Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-15
The Political Mil
Republican Governors
See November Victory
Fdrm Sentiment Still
Remains q Question Mark
By Gould Lincoln

BY Gould Lincoln
BOLTON LANDING, N. Y,-Goyer-
norS of nearly all the AZ States, meeting
here for their 46th annual conference.
have discussed State problems in their
open seSSionS-and politics on the side.
The two items on which Democrats
for months have predicted their party's
success in the coming congressional
elections have been much in their con-
versations-the Presidents farm pro-
gram, with his system Of flexible price
supports. and the economic situation.
Generally speaking. Republican Gov
errors look hopefully toward the cleo
lions because of increased employment
and increased business. Democratic
Governors shake their heads, but it is
evident they are not so confident they
can sell the voters on recession or
depression growing out of Republic
can national administration They
are, in fact, pulling in their horns on
this issue, realizing that predictions of
economic evils may sound too much
like q hope for recession Just before
an election.
democrats Have Hope.
On the farm-program issue, Demo-
Gratis still continue to hope to pick up
House and Senate seats from the Re-
publicans in the great farm States of
the Middle West and West. Republican
Governors from these States, however,
appear to have caught their second
wind and to be breathing more easily
on this issue Of flexible price supports.
For example, the Republican Gov
ernorS OF Kansas, great wheat State;
OF Iowa, great corn and hog State, and
of wisconsin, famous for its dairy farm
products and diversified farming, all
insist they will not lose single House
seat to the Democrats which the G. o. P.
now holds. Indeed, Gov. Arm of Kansas
predicts that the Republicans will re-
gain the one congressional district they
lost to the Democrats in 1852. That
district, he points out, has for years
been strongly Republican. 1t was lost
two years ago on a fluke-the issue Of
fertile valley which 1t was proposed
to flood by the construction of a dam
to control flood waters. The Repub-
lican candidate had supported the dam.
There is nothing that good rains
will not cure in Kansas" Gov. Arm says.
I'VE have had the rains, and wheat
crop of some ITS million bushels is on
the way. Farmers are divided over
the flexible price support system. Some
demand the rigid 80 per cent of parity
supports for the basic crops / do not
think, however, that Republican farm
erS are going to vote Democratic on
that issue. In the first place, Gen,
Eisenhower is still greatly popular in
Kansas. They do not believe that the
President will arbitrarily cut price sup
ports II he is given the power, through
the flexible system-but will use his
judgment as he has indicated he will"
Gov. BeardSley of Iowa frankly
admits that rank-and-f1l farmers OF
Iowa are disturbed over the proposed
flexible price support system, although
many of the farm leaders in the
American Farm Bureau Federation are
giving it their approval. Polls taken
by Wallace's Farmer, widely read farm
publication, indicate that out of 5
farmers favor retention of the rigid
80 per cent supports. The Governor,
however, insists there will be no mate
rial losses of support for the Republican
congressional candidates among Repub-
lican farmers-and further that in the
cities, many voters take the view that
the flexible price support system will
eventually mean lower prices for the
food they buy. Iowa has solid Repub-
ican delegation in the House in the
present Congress, and, according to
Gov. Beardsley, there will be no change
as result of the November elections.
In Iowa, too. crops are good, which
necessarily affects the farmer outlook.
KohIer Optimistic.
In Wisconsin. Gov. Kohler believes
the Republicans have a good chance
to win the 9th congressional district,
which they lost in a special election
to fill vacancy last year. The Re-
publicans now hold of the 10 House
seats of the Wisconsin delegation. If
Gov. Kohler is correct, the count in
the next Congress will be nine Repub-
leans to one Democrat. The Wisconsin
Governor, too, believes that Gen. EiSen-
hower's great personal popularity will
be effective in the coming elections,
even though the President is not him
self on the ticket. The dairy farmers,
Gov. Kohler says, have found that the
reduction in their price supports from
90 per cent to rs per cent, put into
effect by Secretary Of Agriculture Ben
son, has been nowhere near as adverse
as they feared.
This may be wiShful thinking by
three Republican Governors of great
farm States - but an impression is
gaining that the Presidents farm pro-
gram will have far more support among
the voters than the Democrats origi-
nally believed. In addition. that pro-
gram has had support of strong Demo-
Gratis in both the Senate and the
House-among them Senator Ander-
son of New Mexico, who himself was
Secretary of Agriculture before he was
elected to the Senate.