The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1946-04-11


with any Of the three.
The first was an announcement |
from the CLOS PAC of its purpose |
to raise a fund Of $6,O0O000 for use
in the primaries this year to nomi
nate and elect members of Congress |
who share its views. The second was
{ statement from Secretary of Com
merce Henry Wallace urging that |
members Of Congress who fail to sup |
port their party leadership be sub
.ected to party discipline. The third !
was speech by Democratic Chair |
man Robert Hennegan in which he |
denounced the coalition of Southern |
Democrats and Republicans who have
opposed parts of the Administrations !
program and warned Democratic dis
senters OF the consequences.
|
On the surface, these three proc
iamations seem individual and uncon- !
nected Actually, they are nothing Of
the kind. Actually they are essen
TALLY the same, aimed in the same
direction, at the same people and us
ing the same ammunition. Mr.. Sidney i
HiIlman, head Of the PAC; Mr.. Wal |
lace and Mr.. flanagan are close per-
sonal and political friends. Of the
three Mr.. Tiillman is far the strong
est, carries more weight, is able to !
swing many more votes and raise
much more money,
The other two see eye to eye with |
Mr.. Hillman, depend on him politi-
tally much more than he on them.
Mr. Hillmans $6000,000 announce
ment came first. The Hannegan- Wal |
lace utterances followed. If the three
did not consult and conspire in adj /
vance; if they had no knowledge of !
what each was going to do or say; !
if they had not formed little "coali- |
ton Of their own, then the content !
and timing Of their Individual pro-
nouncements constitute one OF the /
most extraordinary condolences of |
politics.
1t is the sort of coalition" which |
the constituent parts are compelled
to deny. But, while collision cannot |
lie proved the circumstantial evidence
is strong and the denials do not carry |
conviction. For one thing, politically
these three in the past have uni
formly operated together. For an
ether, Mr.. flanagan has made pain
fully obvious his anxiety to keep on
the good side" of CIO. For another,
Mr., Wallace, to considerable de-
gree, is Go political product With
cut the CIO he would be a political
Joke. For another, the CIO cannot
get very far politically without gov
ernmentaI support.
Most informed men in public life
are fully aware Of these facts. Ac-
cordingly, it is not surprising that the
Hillman- Wallace-Hannegan utterances
should have stirred resentment-par
ticularly among Democrats who are
not cowed by the CIO lobby, who
have convictions of their own and |
vote independently. To these an ex-
hortation on the evils Of indepen-
dence from Mr.. Wallace is partly !
amusing and partly offensive. Mr..
Wallace, it will be recalled, very re-
Gently supported for Congress a man
who was not on the Democratic ticket
At all and seemed closer to the Com
r2unists than to the Democrats. Mr..
Wallace isn't anybody's idea Of
regular Talk about party discipline
from him is slightly ridiculous.
We are now told it is Mr.. Wallace's
purpose to take the stump and in a
series of speeches in the South and |
elsewhere urge the voters to drive out
Of the party those members Of Con- !
gress who do not support Admins
tration measures which he and the !
CIO approved In his Saturday night |
speech he appeared to hedge little
on the purge idea, but he is hooked up
with the CIO plan nevertheless. Put
all this together and it amounts to |
= purge" financed by the CIO bally-
hooed by Mr.. Wallace and by Mr.
Hannegan. If it does not add up to
that, then it makes no sense. OF !
course, it is not going to get any
farther than Mr.. Roosevelt's famous
purge. of 1888, though if by any
chance, some Democrats not liked by !
the CLIO should be defeated, un-doubt- !
edly the CIO would claim full credit. |
What this attempted purge" will
do, however, is further divide the /
rarty, increase bitterness between the !
factions and improve Republican