The Wilmington morning star., 1946-09-07
TAFT, LAFOLL
LIN DlSCL0SID
BY RICHARD L. sTpo,.

Ohio and liberal Senator laft Of
M. La Toilette, Of Wisconsisn 09ert
Taft served as a sort y. Mr..
for Mr.. La Follette's retI,rr sponsor
Republican Party-a retura 70 he
resulted in the unexpected Which which
OF the Wisconsin COP n 's.l'al
nate the latter as its candid. aoni'
the Senate. Wisconsin Pann d.s foc
voters declined to 60 alon eNo VIC
with Mr.: La Follette, as s ts.
standard-bearer, or with ths asr
trious Ohio Republican Ssn r.al'
Mr.. Taft, who, IN effect, v vo1,.s'
for him. '0ucaed
The affinity between Tai A.,
La Toilette is, in one resnso, sa
odd one. Their views are far an
on many social questions. Bnt 'yaF'
have a mutual lack Of symn, as5
for much Of the Administra+;..
oreish Follcy' ms seemed 10 a..
centuate Mr.. La Follette's a., ~
lationism, and was a factor n J w.
defeat. More than this, tbers sas s
been a feeling Of association nay
the practical job of being a Saw. u
tor. The two most effective Mo,
in the Senate, the men who n',,.
hardest at it, who know the ,n'
swers better On pending Iesi,
lation, h follow Commits,
read up reports and apply them,
selves to the arduous tasks Of A,
job most closely are, I think =.
Toilette and Taft. A strong nur,,
respect had grown up between ts
two.
This reporter watched Mr. :.
Toilette carry h e great "stresr.
lining" Congressional reform hin
through the Senate, and can onIv
take his hat off in admiration !.
was one of the most skillfuI, u.
bane, scrupulous jobs he has eve,
seen. There is generally more +.
nesse in these floor battles in ths
British Parliament than there i,
in the American Congress, but the
job La Toilette did ranked with
the best of the House Of Commons.
Again and again his great reform
bill was assailed. young Bob" Al.
ways had an answer, a tacttul but
a firm answer. He carried the
whole weight Of the Senate strug.
gle. Where another spokesman
might have alienated opponents,
his patience won them over. Lay.
ing theology aside for the monent,
there can be no question that as
an effective organism the Senate
has suffered a great loss in the
rejection of the Wisconsin Senator.
If constituents disagree with a
politician, however, hey quite
rightfully vote against him, even
if he is a strong Legislative advo.
cate and a conscientious worker,
To many of Mr.. La Follette's
friends, his attitude toward world
affairs seemed cut Of date and
archaic. His defeat, like that Of
Senators Burton K. Wheeler ID
of Montana and Henrik Shipstead
(R) of Minnesota. in some re-
spects, seems like the end Of
chapter. The blunt label Of 'lM'
lationism," however, is a little dt
ficult to define. The old political
surge OF agrarian progressivim Of
which Bryan was a standard,bear'
er had in it an idealistic elemer.
OF pacificism and an apprehensia
over European imperialism that
resulted in "isolationism' in VIII
sons time.
For good or i'll, those days are
passing and the departure d
Wheeler, Shipstead and La For
lette emphasizes the change. But
Mr.. La Toilette objected to The
term of "isolationist' as applied
to himself. The matter can be q"
bated. In the recent Congress, 70!
example, La Toilette, like his
friend Taft, voted against the Bit
ish loan. But while La FoIe'e
voted for Breton Woods, TAT
voted against it, and the same oi
split occurred over the UnlHa
Nations participation bill. Mr. u
Toilette, at any rate, seems y V
have been more i~nternatlonsD
minded in two of these votes lal
his Republican friend and spon'%'
The factor of Mr.. La Folle.e'
international views in his Guf'
defeat in Wisconsin is a maui.
of individual Interpretation. IN"
it played a part is certain; D9
other factors were involved nav
ly 80 per cent Of the quals%
voters voted; La Toilette stayea ~
Washington to the end OF a'
Senate session and campalgn"
only eight days in Wisconsin; s%
he had irritated elements DON
conservative and liberal WlScon'9
groups by switching parties .na
finally, he lost a big elenlfn'
organized CLIO. labor. ,a,
In 1910 La Toilette carried ,'
labor citadels of milwaukee, n.
cine and Kenosna by heavy ~
jorities: he lost every one Of u'.
this year. On the Progressive
even the Democratic ticket ]oa OIL,
observers believe he might ha'.
carried them. Mr.. La Folr.|n
own supporters argue that C .t~,
leadership, which is strongly y. , %g
pathetic to Russia in Mll"'u uss
County, played a decisive ,srl
While Mr.. La Toilette was 1
defeated in the primaries fNu.,
more, several COP. RepreSsas
tives who r labeled "lsolS'"