Show washington digest presidents supporters catch brunt of opposition on criticism roosevelt personally under direct fire of enemies only twice interference in state primaries now subject of bitter controversy by WILLIAM BRUCKART service national press bids washington D C washington WASHING TONIt it has hag been a 0 matter 0 of frequent reference among observers how president roose belts supporters or subordinates or spokesmen for him have caught the tha brunt of opposition criticism mr roosevelt personally has been under the direct fire of his enemies on only two occasions lie he played his political cards so that when rome come plan blew up it was some subordinate or supporter whose neck was found out too far the president of course found himself as the target when h he e proposed packing the supreme court with six additional justices of his own choosing and when he sought reorganization ol of the government but generally speaking the roosevelt prestige has avoided damage until now which brings us its to the bitter k controversy over presidential interference ter ference in state primaries and artho the second stage aar Roosevel ts declaration that it was a violation of public morality for republicans public ans to enter a Derno democratic cratic primary this controvert cont is the tha most heated and has the broadest implications of 0 any of th tha 0 three in which the storm centered about mr Roosevel ts own head it is likely to bo be the most far reaching in its result tho the roosevelt prestige is bound to be damaged whether he ivins or loses when tho score finally is totaled and as far as can be seen noto he to will ivill not be able to kr avoid it I 1 remember having written when the president made his cross court coun try trip in the dual capacity of president and head of the democratic party that it appeared difficult to disassociate the two capacities I 1 predicted at that time two months ago that there were germs of trouble in such an attempt it was not long before the germs were growing mr Roosevel ts pat on the back for senator bulk bulkley ley of ohio and his bold command to the democratic voters at kentucky to send sen Dear Alben barkley back to the senate baoit a 0 shower of ripe verbal eg eggs onto fito ilia head of either the president Preside tit or the head headon of the democratic party I 1 did not know which personality was naming the favorite democratic candidate in the primaries then nor do I 1 yet know from all of the information from rom those states since I 1 gather that the voters in the primaries did not know whether they were voting to support the president of the united states or tho the head of the democrat lc io party pat on blackfor hack for mcadoo faco slap for oconnor when then on to the middle west and the far west the pat on the back for Senator mcadoo who has opposition tor for the democratic senatorial nomination in Cali california tornia and next in georgia where mr roosevelt uttered the now famous god bless you Walter but youre no liberal to senator george to be followed by a direct endorsement of 0 lawrence camp for the senatorial nomination against mr george later mr roosevelt gave tk a vicious political slop slap in the face to rep john oconnor in new york and attacked senator tydings in maryland by saying that representative da vey lewis ought to have the democratic nomination in arditi addition on to these direct inter feren gerences ferenc ces cs in state primaries mr Roo Roosevel sevelVa ts subordinates men aik like e relief relict administrator hopkins and secretary ickes horned into primaries in lowa iowa oregon idaho and elsewhere they were well licked in iowa and idaho and it was the there re sult in the latter state that has brought up the second stage of the controversy idaho senator pope used to say thal thai tf if any ny constituent wanted to know his position on a given question it was nic necessary essary only to inquire whether theT the president resident was for or against it apparently the vot ers in idaho did not like that they preferred a senator to vote their views rather than one who consistently voted the presidents view anyway they nominated represent lle present abiva clarkia dark in their democratic primary ile he had something in excess cess of more votes thin than mr pope the licking administered to senator pope did not taste well to the president tnt or the coterie or of new deal advisors senator pope obviously did not like it either and he did the childish thing of 0 emitting a loud and noxious squawk that the nomination was taken from him by republicans ile he said they went into the democratic primary and gave representative clark their votes in sufficient number to override the will of 0 a majority of the democrats in hi the state senator pope popa went to hyde park if Y ito weep out his story atory on the shoulders of mr roosevelt but tt it has not been made mide clear whether it was the shoulder the e president of the united states or of the head of the democratic party anyway there was weeping at hyde park takes important second step in controversy and Andi i after that meeting and when the tears were wiped away so there would be no sniffling mr roosevelt took the important second step in the controversy ile he denounced the republicans a ai having violated public morals by voting for mr clark I 1 in n a democratic primary although if the ballots were secret as the law r requires I 1 have been unable to figure out how either mr roosevelt or mr pope know that it was the republicans public ans and not tho the democrats who brought about mr popes defeat anyway mr roosevelt either as president of the united states or as head ot of the democratic porty party condemned such terrible things as republican votes in a democh democratic title primary such a course of action the president or the head of the democratic party said constituted an attempt to destroy the direct primary system it apparently uld aid not matter to the president bentor or the head of the democratic party that mr clark had campaigned as a democrat while senator pope was sounding oil off as a per cent new dealer I 1 have been wondering since the hyde Park condemnation of the republicans public ans how mr Roosevel ts position in the two phases of his course can be reconciled it never has seemed to me to bo be so terrible for the beside president nt or the head of the democratic party or the head of the republican party if the tha president be a republican to state his views about candidates probably the presidential office ought not to be used that way but I 1 can not get so excited about it as some writers and some newspapers and some politicians itic ians have done I 1 am inclined to regard such action as the purest of politics and politics is a game and the voters have to recognize that it is a game there has been a lot of meaningless gushing going on mr Roosevel ts course that just jul falls to Im impresa me at all but on the other hand th there ere is an old old quotation consistency thou art a jewel in remembering and applying that thought jt it appears to me that mr roosevelt lias has gone oft off the deep end ot 0 the pool without an inflated rubber tube for an arm rest tin indeed deed it a rather silly thing th ingan lan utterly stupid piece c business to claim the right to interfere on his own part and tell the common ordinary garden variety of voter that lie he can not take a because he once played on the other team Is Roosevel ts F Forg org ettery lvell ell these days burther Eur lher ther I 1 am wondering whether mr Roosevel ts forg ettery works so well that he falls to recall his appeal in 1932 1032 and again in 1038 1930 tor for republicans to follow him elect him as the savior ot of the country it seems to rne me if 11 it is sauce for the goose the old gander can eat the some same food further there thera Is a bit ot of logic about the whole thing that ought to be examined take the state of 0 georgia for example where the democratic Democrat lc nomination means election A republican in georgia would be sunk without a trace as far as selection of someone to represent him in congress is concerned iche if he wanted to have his real chol choice cere recorded his only course if he pre i feared one democratic candidate to another would be to enter the democratic primary and vote for one of those candidates assume that the republican voter lives in idaho if that voter felt that neither of the candidates tor for the republican nomination f to 0 the senate measured up to his ideas why should he not be allowed td vote veto in uia democratic primary in order to express his preference it might well be that a republican voter in idaho would feel eel that the democratic nominee had a better chance of being elected in november than did the republic can nominee it he felt that thai way it appears to me that he would be showing good sense common horse sense to express his preference on that side of the fence I 1 believe mr air Roosevel ts record would look very much better at this point it if he be had extended his congratulations to rep dark clark in idaho and promised him the support ol of he democratic national committee in the forthcoming election n as was ilone done by national democratic chairman man i parley farley St surely irely that would have been sportsmanship and the attitude of a good loser it may be however and this is an implication from the indications indication s ot of the day that t mr roosevelt is trying deliberately to forca a realignment of 0 voters throughout the country ile he may be seeking to drive radicals into his camp in case ol 01 a third term urge and the consert con atiles into another camp a 0 western Mus paper union |