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Show Bruckart't Washington Digest Roosevelt Bandwagon Is Rolling, And Party Foes Really Fear It Steam Roller Drive Is On for Third-Term Nomination And Only President Himself Is in Position To Apply Brakes. By WILLIAM BRUCKART WNU Service, National Press Bldg., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. Some of the anti-Roosevelt anti-Roosevelt Democrats have begun to get frightened. It is no joke to say that they fear they may get run over by the Roosevelt bandwagon on its way to the third term. There is a real drive under way to give the Democratic nomination to Mr. Roosevelt, again, and anybody who laughs it oil is Just foolish. I am not saying in this dispatch that Mr. Roosevelt is sure to be nominated. I am not even convinced yet that he will run at alL The story this week deals, on the contrary, con-trary, with the gigantic, steam-roll-er type of effort that is being put tlon who still are members of the senate today. Some of them are among the main shouters for a Roosevelt third term, and it strikes me that the laugh Is on them, this time. Some of the number, however, how-ever, can show a most consistent record as a result of the vote they cast 12 years ago. Tydings of Maryland, Mary-land, Smith of South Carolina, Harrison Har-rison of Mississippi or King of Utah, Glass of Virginia or Wheeler of Montanaeach Mon-tanaeach of these can properly oppose op-pose a third term for Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt because they voted against another an-other term for Mr. Coolidge. Backers of 1928 Resolution Are Now 'On the Spot' But just where will the boys land who voted against a third term in forward by Mr. Roosevelt's supporters support-ers who are with him, right or wrong. The subject is discussed again only because there is nothing quite as live here in the national capital as the Roosevelt third-term movement. Mr. Roosevelt is the only person in a position to put on the brakes of this bandwagon. He has not done so. More than that, we are informed in-formed from Hyde Park where he was spending a week-end at that the 1928 resolution and now are shouting shout-ing the loudest for Mr. Roosevelt Among these is Senator Sen-ator Barkley ot Kentucky, the Democratic Dem-ocratic leader and Roosevelt spokesman spokes-man in the senate; Wagner of New York, who has Dushed more of the - S , t 1 t f x pushed more of the .. Roosevelt social SeIli Barkley legislation through congress than any other man and has been a Roosevelt right-or wrong supporter, and there is the great popper-offer, Senator McKel-lar McKel-lar of Tennessee. Senator Pittman of Nevada, president pro tempore of the senate, the Roosevelt leader in foreign policy surely will not find it easy to explain his support of Mr. Roosevelt; that is, it will be more difficult for him to stick by the President on a third term issue than it will be for Sen. Walter George of Georgia to oppose a third term. Senator George was among those to be purged, in the 1938 elections, elec-tions, it will be recalled. In connection with the heavy artillery artil-lery that is blasting away to bring about a third term nomination for the President, there is much talk in Washington that links his current "peace offensive" with politics. I do not regard this as sound. It may not be denied that a strong effort towards establishment of peace in Europe, if successful, or only partially par-tially successful, would produce support sup-port in undreamed of character for Mr. Roosevelt. President's Peace Efforts Seems Devoid of Politics At the moment, however, I repeat I do not place too much faith in the Steam-Roller Bandwagon? time, that he would announce his decision in his own time and not at a time to be determined by editors of newspapers. He was peevish about questions from reporters as to when an announcement would come; he was irked to the point where he declined even to wisecrack wise-crack about it, and that means he was much irked. In the meantime, many of the Roosevelt backers are in a tough spot Some of his leaders around the halls of congress would like very much to have something to guide them. But they have had nothing, noth-ing, and their feelings are rather drooping. One of the problems that is confronting con-fronting Democrats in the senate, particularly, has to do with votes talk that the President Presi-dent is doing these things purely for political purpose. He has named Myron My-ron C. Taylor, former for-mer United States Steel corporation president, as his personal representative represent-ative to the Vatican. Vati-can. Mr. Taylor will ...:U 41 ui!v wiui uie pupe Myron C. in whatever way is Taylor possible in promotion promo-tion of peace. Next after that came the appointment appoint-ment of Sumner Welles, undersecretary undersec-retary of state, to go a misson to England, France, Italy and Germany. Germa-ny. The nature of Mr. Welles' mission mis-sion has not been clarified beyond the fact that he is to gather information infor-mation wherever he can find it with respect to methods of an approach to peace among the belligerents. they cast 12 or 13 years ago. It will be recalled how Senator La-Follette, La-Follette, the Wisconsin progressive, conducted a scourge of President Calvin Coolidge. As I remember, Mr. Coolidge had announced that "I do not choose to run," but talk of drafting him for another term was continuing at a great pace. Mr. Coolidge stood by his decision that he regarded his tenure as having been two terms and was through. LaFollette's Resolution on Presidential 'Third Terms' Under these circumstances, young Senator LaFollette, who did not like Mr. Coolidge any way, brought in a resolution expressing the sense of the senate as in opposition to the third term for any President. I believe be-lieve I will print that text. It ought to be valuable reading matter. The resolution read: "Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate, that the precedent established es-tablished by Washington and other Presidents of the United States, in retiring from the Presidential office after their second term, has become by universal concurrence a part of the republican system of government; govern-ment; and that any departure from this time honored custom would be unwise, unpatriotic and fraught with peril to our institutions." The chief reason why the resolution, resolu-tion, so bitterly debated in 1928, is recalled is that there are about 20 senators who voted for the resolu- If one couples the dizzy activity of the Roosevelt third-termers in a dozen states with the "peace offen-sive" offen-sive" and combine the two with the vast machine built up by patronage patron-age and billions of federal expendituresif expendi-turesif one thinks of the scene in that light, it is not difficult to recognize recog-nize why some of the old timers are fearful of being hurt by the Roosevelt bandwagon. There is against that proposition, however, the known determination of many important leaders to oppose a third term to the limit of physical endurance. Many times, of course, Washington is the worst place in the world from which to appraise public sentiment but when astute warhorses fellows who have battled for votes time after time on the hustings say that a third term for Mr. Roosevelt will destroy the Democratic Dem-ocratic party definitely and finally, you have something that approxi' mates the fervor of religious warfare. war-fare. Those fellows will not take their licking lying down. It ought to be recalled here, how-ever, how-ever, that only one of all of the Democratic aspirants has had the courage to announce his candidacy without any reference to what Mr. Roosevelt's decision may be. That is Vice President Garner. He and his supporters are going after delegates dele-gates wherever one can be found and they are operating earnestly. Mr. Garner is v.o tyro as a politician. politi-cian. I suppose he has made bad guesses during his 40 years in poli-tics, poli-tics, but I suspect he figures the third-term third-term bugaboo is just the New Dealers Deal-ers squeals in the political woods. Here Comes the Bandwagon According to William Bruckart, anti-Roosevelt Democrats fear the wheels of bandwagon that is now 'oiling for a third-term nominator! nom-inator! for the President Supporters of Mr. Roosevelt on the other hand, have begun in earnest a drive to return him to the White House next year. The recent "peace-offensive" of the President seems to lack political po-litical dickering, according to Bruckart |