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Show National Topics Interpreted ; by William Bruckart KlT.'lTJ'J; National Press Building Washington, D. C. Cfefeggf"7F Washington. The Republicans and the Democrats have their Presidential Pres-idential tickets. All Set for The elephant and Big Race tlle dnkev have their jockeys for the campaign. The tumult and the shouting and the blistering, withering with-ering fire of politics, have begun. It is a long way to the finish line where the checkered flag falls for the winner of the race. But the big fight is really on and it is Interesting In-teresting as well as significant to note how it has started. It Is always a sure sign that party leaders respect and fear opponents op-ponents when they start a campaign cam-paign with a declaration that the enemy is weak ; that his selection resulted from chicanery or boss-Ism, boss-Ism, or that the particular candidate candi-date selected has been put up at a sacrifice. That is what has happened hap-pened already in the current campaign, cam-paign, and you can expect it to continue because it is stating no secret se-cret to disclose that the New Dealers Deal-ers fear Gov. Landon of Kansas, the Republican nominee, and that the Republican leadership, beneath be-neath the surface, are wishing for a clairvoyant or crystal gazer to tell them how much of a chance they have to beat President-candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt Of course, no astute political observer ob-server would dare predict at this stage of the game who the winner will be. On the other hand, it Is part of the psychology of the game of politics for politicians to claim everything In sight Yet, I know that each side expects a real battle, bat-tle, a horse race. The November result re-sult is pretty likely to be determined deter-mined by events of the next two months. At the end of that time, trends will be evident and some appraisal of the campaign will be possible. In the interim, claims and high sounding phrases will be offered of-fered by the basketful and enthusiasm enthusi-asm will be promoted. Yet, the end, the result, will not begin to be evident evi-dent until afterward because this Is the season for the tumult and shouting. I cannot concur in the claims already advanced by Postmaster General-Chairman Farley that the election Is In the bag for Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt any more than I can believe that Chairman John Hamilton of the Republicans is equipped with special foresight enabling him to say that Governor Landon Is a sure winner. I said above that the campaign has all the appearance of a horse race and a close one. To that extent It Is a condition much more favorable favor-able to the Republicans than obtained ob-tained three months ago when, as I recall, I suggested that if the election elec-tion were held at that time, Mr. Roosevelt had a 60-40 advantage over anybody the Republicans could name. To say now, therefore, that the race probably will be close necessarily Indicates two things: unification of Republican strength, and some mistakes by the Democratic Demo-cratic leadership (one may properly proper-ly inquire what has brought about the unification of the Republicans). Repub-licans). The answer seems rather obvious. It is that the Republican party has been reorganized from tip to toe. The reorganization has been more sweeping and more effective effec-tive and the result much more satisfactory sat-isfactory to the country than most political observers had any reason to expect I say "satisfactory to the country" because the Republican Repub-lican party Is a major political unit and, though at present a minority party, will come back to power some time. The Democrats have been a minority party, and the course of human events has witnessed wit-nessed It restored to power. So the people have a stake in either party, and whichever one proceeds to improve its political structure is giving something of vital value to the country as a whole. The Democratic attack on the Republicans for the last sixteen years has been G. O. P. concentrated to a Cleans House large extent on I the charge that the Republicans were boss-controlled. Chairman Farley has con-. con-. ! tlnually harped on that alleged condition. When the Republicans did their house cleaning job at Clveland, they took away an im-. im-. pottant Issue from the Democrats, but even so some of the Democrats Demo-crats and some Independents like Senator George Norris of Nebraska, Nebras-ka, refused to accept the purging as genuine. ,' Senator Norris disclosed his attitude atti-tude very definitely the other day when he broadcast a radio speech. , He employed the time-worn allegation allega-tion that the Cleveland convention . was dominated by "special inter-. inter-. ests," and that the platform adopt-, adopt-, ed there was plainly reactionary." 