Evening star., 1953-10-03
The Political Mill
New Dealers Facing
Real Test in New York
HALEY Is Tough Opposition
For Young Bob Wagner
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

BY 0ould Lincoln
Two Second-generation New Dealers
are on the road to topnotch places in
the badly rumpled Democratic Party
of New York. Much will depend upon
their success this year and next year
particularly for. their party, which
Republican Gov. Thomas E. Dewey,
with his three victories for Chief Exec
utive of the State and excellent ad-
miniStration, has brought to a low
degree. One, Robert F. Wagner, jr.,
is the Democratic Party's nominee for
mayor of New York in the election
next month. The other is Franklin D.
Roosevelt, jr., who, it is expected, will
be a strong candidate for Governor on
the Democratic ticket next year. Mr..
Wagner is Borough president of Man
haitian, and Mr.. Roosevelt is serving a
third term as member of the House Of
Representatives from New York.
Politically, they are both born of the
New Deal. Mr.. Roosevelt is the son
of the man who originated New Deal"
and as President of the United States
did more than any other to advance
it and the philosophy of government
and economics for which the New Deal
has stood. Mr.. Wagner is the son of
the late Senator Bob" Wagner who
sponsored more of the New Deal legisla-
tive proposals than any other member
of Congress. He was, indeed, main-
stay of the New Deal program. He
introduced and piloted bills creating
the National Recovery Administration,
the Public Works Administration, and
the Works Progress Administration. He
cFNn1acnroI tho Cnnio1 Con11ritxy Act +hA
Railway Retirement Act, the Federal
Employment Sterilization Act. and the
National Employment Exchange Sys-
tenn Act. He was the author Of the
National Labor Relations Act-known
as the Wagner Act. which was super
ceded by the Taft-Hartley Act. He
was a backer of civil rights legislation
and of bills providing for government
operation of hydroelectric plants.
Potential Challengers.
1t remains to be seen whether the
voters in New York will rally again to
candidates for high Office who epitomize
the New Deal. And should Mr.. Roose-
velt win not only the Democratic nom
ination and the election for Governor.
he will automatically become potential
1UI d OCL1lOCIdUI
for President. Should he obtain the
last, the country will have another OPP
portunity to decide whether 1t wishes
Chief Executive committed to the New
Deal philosophy.
If Mr.. Wagner is elected mayor Of
New York and gives a good account Of
himself, he may aspire to seat In the
Senate, following in the footsteps OF
his father. Senator Lehman, Democrat.
will be up for denomination and re-
election in 1856. He will be in his
seventy-ninth year-and he may not
wish to run again.
The mayoralty race in New York is
hot, four-cornered affair. In addition
to Mr.. Wagner, the candidates are
Rudolph HALEY, president of the city
council, who gained widespread pub
licity as the counsel for the Kefauver
crime investigating committee of the
Senate, candidate of the Liberal Party:
Harold Riegelman, Republican, and
Mayor Impellitteri, independent and
candidate Of the Experience Party.
Wagner has the backing Of the organ
ization. 1t was, however, the backing
Of the New Deal element which won
him the Democratic nomination over
the mayor. Among his principal back
ers were Representative Roosevelt,
Senator Lehman, and former Ambas-
sador w. Averell Hartman. Former
President Truman has already given
him his blessing, and Adlai Stevenson.
titular head of the National Democratic
Party as the party's candidate for Presi-
dent in 1852, is expected to do the same.
HALEY Is Strong.
Rudolph HALEY is held by some OBJ
servers to be Wagner's most serious
obstacle in the contest for mayor. He
is Democrat, although he is not on
the Democratic ticket. He has the
backing of the Liberal Party-So often
an ally of the Democrats in past elec-
tions. He is counting on the support
Of "the people," and he is depending
for victory largely upon the medium
which first catapulted him into promi-
nence, when, as chief counsel for the
Kefauver committee, he was tearing
into gangsters, gamblers and crooked
politicians. Mr.. HALEY insists he is an
independent in politics and anxious to
give Greater New York the kind of gov
ernment which it had under the late
Fiorello LaGuardia.
Impellitteri, who won an amazing
victory for mayor in 1850 when he de-
feated the Democratic organizations
candidate, Judge Pecora, is seeking to
duplicate that victory but he seems to
have little chance. Many Of his former
supporters have left him.
The Republican candidate, Riegel-
man, has the advantage of a divided
oppoSition-with three Democrats run
ming under three different designations
against him. He is strongly supported
by Gov. Dewey and all the Republicans.
However, it has been many years since
New York had Republican as mayor.
II Wagner can rally to himself the
bulk Of the big Democratic vote. or
If HALEY can perform a similar feat,
the Republican nominee is not likely
to win. Much will depend upon where
the more conservative Democrats wind
up on election day. Many OF them
backed Impellitteri in the primary race
against Wagner for the Democratic
nomination.
Either Riegelman or a HALEY VIC
tory would set the New Dealers back
on their heels.