Evening star., 1939-07-05

Hnares IT, hoss and, currently
his part in the battle to end the
Presidents dollar devaluation power
have brought him into the lime
hight. What effect the latter will
have on his prospects remains to
be seen. AS of today, the situation
as to silver and devaluation is too
confused to permit of any safe
prophecy regarding political effects.
Inc Republicans hope to gain
great kudos out of the fight. But
President Roosevelt has his back
up and when he gets that wav he
Is dangerous to his opponents. The
Republicans who joined hands with
the silver bloc to crack down on
the devaluation authority are not
being allowed to walk away with
an easy victory.
SO much for Vandenberg: He In
the lead and he has a fine chance
OF staying there. One must place
him in the lead by a process of
elimination.
The candidacy of Dewey does not
appear to have caught on as his
champions had hoped it would.
something more is needed out of
which to manufacture a successful
candidacy for President than the
glamor accruing from Deweys
racket-busting. He has yet to sup
ply the additional elements.
Meantime the general Republican
attitude toward him must be one
OF questioning. The break between
him and Kenneth Simpson. the New
York national committeeman. has
cone him no good. Simpson has
become symbolic of the drive within
the Republican party to DESTROY
Old Guard control The quarrel,
therefore, between him and Dewey
has seemed to align the candidate
with the more conservative wing
OF the party. This surface appear
ance may be wholly deceptive: onlv
Mr.. Dewey can tell us whether II
is or not. He will need to break
his silence on national issues, one
would think, if he is not to be over
shadoWed in the race. Silence in
these disturbed times is surely not
the political asset that it was in the
easier days.
Gingering- up Needed.
The note should be appended that
a renewal of friendly relations be-
tween Dewey and Simpson is re-
ported from New York. Perhaps
this development-if it has come
about-will produce some gingering-
up Of the Dewey campaign. 1t
needs it.
There are only two others who
may be described as first-string Re-
publican candidates: Senator Taft
and Gov. Bricker, both of Ohio.
Anybody else must be regarded as a
dark horse.
Neither man appears. at the mo-
ment, to want to get into a knock
down and -drag-out fight with the
other. Such a fight could very easily
kill off both of them. Ohio Repub-
lican leaders are counseling the cleo
ton of State delegates to the ma
tional convention who will be
friendly to both candidates, the idea
being to give first one of them the
full Ohio support in the convention,
and then, if he fails to make the
grade, the other. A sort of gentle
mans agreement to this effect is
being worked up in Ohio. If it is
carried out, it seems likely that the
delegation will go first for Senator
Taft.
The Republican situation in Ohio,
with a Governor and a Senator in
the lists, has striking points of sim
ilarity to that on the Democratic
side in Missouri, where "favorite-
son" support could go either to Sen
ator Clark or Gov. Stark.
Vandenberg, Dewey, Taft. Bricker.
These are the leading four. If you
want fifth-as did a picture editor
the other day-add Bruce Barton
Of New York as long shot, or, as
a longer, La Guardia of New York.
Put down La Guardia because any,
thing can happen in politics nova
days.
Up to Roosevelt.
AS for the Democrats, it can only
be repeated that prophecy at this
stage, with nobody knowing what
the President is going to do. is sub
ject to heavy discount. Having pre-
pared this cushion for himself, the
writer ventures-again under prod
ding from an editor-that the best
present prospects for the nomination
are Roosevelt, Garner, Hull, Farley
and McNutt. He declines to say in
what order they should be placed.
Roosevelt? The possibility of a
third-term nomination cannot be
dismissed so long as the President
omits to take himself out of the
running. Assuming he does not want
the nomination, the reason why he
has not taken himself out, and will
not in the near future, Is two-fold.
In the first place, he does not choose
to weaken his hold on the party.
That is an obvious reason and prob
ably it would control his decision
in any case. In the second place
by plausible surmise-he feels 1t is
to the advantage of his foreign pol
icy to keep the European dictators
guessing as to his intentions.
One guess as to what he will do in
the end continues to be as good as
another. The question that gets re-
porters sent to the corner when
asked at the White House press
conferences was put by the writer
the other day to one of the Presi-
dents advisers. Zone day." was the
reply, Il think he is a candidate
and the next day am equally sure
he is not" That expresses the state
of mind of a good many observers
in Washington.