Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-12-21
6. 0. P. Is DeveIopin!!
Split Dramatized by
Word 'Me-Tooism'
Party Friction Caused
By Attitude Of Many
On Domestic Issues
By David Laurence

~' ShHSSts~ sSS~SS
By David Laurence
Political talk with reference Il
the 1850 congressional election!
seems to center nowadays on wha
kind OF platform the Republican,
can proclaim. But the interesting
fact which emerges is that the
Republican Party Is developing
a split far deeper in some respects
than that which divides thu
Northern and Southern Demo.
Gratis.
For the moment the split 1.
dramatized by a word. "me-too.
ism" This is banded about ir
Republican gatherings and Is sup.
posed to mean that Gov. Dewey, ir
both his 1914 and 1948 campaigns
and, in fact. Wendell Willkie ir
his 1910 campaign-did not make
sufficient differentiation between
the Republican and the Demo-
cratic Party.
The idea that the three Re-
publican campaigns were waged
on the claim that the Republicans
favored the same detectives as the
Democrats but hoped to execute
the policies more efficiently and
better in detail has come to mean
"me-tooisrn."
Long-Ailing Wound.
Actually this word merely re-
fleets long -ailing wound in the
Republican Party, something that
goes back to the Bull Moose days
of President Theodore Roosevelt
In 1912 and the so-called reaction
airy point of view of President
William Howard Taft.
While there have been harmon
ious moments in the Republican
Party's campaigns since 1916
there have been serious diver
gences of opinion within the party
Two major issues have caused
q split. The isolationist viewpoint
of the 1920's, which bore into the
Democratic as we'll as the Republic
can Party, has some residue in to-
days anti-European attitude OF
many Republicans. But there is
less division than 20 years ago
inside the Republican Party on
international affairs, due particu-
1arly to the leadership of Senator
Vandenberg of Michigan.
What really Is causing friction
inside the Republican Party TO-
day is the attitude of many in
fuential Republicans on domestic
issues. There seems to be be-
lief that Gov. Dewey lost in 1e4e
because he wasn't sufficiently
conservative and went along toe
much with the New Deal objec-
tives. Whether it was this or the
fact that Gov. Dewey didn't carry
on an aggressive campaign on
the stump will never be known
But on the question of whether
the Republican Party should take
q progressive or reactionary posi-
ton on domestic affairs, it prob
ably will take another severe de-
feat at the polls to convince the
conservatives that they are wrong.
"Welfare State" Early Days.
The increase In population in
America has posed problems for
the central government that were
not present SO or more years ago.
Some Of the Republican Party
chiefs may denounce subsidies
for farmers through price sup
ports, but they cannot overlook
the fact that in the '20's virtu-
ally all the Republicans from the
Middle Western States favored ex-
port bounties or the provisions OF
the McNary-Haugen bill and
other forms of Federal interven-
ton in behalf OF the farmer. This
is but one instance of the early
days of the so-called welfare
state"
The Australian and New zea-
land elections show that cleft
wing" doctrines can be repudiat-
ed by the voters but in those two
countries each of the victorious
prime ministers has been quick
to point out that social services
would not be curtailed. It has
been emphasized in both coun-
tries that social reforms would
be made effective without i'm
pairing the free-enterprise sys-
tenn This is quite akin to "me-
tooism" inside the Republican
Party councils in this country.
The coming issues will tend to
center on social legislation. A
certain amount of "me-tooism"
will prove inevitable if the Re-
publicans really hope to win.
This will be true if for no other
reason than the hold which the
phrase social welfare" or even
"the welfare state" has upon the
voters. Unless the Republicans
can prove that, while they want
a state of welfare. they do not
want a bankrupt state, they will
be butting their heads against a
stone wall by opposing the So
cial-welfare detectives of the last
20 years in American politics.
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