Evening star., 1939-07-26

''' large part in
Charles G. Ross. shaping the
course of legislation during the
messy Windup of this session of Con-
gresS.
There is no doubt in the minds of
Mr.. Roosevelt's leaders ION the Hill'
that If he had declared a third term
out OF the question, the Hatch bill
in its present drastic form never
would have been pressed to passage.
Much of the support for this meas
ture, which started out to be simply
ban ON politics in relief and wound
up as a revolutionary bill directed
at the political activities of horde
of Federal officeholders, was in
Spired by the desire to put crimp
in the third-term movement. Vice
President Garner was out in the
open for the bill, and there was sat-
isfaction in every rap with which
he gaveled it through, with the
House amendments, in the Senate.
On its face, the bill wears no aspect
of a defeat for the administration.
1t represents. in fact, one of the
severest defeats the administration
has suffered.
His Other Setbacks.
The failure of Mr.. Roosevelt to
win the fight over neutrality legis-
lation is likewise traceable in part
to the fears and animosities. open
or secret, aroused by his omission
to declare himself out of the race
in 1910. So also is the whiting
down of his current lending and
spending program. Some part of
it appears slated for passage. but
the legislative path would be
smoother and the prospective re-
suits larger if the President were
not regarded as potential can
didate.
Such are examples of the legis-
lative cost of the Presidents 81
lence and the encouragement it
gives to the third -termers. So far
from losing control over legislation
by a positive disavowal of third
| term ambitions, the event shows
that he would have gained immeas-
urably.
What no doubt has outweighed
this loss in the Presidents mind
if. indeed. he foresaW it-has been
the consideration that If he took
| himself out of the race he would
thereby leave the 1910 nomination
virtually open to the. right-wingers
of the party. That, above every
thing else, is what Mr.. Roosevelt
wants to prevent. His first aim is
to control the Democratic nominat-
ing convention. His silence on the
! third-term question is a part of his
strategy to that end.
Door Held Ajar.
1t is greatly to be doubted that
Mr.. Roosevelt yet knows whether
he is going out for the nomination
himself. What he has done, and
is doing, to the confusion and
chagrin of his opponents in the
Democratic party, is to hold the
door ajar for himself. No one who
has seen the cockiness with which
he parties questions about third
term at his press conferences can
doubt that he is thoroughly enjoy
ing the mystery he has created.
It's too bad, from any point Of
view, that Mr.. Roosevelt's tactics
have resulted in the wounding of
Jim Farley. Perhaps the wounds
were salved at the recent Hyde
Park conference; one cannot know,
from the cryptic statement of the
President that he and Mr.. Farley
had another of their effective"
talks, whether they were or not.
Mr.. Farley went up to Hyde Park
knowing no more about the Presi-
dents intentions with respect to
1910 than the rankest outsider.
Whether he knows much more today
is problematical It's a fair guess,
from the long time relations be-
tween the confident boss and his
faithful lieutenant, that Mr.. Roose-
velt set the conversational pace and
that Mr.. Farley. as always, went
along with him Loyalty. One may
be excused, though, for thinking
that the Farley smile for the CAM
eras, at the parting with his chief,
was little forced.
Entered in Black Books.
For whatever may have been the
upshot of his conversation with the
President. Mr.. Farley had been
hardly used. He had seen himself
entered in the black books of the
palace guard" because of his fall
ure to aid in the attempted buildup
of Solicitor General Jackson for
the New York governorship, as
stepping stone to the presidential
nomination. He had seen Paul Nc
Mutt, one of his few real political
aversions among Democrats, ele-
waited to a high place in the ad-
ministration. He had been COM
PEELED, lacking knowledge of the
Presidents desires, to forego a cam
paign for his own nomination that
he felt his own merits and his serv-
ices to the party entitled him to
make.
Mr.. Farley, being human, had not
enjoyed the thought forced upon
him that he was being ignored