Evening star., 1953-12-28
ManytoSeek
PriinceGeorges
Elective Posts
Both Parties Try
To Close Ranks
Before June Vote
By Gene Goodwin


Republican primaries next June
If present trends hold true.
Both parties are trying to at
tain a united front, which they
feel will be necessary to win in
the general election next No
vember. But so far neither is
meeting with much success.
The Democrats, for instance
have so many prospective can
didates for Congress and the
State Senate that the line is
forming to the right.
And the Republicans are still
quarreling about who is top man
In the party there-Representa-
tive Frank Small, who represents
Prince Georges and the four
other Southern Maryland coun-
ties in Congress, or State Sena-
tor John Raymond Fletcher.
Bitter Contest.
Mr.. Small defeated Mr.. Fletch-
er in a bitter COP. primary
contest last year and then went
on to defeat Democrat Richard
K. Landlord of Annapolis for the
9th district congressional seat.
MIR. Fletcher, who also is
chairman of the party's State
Central Committee in Prince
Georges, is expected to satisfy
himself with running for the
State Senate again next year.
Mr.. Small has not yet indicated
what he will do.
But regardless of whether or
not they run against each other
again, the Small-Fletcher feud,
most observers feel, will still be
a detriment to the unity the
party is seeking next year.
Some recent developments,
most Republican leaders believe,
have made that sought-after
unity even more imperative if
the G.. o. P. is to hold onto the
gains it made in 1850 when it
swept the Democrats out of office
and ended a generation of Su-
premacy in the county.
One of these developments is
the spectacular firing of County
Police Chief F. Allen Richards
by the county commissioners,
after sensational and still unex-
planned charges of personal mis-
conduct and misuse of county
property were thrown at him and
then dropped by three of the five
members of the all-Republican
board.
Democratic Factions.
Actually about the only con-
ISOLATION the Republicans have is
that the Democrats are finding it
even more difficult to close their
ranks.
The Democrats factional
headache of today appears to be
the same one that helped defeat
them in 1950-the split between
the old-line organization people
and the more independent
groups. That cleavage-as we'll
as smaller ones-persists despite
general agreement among party
leaders that the Democrats could
slip back in the saddle without
too much trouble next year if
some of the warning factions
could only get together.
rive Prince Georges County
Democrats are being mentioned
as candidates for Congress -
Robert M. Watkins, Hervey G..
Machen, Walter Green, Perry o.
Wilkinson and L. Harold Sotho-
ron.
Mr.. Watkins, whose term as
chairman of the Maryland-Na-
tlonal Capital Park and Planning
Commission expires on January
/, 1855, is known to be feeling
out sentiment in the other four
counties in the 5th congressional
district.
He and Mr.. Machen, who is
Hyattsville city attorney, have
made no bones about the fact
that they mean to run if condi-
tions are right.
Mr.. Green, a Hyattsville at
torney, was in the Democratic
congressional primary last year
and received more votes than
any other Prince Georges candi-
date in the race.
Wilkinson May Run.
Mr.. Wilkinson is now a Demo-
cratic member of the Maryland
House of Delegates from Prince
Georges. He is reported to be
most interested in making a bid
for the State Senate but has not
discouraged talk about his being
a possible candidate for Con-
gress.
Mr.. Sothoron, former State
Senator and chairman of the
Prince Georges D ocratic
State Central Committee, says
he isn't going to make any an
nouncement about his political
plans until after the first of the
year
He. Like Mr.. wilkinson. has
been talked about as potential
candidates for both Congress and
State Senator.
Democratic leaders are hope
full of agreeing on one strong
Prince Georges man who could
defeat Mr.. Lankford. The An
napolis attorney, who edged out
a field of eight candidates in the
1852 primary, already has filed
for the congressional nomination
in the forthcoming Democratic
primary June %.
The Democrats also have a
line for the State Senator's
job. Besides Mr.. Wilkinson and
Mr.. Sothoron, Delegate Leroy
Pumphrey and Mayor Herbert
w. Reichelt of Mount Rainier
are figuring in early speculation.
Lillard Mentioned.
On the Republican side, no one