Evening star., 1941-12-07
1912 Voting Unlikely to Relax
Democratic Grip on Congress
Pressure Groups Will Be Active as Well as
G. 0. p. but Opposition Lacks
Cohesion and Money
By Raymond p. Brandt.

announcement Of the America Firsters
Notwithstanding.
Issues will abound in the coming pri-
maries and elections. but their diversity
forestalls unified opposition. The
largest bloc in the last four elections.
the anti Roosevelt leaders and voters. are
now divided; large group of Repub-
lican business and professional men, who
thought the President was trying to set
himself up as dictator of the domestic
economy. now agree with his foreign
policy, Many Of these former campaign
contributors are refusing to refill the de-
pleted Golfers of the Republican party.
TheV have not switched their financial
backing TO the Democrats. who also have
deficit. but their withdrawal from the
militant Republican forces is a primary
reason for the present defeatist state of
the Republican organization.
The anti-Roosevelt bloc. while bitter
and vociferous in its well-organized days,
was not especially effective in elections.
The 1884, 1886, 1893 and 1910 elections
demonstrated that. It's power next year
probably will be less.
War and Defense Issues.
The other issues will be the war sit
uation, military and non-defense SPEND
ing. taxes, the growing strength of or
ganlzed labor, farm subsidies, rising
prices and the plight of small business
AS chairman of the Republican National
IoI,
national Republican policy on the votes
of his party members in the House. This
solution is unWorkable today. While most
of the House Republicans are voting nom
interventionist and for labor -curbing leg
lslation-traditiona Republican policies
they also are voting for larger appropria-
tons bigger farm subsidies and against
effective price control legislation along
with the Democrats Some of the more
frank Republicans in the House admit
they are looking out for themselves re-
gardless of what might be national Re-
publican policy This is not unusual in
presidential election years.
The Democrats are as united as they
ever have been in the later years of the
Roosevelt administration. Vice Presi-
dent Wallace, ardent New Dealer. has
replaced John N. Garner. who at times
covertly fought the Presidents domestic
program. Mr.. Wallace seems to be the
heir apparent for l944-if there is to be
an heir apparent. Federal Security Ad-
miniStrator Paul V. McNutt also a New
Dealer, will give him the same kind of
competition that developed at the Chi
cago convention in 1910. Mr.. McNutt
stepped down for Mr. Wallace at Chi
cago, but he's running for the presidency
every day Of the year. In the party
organization, James A. Farley's place as
head of the National Committee has
fallen to Edward J. Flynn of the Bronx.
Mr.. Flynn is not the dynamo Farley was,
but he has no personal ambitions.
Labor's Threats and Promises.
Rooseveltian policies and the war
situation, of course, will dominate the
primaries and elections. The two largest
groups of voters. farmers and industrial
workers. however, have generally voted
for their own self-interests rather than
on national issues. AS usual, the leaders
Of organized labor have promised to re-
ward their friends and punish their
enemies. The threats and promises next
year may carry more weight than in
the past.
Whether as a natural industrial de-
velopment or as result of New Deal
legislation or both, organized labor is
more class conscious today than it has
ever been. The A. F. l.. and the c. l. o.
each claim a membership of 5000 900
workers If these 100000 workers and
their families could be forced to vote
as a class conscious group on detailed
labor program, they would be the most
powerful single force in an election. In
the past they repeatedly ignored orders
of their leaders and may again next
year The time seems to be coming
however, when organized labor will have
the determining voice in larger and
larger number of constituencies.
The c. I. o. has been more active
along this line than the A. F. L. Already
steps have been taken toward collabora-
ton between organized workers and or