radio talk in Janu-
ary, 1886, gave bitter answer to Roose-
velt's keynote speech in Atlanta, little
over month previous, and he was her
aided as making bid for the presidential
nomination that year. He opposed
Roosevelt in the convention for renomi-
nation and in the campaign.
X X
Georgia is one of five States where the
direct primary. though COMMONLY en-
ployed, Is optional, party committees be-
ing left free as to the choice of the direct
or indirect method of nomination.
Georgia combines a run-of primary
with county-unit system of voting.
Maryland and New York are two of
three direct primary States that require
the nomination of United States Senators
and elective State officers by convention.
The Maryland system retains the prin-
ciple OF popular nomination, however,
because candidates names appear on the
primary ballot and convention delegates
must vote for the candidate receiving the
largest vote in their county or legislative
district. New York applied the direct
primary to all local, State and Federal
omces in 1913, but in 1921 the conven-
ton system was restored for nominating