Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1947-01-10

kAlC WI OH SoAiAS
roll-call time, as the "sons of the
wild jackasses" used to be.
1t isn't the lack Of a leader
so much as a surplus Of them
that worries Republican politi-
cOs-that and the danger that
the leaders may start leading
in different directions.
Another factor not calculated to
further unity is the flock. Of presi-
Dental bees crawling all over the
inside Of the capitol dome. In his
December poll, Gallup listed four
senators as possibilities In the fol-
lowing order: Vandenberg, 9 per
cent; Bricker, per cent; Taft, per
cent, and Saltonstal, l per cent.
These are small figures compared
to the polls So per cent granted
Governor Dewey of New York, or
Minnesota's Ex-Governor Stassen's
II per cent, the two leading Gal
lup's list. But that doesn't mean
the candidates think that way about
it. Nobody is placing bets yet. As
the veteran Republican National
Committeeman Clarence Budding
ton Kelland said:
II don't think you are going
to see the matter jell at all
until Ohio decides whether it is
backing Taft or Bricker. When
that decision is made, the line
up will come fast"
Gallup predicted that Eisenhow-
er's star would rise higher and thus
whip the hopeful senators to added
zeal.
Lapel buttons labeled Draft
Ike" are already out. Under whose
banner Eisenhower would be draft
ed it is not stated, but it is gen.
orally conceded his personal lean
ings would be more Republican
than Democratic.
Neither Vandenberg nor Salton-
stalls friends have begun to fight,
and at this writing neither one has
even indicated publicly he is in the
running.
More distressing to the men who
have to make the upper house men,
bers hew to the Republican line is
the old problem of the so-called
progressive element. Some people
are predicting that there may be
more harmony in the next session
among the minority, so widely
split last time, than among the ma
jority with its swollen ranks. Some
Republicans are worrying lest they
be divided to the extent that their
power will be considerably reduced.
Senator Works
For His State
Many people fail to realize the
many factors which contribute to
individualism in the senate. In the
first place, each senator is, and so
considers himself, an ambassador
from a state - it is his business
to serve that state to the best of his
ability and his ability can be great
ly supplemented by the prestige he
acquires. Indeed, prestige, If &C.
quired by nothing but seniority
can 60 a long way toward making
up for lack of ability.
But 1t is not mere personal
ambition which drives a senator
to work for individual promi-
pence-it is a part of his job to
strengthen the sovereignty Of the
sovereign state he represents.
Another thing which often forces
a senator to walk alone or as part
of a small group is sectionalism-
not a hidebound attitude either, but
the demand that he truly represent
the interests of his community, even
If those interests conflict with those
of other parts of the country. The
ancient antagonism of West-versus-
East has never quite died. It was
only little over three decades ago
that the 18th amendment was
passed which authorized the popu-
lar election Of senators. This was
accomplished largely through the