Evening star., 1939-11-19

dSIlt AlcaS oAloWll VAC AOl AAASA AAANAAcAAo
Governor marked consideration
since Mr.. McNutt returned from
the Philippines where he served as
United States High Commissioner.
The first thing the President did
was to appoint Mr.. McNutt to the
important job of head Of the Federal
Securities Agency. whereby he be-
came a temporary member Of the
cabinet, attending cabinet meetings.
Several Ozark Horses"
Other prospective candidates trot-
ted out in the past by the New
Dealers were Solicitor General
Robert H. Jackson, Secretary Of
Commerce Hopkins and Associate
Justice William o. Douglas None
of them took hold of the popular
imagination, and each has been
relegated to the list of dark horses" p"
Mr.. McNutt is in a different posi-
ton. He has held the most i'm
portant elective Office in his State
Goveplor. He heads a political Or
ganization in Indiana that has been
rated one of the strongest of its
kind. And he is backed by plenty
of money. Then. too. for months
his friends have been actively cam
paigning for him throughout the
country.
Mr.. McNutt already has said he
will not be candidate against
President Roosevelt if the latter
seeks a third-term nomination. But
his campaign for the nomination is
going right ahead on the theory the
President will not be a candidate
and Mr.. Roosevelt apparently has
raised no objection to the activities
for the Hoosier Democrat.
Senator Wheeler will not, 1t Is
said, make any attacks on the
President in his campaigning. al
though he has said in the past he
was against a third term IN the
White House for Mr.. Roosevelt or
any other man. His campaigning,
also, will be on the theory that the
President is not to run. Nor is he
expected to lock horns with Vice
President Garner, who is an active
candidate for the nomination.
Seeks New England Backing.
It is not the expectation OF the
Wheeler supporters that he can go
into the national convention with
as large block of delegates as the
Vice President or some of the other
candidates. But they do expect
him, if he shows well in the pre-
convention campaign, to have the
support of the Mountain States and
of Oregon and Washington. They
by no means despair of his picking
up some delegates in the Middle
West, as he is said to be strong
in Minnesota and Wisconsin as well
as in the Dakotas. Furthermore,
they are looking hopefully to New
England for some support.
Senator Wheeler has strong labor
backing He has been known as a
liberal for a score of years and has
been a national figure since he ran
IS years ago as a Vice Presidential
candidate on the Progressive ticket
with the late Senator La Toilette
of Wisconsin. He won further ma
tional reputation in 1887 when he
took the lead in the Senate fight
against President Roosevelt's bill to
increase the membership of the Su-
preme Court. 1t is believed he
would not only have aid from labor
and liberals, but also from many
of the conservative voters, if he
becomes Presidential nominee.
Although the Wheeler campaign
has been held in abeyance and will
be 50 held in all probability until
after the new year and Congress has
reassembled, it may be expected that
Wheeler for President Clubs will
soon get underway. Friends in Mon
tana and also in Massachusetts, have
been urging such a step, although
the Senator has frowned on such a
move in the past.
Native Of Massachuetts.
While presidential preferential
primaries are held for the election
Of delegates in Massachusetts,, the
Bay State frequently sends unin-
structed delegates to the national
conventions Senator Wheeler is a
native of Massachusetts, and some
of the delegates selected next year in
that State may be entirely friendly
to his candidacy.
If the President does not become
q candidate, and 1t seems increas-
ingly itely he will not, the anti
New Deal Democrats feel that the
man they have to stop viii be Mr.