The Wilmington morning star., 1940-04-17
RAL E|G II
B r ELS
Star-NeWs Bureau
Sir Walter Hotel

Star-News Bureau
Sir Walter Hotel
By HENRY AVERILL
RALEIGH, April 16.-The North
Caroinla drive for Roosevelt is under
way, with fully manned headquar-
tiers right here in the Sir Walter
hotel, but the genesis of the entire
movement isn't yet quite clear.
Stated objective is selection Of a
Tar Heel delegation to the demo-
cratic national convention which
will be loyal "in toto' to the Roose.
welt administration, but there is
coupled with this the. implied prom.
Use that the delegations vote on
the first ballot will be cast for
Governor Clyde R. Hoey.
In view of the almost unanimous
agreement on all sides that Roose.
welt will get the nomination unless
he comes out fatty and declared
he will not accept it, and in view
of the further fact that he will get
the nomination on the first ballot
If he gets it at all, the two pro.
posed objectives of the pro-Roose.
welt Tar Heel organization seem a
bit contradictory. If they don't vote
for Roosevelt on the very first roll
call, the ship will have sailed with.
out him.
But getting back to the question
posed about the genesis, there is
even more contradiction. For in
stance, everybody who knows State
Senator John D. Larkins, who will
be in active charge of headquar-
tiers, knows full we'll he wouldn't
be there unless he had at least the
implied blessing of the governor and
other party organization stalwarts
like Chairman Gregg Cherry.
Yet everybody who knows the gov
evnor's mind at all knows that he
is definitely and determinedly op.
posed to a third term for Roosevelt.
And so there you have another con-
tradiction. Larkins, who would do it
without gubernatorial consent, work.
ing for something the governor does
not want.
There is, of course, n very sim
pie explanation of this phenomenon.
The governor is very much a real.
list when it ome to politics and
he probably knows full we'll that
Roosevelt is going to dominate the
national convention no matter what
North Carolina and it's delegation
do. Roosevelt will either be nomi>
rated or will dictate the nominee.
Therefore, it is surmised, Cover.
nor Hoey and the other regulars
of the party, think they might just
as well get aboard the bandwagon
and play in harmony with the Roose.
welt music. To do otherwise would
accomplish nothing except put them
outside the pale in the event the
democratic presidential nominee
Roosevelt or his hand-picked choice
should win in November.
Some folks profess to see the fine
Italian hand of Max Gardner be.
hind the whole thing, but this seems
a bit too thick. Admitting that
election of a democratic president
is essential to Gardner's happiness
and w%ell-being and further admit
ting that Max has never been known
to overlook an opportunity to ride
with a winner, it doesn't seem pos
sible that he could have pulled the
strings which set such folks as
Ralph Mcdonald and National Com
mitteeman Lon Folger into action
in the behoof of President Roose-
welt.
1t is to be noted that there are
representatives of almost every di-
vision of democratic political opin.
ion represented On the Roosevelt
steering committee with one notable
exception, the partisans who owe
much to Senator Josiah W. Bailey.
All of which makes it look very
much as though it finally pene-
trated the political oraniums of
hard-headed politicians that not only
is the country as a whole, but in
North Carolina as we'll, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt rank and file. And
once again they are clutching at
the Roosevelt coat-tails, even as did
Senator Bailey in 1886.
State Senator Larkins certainly
holds the championship belt for
professional Campaign managing
for one thing and another.
In 1888 he began by steering to
success the campaign for a consti,
%tutional amendment extending terms
of sheriffs and constables to four
years.
In 1899 and again in 1910 he han
died the statewide democratic Jack
son Day dinners.
Now he takes on the Loyalty to
Roosevelt assignment as secretary,
with John Folger as chairman.
In between times John runs for,
and gets elected to the state senate.
This year is his third consecutive
race, and there is a strong proba-
bility that he'll be the next presi-
dent pro tenn of the upper legisla-