Evening star., 1939-07-11

ton. True, Mr.. McNutt has said
he will not seek the nomination if
Mr.. Roosevelt wants it, but never
theless the Indiana leader is given
a pat on the back at moment
when the country is in the dark
as to whether Mr.. Roosevelt wants
q third term.
In one sense, the gesture can be
considered as merely Mr.. Roose-
velts subtle way of communicate
to the public the fact that he is
not standing in the way of any,
body who wants to seek the Demo-
cratic presidential nomination. 1t
is important for this to be estab-
lished, for otherwise it would look
as II Mr.. Roosevelt were trying to
boss the situation and keep the
party from exercising its own right
Of selection.
Could Corner Delegates.
But there is still another mean
ing which is being attributed to the
Presidents action 1t is that Mr..
McNutt is really an instrumentality
for the development of delegates
who are friendly to the Presidents
denomination, and that at the
psychological moment the McNutt
delegates will become Roosevelt
delegates. There is also the pos
sibility that Mr.. Roosevelt would
like to have Paul McNutt as his
running mate. Certainly John
Garner is not going to be a candi-
date for Vice President again, so
there's a vacancy on the ticket
which Mr.. McNutt appears to fill
to the satisfaction of many New
Dealers. First, he has been a New
Deal type of Governor and, second,
he comes from Midwestern State,
where it is important that vice
presidential candidates be obtained
when the head of the ticket comes
from New York.
1t is a bit unusual to see a man
appointed to Office after he has an
nounced that he is seeking the pres
idential nomination. There have
been men in cabinet posts-Wil-
liam Howard Taft, who was Secre-
tary of War in 1908, and Herbert
Hoover, who was Secretary of Com
merce in 1928-when presidential
booms were started. In the case of
Secretary Taft, the then President.
Theodore Roosevelt. actually let it
be known that he favored the Sec
retary of War for the Republican
nomination.
History might be repeating itself
and the present occupant of the
White House may be appointing Mr..
McNutt as a way of putting his
blessing on the candidacy of the
former Governor of the Hoosier
State, but this version of the affair
does not find many adherents in
the National Capital. The belief is
held rather widely that Mr.. Roose-
welt has not made up his mind either
whether he will run or whom he
would select if he had to decide
tomorrow the question of successor
for the Democratic nomination.
May Be Checkerboard Politics.
1t may we'll be that the President
Is playing checkerboard politics. He
sees the friends of Vice President
Garner active. He likes Jack Garner
but considers him and his friends
too conservative for the perpetual
ton of the New Deal reforms" He
sees liberal candidate like Sena-
tor Burton Wheeler of Montana
coming out of the background into
the foreground as possible candi-
date. Certainly Mr.. Roosevelt can
not contend that Mr.. Wheeler is
conservative.
Perhaps Mr.. Roosevelt wants to
see as many candidates in the ring
as possible. 1t means bigger chance
OF disagreement and greater
chance to draw to his side, either
for his own nomination or for his
own favorite, the liberals as dis
tinguished from the conservatives.
For, since Mr.. Roosevelt cannot be
an active candidate and delegates
cannot be corralled for him without
embarrassment, it is much better
to see delegates lined up behind fav-
orite sons who are amenable to New
Deal strategy and purposes, what
ever they may be in the first half of
1910. Nothing, therefore, is lost,
and something may be gained from
a political strategy standpoint in
selecting Paul McNutt to head the
all-important division of the execu-
tive branch of the Government to
be known as the Federal Security
Agency. Mr.. McNutt is an able
citizen and we'll qualified to do the
Job irrespective of his announced
political ambitions. 1t certainly is
a delicate thing, however, to ask
political candidates to do admins
trative jobs wherein political factors
are supposed to be wholly excluded.
Mr.. McNutt's willingness to take
job under these circumstances Is
puzzling, but so is everything about
the third term game as it is being
played by the New Deal strategists.