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Show Bruckart's Washington Digest Intelligent Political Opposition Results in Better Government Republican Party Is Beginning to Realize This Fact And lias Started a Move to Put Its 'House' in Order. ocratic majority, the program of revived re-vived party activity will work. If, for example, the Democrats should control the house, there will be that "intelligent opposition" which Mr. Farley suggested as necessary to good government; if, on the other hand, Republicans win control of the house, there will be well-trained men in the posts of leadership that are represented by chairmanships of important committees. This job, of course, is attributable directly to the brains and the political polit-ical capacity of one man. He is Representative "Joe" Martin of Massachusetts, Republican leader of the house. It has taken him quite awhile to accomplish the end that is now visible, because for some months there were not enough Republicans Re-publicans in the house to form a bucket brigade. But the fact remains re-mains that Mr. Martin has laid his plans well, and I think the Washington Washing-ton writers almost without exception give him credit for a job well done. By WILLIAM BRUCKART WNU Service, National Press BIdg., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. Early in Mr. Roosevelt's first term as President, Democratic Chairman Farley voiced a thought that his party, then preponderantly pre-ponderantly in control of the machinery machin-ery of government, would be much better off if the opposition was stronger. Later, he amplified that thought with a statement to the general effect that intelligent opposition oppo-sition always made for good government. govern-ment. The thing that Mr. Farley feared was that the overwhelming Democratic Demo-cratic strength in the house and senate sen-ate would run away with itself would get out of hand. That happened. hap-pened. Not exactly in the way, perhaps, per-haps, that Mr. Farley had suggested, but the majority did get out of hand to the extent that congress became be-came known for at least six years as a rubber stamp. Almost any sort of legislation that was conceived within the administration became "must" legislation. The result was, of course, that there has been a pile of laws passed and a good many of them are so impossible and so unsound un-sound that they will rise to haunt the political party that sponsored them as time goes on. Paradoxically, this discussion about Mr. Farley's views and the developments that followed is only a prelude to some observations and reports re-ports of what is going on within the Republican party these days. The facts that have come from the situation situa-tion of the last six or eight years Veteran Party Workers Should Get Preference Back of these efforts of Mr. Martin, Mar-tin, however 'way back in the hinterland, hin-terland, the prospects of Republican Republi-can victory, or partial victory, this fall, have brought out the usual number of seekers after the spoils when the sense of smell tells of possible pos-sible pie counter membership. Now, I don't care whom voters may select se-lect but, being a believer in party responsibility for governmental administration, ad-ministration, I always have felt those fellows who have done the work in bad times, politically, should be allowed to have more voice in party affairs than the Johnny-come-lately type when the harvest is to be reaped. To state a specific case as an illustration of many such instances that have been reported in primaries, prima-ries, let me refer to an Indiana contest. con-test. Rep. Charles Halleck of Indiana's Indi-ana's second 'district had opposition opposi-tion for renomination.' It is to be assumed that his rival was a capable capa-ble young man, but the thing struck me as rather sour because Halleck had fought through the days when a Republican member in the house could count on being nothing more than a piping voice in the wilderness. wilder-ness. But when the prospects were such that many looked upon a house seat as a plum, up jumps opposition to a man who has learned much about handling legislation and who stands in a position that will give him a strong say-so about national politics in event the house is controlled con-trolled by his party after election. To have upset Halleck in the primary pri-mary would have gone entirely contrary con-trary to good politics. Mr. Farley's assertion applies again. In event of victory for Republicans, a man that is capable and informed is available to help in party leadership; in event of continued control by the Democrats, Demo-crats, the needed "intelligent opposition" oppo-sition" is provided. Mr. Halleck won his primary battle and it is a tribute to his district's voters as well as to him that he was victorious. G.O.P. Presidential Aspirants Are Using Wrong Tactics On the other hand, it begins to appear that supporters of some of the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination are not to be commended in the same fashion. Supporters of the three best known candidates Taft, Dewey and Van-denberg Van-denberg are using some tactics that do not make for sound government. govern-ment. That is to say, there are some things going on within the ranks of each candidate's backers that likely will rise up one of these days and smear somebody with a beautiful coat of tar. As these lines are written, it is ' scarcely a month until the Republicans Republi-cans hold their convention at Philadelphia. Phila-delphia. Chairman Hamilton of the national committee has called for the delegates from the several states who are to serve as members of the convention committee on resolutions reso-lutions to get together ahead of time. He has asked them to start work so that the party platform will not be a clapboard house through which the winds of opposition charges can sift snow. But there has been objection to that. I regard it as a good move. On the other hand, there are those politicians who are shooting at Mr. Hamilton about it and they are stirring up quite a stink. Their attitude simply reflects re-flects a greedy desire to get in on the backbone at hog-killing-time when there had been no hog killing to speak of for several years. From conversations I have had with politicians who know from experience, ex-perience, I have a feeling that the Democrats also are going to have trouble in promoting "intelligent opposition" op-position" if there should be a Republican Repub-lican victory. There is the same greed, the same conviction of great capacity, on the part of many men now in official position, that constitutes consti-tutes the bone of contention among the Republicans. It looks like a hectic hec-tic campaign, a year of ruffled feathers feath-ers and. perhaps, a year when somt well known political heads will fall REP. JOSEPH MARTIN He is getting credit for a job well done. shows what things are engendered by success or prospects of success. Republican wheelhorses tell me with great enthusiasm that this is certain to be a "Republican year." The voters will determine the answer an-swer next November, of course, but it is only a reporting job to repeat that the Republican leadership is expecting ex-pecting to control the house of representatives repre-sentatives after January 1, 1941. It is only a job of reporting to say also that within the Republican party there are some factions that are snarling and baring their teeth at each other because each side thinks their party will run the show for the next four years. House Committee Lists Are Being Renovated One of the things that is happening happen-ing within the Republican leadership, leader-ship, however, displays none of the signs of the scrap for nominations or places of control. It reflects probably prob-ably as nearly the true type of political polit-ical intelligence as Mr. Farley had in mind. In the house of representatives these days, plans are going forward for renovation of Republican lists on house committees. There have been many changes, usually made singly and without apparent relation rela-tion to each other. But the shifts have been going on for several months and they have attracted little attention, generally. Yet, they make a pattern. The pattern obviously obvi-ously is predicated upon a desire of the mainstays of the house Repub; licans to see the best men they have placed where they will serve to guide their party policies. Now, it may be that that represents repre-sents the peak of optimism. The explanation given me, however, was that whether the Republicans control con-trol the house or whether, after next January, there still will be a Dem- POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE William Bruckart explains in his current dispatch that big-time politicians realize that intelligent opposition makes for good government. gov-ernment. Democratic Mr. Farley Far-ley voiced this idea at the beginning begin-ning of the present administration. administra-tion. Now the Republicans, who believe they will be in the saddle come next January, are reorganizing reorgan-izing their forces along more intelligent in-telligent lines. |