| Show Between You and Me Mr Hilles Phoenix-Bird Phoenix of Politics Arises Arise Again New Bonus Fight Backstage Motives Townsend Forces Pension a Vital Issue Bv By RAYMOND CLAPPER WASHINGTON Republican national committee meetings are stuffy cri enough ugh but they would b beven be even more so except for tor the In Inevitable inevitable In- In evitable pressure of oC Charles Dewey Hm 8 the velvety n national lional c for tor New York Unless you Ou are a it pr professional politician you probably aro are unaware unaware un un- un aware of the gentleman's exist exist- ence Yet he is the nearest thing to a n mastermind that the Republican heart lican party has has or or if yoU arc a Democrat he j ia is the R Republican The remarkable thing about Hilles is that he goes down to one defeat after another yet always t turns xi up again as th the party's mast master r mind H He HO I is the Phoenix Phoenix- bird of oC p politics s always iw h. ys s 's certain certai to torise torise rise fise from frOth th the ashes sh s s suave and smili smiling He lie moves as s silently gr gracefully c l f lly and sl slyly ly as a cat and li he li Has s as many Jives lives A As R Republican n national chairman chair man nian in iii 1912 ho lie went d down WJ with vitti th the portly Taft on oh his b back ck In Iri 1928 1028 he missed the H HOo Hoover bandwagon bandwagon bandwagon band band- wagon and sat Mt oi on J th the curb throughout that regime c. c But he was th the first to rise and begin reassembling the wreckage after 1932 Barely a y year ar rigo when the Republican national l committee went to Chicago to r re recondition condition its wrecked machine th the agile Hilles Rules sought to pUt his own stooge In hi as national ch chairman chair ir man but failed and had to A. A accept Henry Fletcher as a compromise Hilles survives such reverses s with witha a smile and not one silver sliver hair lr on on his head is ruffled in the tra fray Time and again he has hM been la labelled Ia- Ia a. a belled belied without protest as Wall Van WallStreet's WallStreet's Streets Street's political front man yet he wasn't swept out with the money changers This tall ll gliding figure ligure continues to pull at the strings backstage Subtle J jockeying by Hilles for advantage in the struggle over the Republican presidential nomination nomination nomination nomina nomina- tion can be detected in the Republican Republican Republican Re Re- publican national committees committee's s bonus fight if you are of suspicious suspicious cious turn of mind mind mind-as as who isn't when politicians whether politicians whether Rep Republican b- b lican or Democratic hold Democratic hold a meeting meeting meeting meet meet- ing This Republican bonus fight has has riot nothing to do with the war veterans It concerns convention convention convention conven- conven conven conven- tion delegates then men nien and women who will decide which f fair ir Rep Republican D David is to try his slingshot on the Democratic Goliath Goliath Goli Goli- ath aUt in the White House The Republican bonus question goes back bael Into the long Jong ago when Republicans adopted the rule of giving a bonus of ot extra delegates to states which returned majorities majorities majori majori- ties for presidential candidates in inthe inthe inthe the previous election Such states were to receive three extra delegates delegates dele dele- gates for having delivered their previous electoral votes to the Republican Re Republican Re- Re publican candidate Also in such uch states each congressional district casting or more Republican can votes was to receive a bonus of oC on one extra delegate In the case of a small state having only four regular delegates sa say the bonus practically doubled d its voting strength in the nominating con con- In a close struggle over ver the nomination bonus delegates might be important The rule was adopted in the days when then R Republican p ni majorities were quite prevalent am among the several states slates But in 1932 on only six states returned Republican majorities Under the rule 31 states having bonus delegates in inthe inthe inthe the 1932 national convention would uld be deprived of them in the tho coming convention Now the question is 15 whether to stick sUck to that rule It was Wa assumed as a matter of ot course that the rulo rule would be adhered to But Hilles HIlle now comes forward rd demanding It be suspended He says Iny the sacrifice sacrifice fice lice which the 34 3 states are arc called upon to make under the tHo rule should be written off oft as a loss los duo to the depression and not to any punishment worthy punishment worthy negligence negligence negligence gence on th the part of Republicans cans in those states Rules Hilles wants to be hearted big about it He gIves the impression that his heart bleeds for tor those states and that he wants to temper temper tem tern per justice with mercy Ac Actually if it you want to io be suspicious about it it you will s 8 that Mr Hilles Is being foxy He wants uninstructed uninstructed uninstructed delegations from Crom all over the country Ho wants to prevent nn an any candidate from going into the Convention dominant With un pledged delegates Rules Hilles figures that thC thc best best minds of at the party party- or a n group of the tho next best beat minds will will meet with him In a hotel room and trade it out to see ee who gets the nomination Hilles HUle is a aback back backroom room worker and he likes a aback back backroom room convention contention best So by appearing at the Republican Republican Republican lican national committee meeting and leading a fight to restore the bonus delegates delegate he is going to tomake tomake tomake make any number of state Republican Republican lican organizations grateful es especially especially es- es a large number of small states where the bonus d i gates would increase the voting strength by a large percentage Certainly n a n number fuber of these states could b be c counted upon lupon to sh show v their gratitude de by playing along with Hilles on the nomination Anyway Anyway Any Any- way that would be the hope hoe WIles Hilles is tr trying ing to make malce friends vho who will come to his support when th the convention trading starts Nat Naturally champions of individual individual indi indi- vidual candidates Intend to fight tight this Y Young ung John Hamilton general general general gen gen- eral cou counsel of the Rep Republican national national national na na- na- na committee will lead th the fight tight against the veteran Hilles This riis aggressive Kansas redhead is suspected of being friendly to the candidacy of Governor Lan- Lan don However his fight tight will vilI be made on other grounds And he I will make a good case For Instance in instance instance in- in stance the Republicans intend to attack Rosevelt as having substituted substituted substituted the rule of ot individuals for tor forthe forthe I the rule of ot Jaw Therefore he doesn't want the party at the outset outset outset out out- set of the campaign to scrap its own Jaws laws for the sake of expediency expediency expediency ency and thus commit the very kind of offense for lor which it is about aboul to condemn Roosevelt Anyway Anyway Anyway Any Any- way he questions whether the committee has any right to suspend suspend suspend sus sus- pend this rule Hilles HilJeR isn't Chinese but hes he's damned clev clever r. r Political parade No presidential candidates were seen at the RepUblican Republican Republican Re Re- publican national committee meeting meeting meet meet- ing but their agents were hiding behind every pillar in the Mayflower Mayflower Mayflower May May- flower hotel Even Senator Borah had a secret agent there One reason many Republicans Republic c ciu cans s wanted to h hold ld their ir national convention in Cleveland is that they believe it would finally nail down Ohio as a bellwether in the break away from rom Roosevelt Some prominent Ohio Democrats have reported to headquarters here that Ohio is pr practically lost Jost now Governor Landon's big danger now is that ho will vill be tabbed as the candidate of oC bi big business His Indorsements indorsements have como come mostly from these ranks Some of oC his friends are arc anxious to trot out impressive indorsements from farm organizations and other groups not so closely tied to the big money Another danger Is that the Hearst press is overselling overselling over over- selling him are so active in Massachusetts that even the conservative Edith Nourse Rogers Republican congressWoman con- con v gress ni man 1 i is tempted to flirt with some of the old folks You'd be surprised how many marty politicians are wondering whether it would b be possible t to turn turri Townsend Townsend Townsend Town- Town send into a Godsend Cop Copyright 1935 by the Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington Post |
