The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1940-08-01
A New Chairman
Washington, July 81.

Washington, July 27.
Within the next two weeks the
White House political strategists who
hnglingly engineered the draft" at
chicago, have got to do some more
drafting. But this time it will not be
faxed draft; this time it will be a
real one. This time it has got to be on
the level.
%x*
Because it has already been made
clear that there are going to be no
volunteers for the job of chairman of
the Democratic National Committee,
which will be vacant on August II, the
date Mr.. James A. Farley has fixed
for his retirement after eight years
of service No one appears to know
at this time who will be Mr.. Farley's
successor; but this much is known: not
one of the three or four gentlemen
mentioned for the job wants it. 1t is
possible to go further than that and
say, with complete truth, that there
is not among them one who is not
definitely eluctant-practically to the
point of being determined not to take
it.
Certainly that is true of Senator
James F. Byrnes, of South Carolina,
whom the New Deal political geniuses
first classes as unavailable for the
Vice-Presidential nomination and then
decided to put in charge of the cam
paign. Apparently they thought he
would leap at the chance, which was
lust about as sound as some of their
ether political theories evolved during
the convention. Instead of leaping
toward the proffered craftsmanship,
Senator Byrnes nimbly leaped away
from it. He just says he will not take
it,
Of course, pressure is being put on
him; but it isn't easy to fool Senator
Bylnes, who knows what is behind
the pressure and can smell propagan-
personal plea from Mr.. Roosevelt
of the kind he made to Governor Leh-
man in 1886 might cause him to yield,
as personal pleas of that kind from
President of the United States are
very hard to resist. But it would have
to come from Mr.. Roosevelt personally
and be very urgent indeed. And, even
if forced in that way to take the place,
the reluctance of Senator Byrnes
would be SO clear as to more
or less minimize his effectiveness as a
chairman.
Mr.. Byrnes is the smartest, most
popular, straightest and generally
best qualified of those mentioned for
the craftsmanship, and he would do a
better job than any of the others. But
what applies to him applies only in
less degree to the others. There is
not one who wants the job-not one
who will take it unless practically
forced to by Roosevelt insistence. In
brief, any one of the frst-grade men
mentioned will have to be really
drafted. And there are one or two
whose reluctance just can't be over
come. And why shouldn't they be re-
luctant? What is there in it for first
grade man, anyhow?
In the first place, he knows that in
Mr.. Farley he will be following man
whose performance it will be impos-
sible to match. However hard he works
and whoever he may be, there is
bound to be a letdown in the whole
Democratic Committee machinery
when Mr.. Farley steps out. In indus
try, efficiency and achievement he has
established a record which will stand
a long time. Almost everybody ad-
mlts that. In the second place, this
campaign has not opened auspiciously
for the Democratic ticket, and the
chances of it's success certainly are
not better than ever. If things go
wrong, then the new chairman will be
blamed And if they go right, the
shabby way in which Mr.. Farley has
been treated in the last year is hardly
guarantee of gratitude. The highest
reward the new chairman could get
would be the Postmaster Generalship,
and that-to Mr.. Byrhes, at any rate
would not seem much reward for the
KIND of strain to which the chairman
Is subjected. He would much rather
be Senator from South Carolina.
The net of all this is that the bust
ness of filling Mr.. Farley's place,
winch would have been tough under
any conditions, is made really terri
piy tough by a number of things
llfst, by the plain fakery of the draft,
Oy bungled convention, by the bad
start Of the campaign and the poor
outlook for success; second, by the
laet that succeeding Mr.. Farley in
lVse1 imposes something of strain;
Ihlrd, by the prospect that man in