Evening star., 1942-09-20
Republicans Claim
Chance Of Winning
Control Of House
81 More Seats Needed
Gain Of 20 TO 80
Believed Certoin
BY GOULD LINCOLN.

With the congressional cleo
tions only six weeks away, Re-
publican leaders today are max
ing serious estimates of their
chances to gain control of the
House, In order to accomplish
that the COP must add So seats
to their present total.
On the face of it, this seems
difficult if not impossible task. But
the Republicans say: 1T can be
done" They point to a number of
straws in the wind They quote
what their own scouts and more
impartial observers are saying to
show that the change can be made
at the polls on election day.
When the votes were counted in
November, 1940.l it was found the
Republicans had l62 House seats.
The other 273 seats were held by
the Democrats with the exception
Of handful of Farmer-Labor.
American-Labor and Progressive
seats. Since that time the Republi-
cans have gained four additional
seats and now have 166. They were
gained in elections to fill vacancies
during the last two years. Not only
did the Republicans take these four
seats away from the Democrats. but
in other by elections they reelected
all their own candidates.
1888 Gains Recalled.
-Four years ago, in the last con-
gressional election not involved in
presidential contest, the Repub-
licans gained 80 seats. 1t is true
that the number of the Republicans
in the House before that election
was down to between 90 and 100.
They had more leeway, therefore, to
make gains. The New Dealers were
on the defensive in that campaign
and they may very well be in the
present one.
The effort of the New Dealers
and their allies this year to make
the war an issue and to make an
issue of pre-Pearl Harbor "isola-
tionism" has so far netted very
little. The voters apparently are
more interested in the course men,
bers of Congress have pursued since
Japan's attack on the United States.
The Democrats are finding them
selves in the position of having to
defend their administration of the
Government as we'll as the conduct
of the war They are particularly
vulnerable, the Republicans say, ir
their failure to make proper pro-
vision for an adequate rubber sup
ply. They are also vulnerable be-
cause of the failure to provide fol-
adequate transportation for fuel OF
and gasoline.
Three of the four seats the Re.
publicans have won from the Demo.
Gratis since 1910 were won after tht
United States had entered this war
Seven Political Divisions.
Roughly, the country is divided
into seven groups of States for po'
litieal consideration-the New Eng
land States, the Eastern States dowr
to Virginia, including New York
New Jersey and Pennsylvania; tla
Southern States, the border States
the Midwestern States-from Ohit
to Kansas and Nebraska; the Noun.
tain States and the Pacific Coas
| States.
The Republicans expect to make
gains in all those groups, with th'
exception of the solid South ant
possible the Border States yves
Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee ant
Marylan6. The COP leaders in
sist, however, that if the trend
is really strong-as they believe it i
they will pick up few seats il
the border States-as they have he'll
them before.
The situation in New England i
| good from the Republican point o
view The Republicans point will
satisfaction to the clean sweep mad
in the Maine elections Monday
They say the Democratic representa-
ton from Massachusetts in tn
House will be reduced by at leas
one member-due to the fact tina