1 Senator Norris has not support-1 support-1 ed a Republican candidate for 12 years, although he ran for re-elec-1 tlon six years ago as a Republican. , He believes In Mr. Roosevelt and Insists that Mr. Roosevelt alone can save the country. It Is to be assumed also that Mr. Roosevelt will have the support of the LaFollettes, Senator Bob and Governor Thil, in Wisconsin. These men, however, have labeled themselves them-selves as Progressives, and have not carried the party label of either the Democrats or Republicans. There will be others of the same warp and woof. There will be old-line old-line Democrats who will do as Senator Sen-ator Copeland of New York has done, take a walk. Alfred E. Smith is not going to support the New Dealers nor will a great many of his followers. So, it Is obvious that each party will be subjected to defections de-fections of one kind or another. Now, concerning mistakes that have been made: Chairman Farley made a bad mistake mis-take politically when he said that Alfred M. Lan-Some Lan-Some don was "just Mistakes the little-known governor of a typical prairie state." That remark has been rising to haunt the Democratic Dem-ocratic chairman almost dally since it escaped from his lips, and unless I miss my guess he will hear It repeated, re-peated, thrown into his teeth, so many times between now and November No-vember that the words will give him a stomachache .equivalent to green apples. The reasons this remark was a serious blunder are two. First and foremost Is that every state in the Union rightfully has justified pride of its people, its commerce and industry in-dustry and its future prospects. Every state feels profound resentment resent-ment when its capacity to do great things is questioned. Consequently, when Mr. Farley catalogued Kansas Kan-sas as a typical prairie state and Its governor as little-known, there was a surging tidal wEve of resentment, re-sentment, and it was not confined to Kansas alone. The second reason why Mr. Farley's Far-ley's remark cut the wrong way was that Mr. Farley is a New Yorker and a Tammanyite. There is something repulsive to the millions mil-lions of mid-westerners about Tammany, Tam-many, and a very great many residents resi-dents of prairie states long have objected to the attempt of certain New Yorkers to "run things" for the whole United States. Another mistake that has been made, really a series of mistakes, Is the coercion that has been permitted per-mitted to go on among those receiving re-ceiving relief. It is not exactly fair to charge Mr. Farley and President Pres-ident Roosevelt with these, yet I am inclined to believe they could have prevented local Democratic politicians poli-ticians from attempting to force relief re-lief clients to vote the Democratic ticket. That condition has obtained In as many as fifteen states. ft is one of those things In politics pol-itics that naturally causes a revulsion revul-sion of feeling, yet It is one of those things with which the leaders possibly pos-sibly may have had nothing directly direct-ly to do. The fact that they might have prevented it and did not Is accepted ac-cepted by the average voter in exactly ex-actly the same light as though a written order directing such procedure pro-cedure had been Issued. The handling of the tax question by the administration in this session ses-sion of congress has not been cf a character warranting too much praise. It has alienated many Influential Influ-ential persons who might otherwise have supported Mr. Roosevelt On the other side of the picture, the Republicans can make mistakes yet, plenty of On the them. They have Other Hand an advantage over the Democrats In one regard: they have not been charged with the responsibility of government for the last three and one-half years, and therefore will not have to answer for mistakes in administration. It lies In the hands of the Republican managers, therefore, there-fore, to prevent political mlstnkes between now and election if they are capable of so doing. They have started out with an nhVnslve campaign cam-paign and have an opi"rinnlty to continue It, whereas the I ruts can conduct an offensive rmiipnign only so long as they can moid entering en-tering onto a defense of Roosevelt New Deal policies. I understand that the 1 loinocr.iilc national committee is Io;ol.-'l to the dashboard with materlul for mm, irk, but from this stage of the battle It seems quite apparent that thpy are going to reed plans for defense as well as offense, and they will not have enthusiastic support from some spots in their own army. The Democrats are prepared to attack Governor Landon on the theory the-ory that the eountry cannot feel sure of his plans and policies; that he has done nothing to enable the country to appraise him and that there is no assurance, In event of his election, that he Is a big enough man for the Job of Chief Executive. On the other hand, the Republicans can counter-attiirk by using the language of Senator Copeland, New York Democrat, who declared that no man nor party disregarding Its pledges was to be trusted, arid right thre is wh"re the New Deaiera must I'fgin to defend. |