Detroit evening times., 1945-11-05
POLITICAL
PARADE
BY George
RothweII Brown
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8

soOlllG sOuliitAH ~ NOiAoNA a
tive Democrats are saying that
the domestic policies now being
sponsored by President Truman
do not constitute a continuation
of the Roosevelt New Deal, but
mark the formal launching of
an entirely new deal.
Two or three presidential
vetoes of conservative legisla-
ton enacted by Congress, 10
curb the power of organized
labor and the labor racketeers
operating under protective e
statutes of the original New
Deal, would result in the OPEN
ing of a wider break between
Capitol Hill and White House
than existed in 1914 when Texas
Democrats led an a abortive
southern revolt against the
fourth nomination of Franklin
d. Roosevelt.
The spirit OF revolt among
southern conservatives in the
House of Representatives to-
day is even more pronounced
than IL was a year and half
ago when Roosevelt lost con-
troll of his own party in that
body.
This is because many
southern Democrats feel that
President Truman, a natural
conservative himself, has '1et
them down." This feeling has
become pronounced within a
matter of a few weeks.
SINCE this is precisely the
~ way the President feels
about the way his own sup
porters, so eloquent in their
protestations of support until
the latter part of August, have
let him down. it will be per-
ceived that the sentiment is
mutual, in fact, a family row
is on.
That is not so good for the
Democratic party on the eve of
the 1916 congressional cleo
tions, and if the Republican
party in congress here were
better united than it actually
is, one might begin TO detect
signs of a political turnover
next year.
With the Democrats in COM
plete control Of Congress at
both ends of the Capitol, it is
significant that no part Of
President Truman's must pro-
gram has been enacted into
law, although some parts of it
were described by him as
urgent
GONE of the proposals high
~ on the presidential agenda
are as red rags waved before
the face of the Dixie bull. OPP
position 10 them has served TO
unite the South into a solid
bloc. .leaaae-l.
This. bloc of sOuthern
Democrats will never yield 10
the Presidents demand for a
fair employments practices
law, the "full employment"
bill, unemployment compen-
sation, anti-lynch legislation,
and repeal OF the poll tax,
although the two latter ques-
tions are almost wholly
academic.
If Congress should enact
legislation at this session dras-
tically amending the Smith
Connally- law by placing a
bride and binders on or
ganized labor-to stop the po-
litical strikes, and prevent po-
litical retaliation in the COM
ing elections-it is fair 10 as
sumo from the President s
present attitude that he would
veto it.
TT IS by no means certain
Il that the bill reported by
Chairman May from the mill
tary affairs committee, if en-
acted and disapproved, could be
passed over a veto, owing 10
probable Republican detection.
1t is true that the Smith
Connally Act did become law
over President Roosevelt's veto,
but that was due TO most un-
usual circumstances.
Roosevelt sent his veto mes
sage to the Capitol on a Friday,
asking that it not be released
unit, late in the afternoon. 1t
was a fatal blunder. On Friday
afternoons the whole Tammany
outfit clear out for New York,
and many other Democrats liv-
ing nearby break for home at
an early hour.
When the veto message was
read in the House, absentees
from New York alone were on
the trains for Manhattan. The
Democratic leadership tried 10
stop them, and recall them, at