Evening star., 1945-08-01

1nGIC dEC UO 6uAh lACh Auhkihe
the machines in the big cities to-
day. On the contrary, the caliber
and character Of the bosses has
shriveled and the level to which
machine politics has sunk marks a
new low.
tt always has been true that ex-
pediency is the keynote Of the pro-
fessional politicians; that they are
frankly in politics for what they
can get out of it; that the real
professional boss would much rather
handle campaign funds. acquire
power and distribute patronage than
hold any elective or appointive job,
though there are some who manage
to do both.
Those things characterize organi-
ration politics now just as they al
ways have. But. never in the his
tory OF the city machines has there
been a time when there was about
them so little party spirit and party
loyalty. 80 complete lack of prin-
ciple, such utter willingness to do
anything for votes.
Complete CalIousness.
In brief, the machines have
reached q stage Of complete callous-
ness, where no alliance is too de-
PRAYED to contract, no combination
too incongruous to join-if only 1t
promises to pay oil at the polls. Par
ticularly Is this true Of the Demo-
cratic machines, because they are
dominant. In the past IL years,
these have been nourished with
Federal patronage and funds as no
machines were ever nourished be-
fore. AS result they have grown
unprecedentedly big.
But the quality of the bosses has
not kept pace with the expansion
of the machines. Stupidity has
taken the place Of shrewdness and
there is no longer even O pretense
of party standards.
No better illustration could be
had than recent Tammany indorse-
ment OF the Negro Communist New
York Councilman, Benjamin J.
Davis, jr. When this action was first
unctuously revealed by the Tam
many boss, Mr.. Laughlin, 1t was
considered in certain circles a very
smart piece Of politics, indeed.
Radical newspapers applauded Mr..
Laughlin's action and 1t was sup
posed to cement the support of the
Communistic American Labor party
behind the Democratic mayoralty
candidate, Mr.. O'Dwyer. The more
advanced New Dealers who, repre-
senting the Roosevelt administra-
ton have been mixing in New York
politics since 1886, were pleased.
But their complacency did not last
long.
1t vanished suddenly when 1t was
brought out that Davis, writing in
the Daily Worker, after his Tam
many Endorsement, was. with others,
advocating Negro Soviet Union In
the United States, to be formed
through the revolutionary seizure
OF plantation land and large e-scale
farms" in II Southern States.
Scheme Is Not New.
This interesting scheme is not
new. 1t has been favored by Com
munist leaders for a long time and
was understood to have had Mos
COW approval. In reviving it, Com
munist Davis disclosed himself as
not in the least civic minded but
a very earnest Marxist, a fomenter
of revolution, bent upon upsetting
our system and substituting an
other. All of this was we'll known
about Comrade Davis long before
Mr.. Laughlin gave him the Tam
many blessing.
But, when it was printed in the
New York papers there was a re-
action so violent that Mr.. ODwyer
had to step in and the Tammany
leader was compelled to withdraw
his Endorsement, the reason being
that 1t was clear far more votes
would be lost than gained If he did
not do so.
Now, whatever the effect of this
Incident upon the mayoralty candi-
dacy OF Mr.. ODwyer, there are
several things about it which might
profltably be pondered. One is the
obtuseness of the Tammany lead
ership. A second is the character
OF the alliance which Tammany is
willing to make and the type of
men 1t is willing to put into public
ofice. A third, and perhaps the
most significant, is the revelation
that Mr.. Davis. Negro Communist
and Daily Worker contributor, is a
registered Democrat.
The reason this is significant is
because 1t bears out the contention
that there has been-and is-a sys-
tematc inflltration of the Demo-
cratic party by the Communists.
Communists in New York or. for
that matter, anywhere else, do not
register as Republicans. They do
register as Democrats and there are
thousands who, like Davis, have en-
roled themselves in that party.
Calculated Policy.
This Is a calculated Communist
policy. Shortly before 1886 thew
adopted the Democratic party as the
party through which they could best
work to promote Communistic
aims. There was no secret about 1t.
They openly proclaimed it, cam
didly explaining that working with
In the Democratic party and sup
porting the New Deal was the surest
way OF moving toward Communist
goals.
That has been 50 obvious that It
must have been surprise to the
Tammany boss when there was So