Evening star., 1948-06-04
Both Parties Will Find
Plenty Of Troubles
In Writing Platforms
Labor PIonk Could Widen
Democratic Rift; 6. O. P.
At Odds on World Issues
By Dapid La,crence

While almost everybody Is talking
or thinking about presidential can
didates, the task of writing plat
form that doesn't repudiate ones
own party members emerges as like
" to cause plenty of trouble at both
national conventions.
Whatever committee writes the
Democratic platform will not be
able to pay tribute to the gods OF
consistency on the matter OF labor
legislation. Thus, President Truman
not only vetoed the Taft-Hartley
bill but has denounced it several
times since 1t became law over his
veto. Yet 10T out of 178 Democrats
in the House Of Representatives
voted to override that veto. So did
20 Democrats out of AZ in the Sen
ate.
A platform plank condemning the
Taft-Hartley Act might be very
pleasing to the cleft wing" OF the
Democratic Party, but it certainly
would antagonize majority of the
Democrats in the House running for
reelection. AS for the Senate, ii
seats up for election this year whose
occupants voted to override the veto
are in Southern States where WIN
ming the Democratic primaries is
equivalent to election. All Northern
Democrats up for reelection to the
Senate this autumn voted to sustain
the veto, so there is less embarrass-
ment on that score.
Tax Veto May Bring Rift.
In the matter OF the veto Of the
tax bill, too the writer's of the Dem
ocratic platform will have to watch
their phrasing lest they condemn a
ma iority Of the Democrats in both
houses. Thus SO of the Democrats In
the House are recorded in favor OF
the tax bill that became law over
the veto and 81 against. But in the
Senate there were % Democrats re-
corded in favor of overriding the
veto and II to sustain. The COM
bined vote of both houses among
the Democrats was 116 as voting to
override the veto and 102 to sustain.
If the Democratic platform at
tempts to condemn the passage of
the tax law. it will be reflecting on
many members of the House and
Senate. Many of these are in the
Southern States, of course, which
means that the rift between the ad-
ministration and the South will be-
come deeper as the platform writer's
ignore the votes of substantial
number of Democrats in Congress.
The Republicans are not without
a problem, too. Here the cleavage is
between isolationism and interna-
tionalism. There have been a num-
Der of votes in Congress on Marshall
Plan aid and there will be some yet
on the draft which could prove en-
barrassing to any platform writer's.
The chances are that the Republi-
can platform will approve the Mar
shall Plan and will point to amend
ments already inserted to safeguard
the plan against waste and mall
administration. 1t will be recalled
that only at Republican insistence
was the plan divorced from State
Department control and placed in
the hands of business admins
TRAITOR
KEYNOTE Could Bring Fight.
There is, of course, sharp diff |
ference of opinion among Republi- |
cans on International issues The
keynote speeches will have to be
carefully worded to avoid embarrass-
ments. If the convention gets into
platform fight on the wisdom of the
bipartisan policy in foreign affairs,
it could mean plenty of ammuni-
ton for the Democrats, some OF
whom are quietly thinking already
that if Senator Vandenberg, for in
stance, is not nominated, it will
afford an opportunity for attack
on the ground that the bipartisan
policy will have been repudiated.
1t is generally agreed, on the
other hand, that any Democratic
attack on international issues will
be rendered impractical II Senator
Vandenberg is the nominee. The is
sues then will become largely do
mestic and veer toward left and
fright" debate. Initiation and the
cost of living will be played up by
the Democrats as their principal
point with an attempt to persuade
the electorate that price-fixing by
the OPA should have been retained.
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