U.S.A. PRESIDENCY

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 June 1932, Page 5

U.S.A. PRESIDENCY

DEMOCRATS’ CONVENTION MR. ROOSEVELT’S PROSPECTS [BY CABLE—PRESS ASSN.—COPYRIGHT.] CHICAGO, June ,25. The stage is set for the Democratic Party’s National Convention, which is opening here on Monday, with flags, bands, cheers and boos. Underneath this superficial excitement there is a desperate and bitter struggle for control of the convention between powerful forces that are bound up. in a storm of protest against the rule of President Hoover. The struggle is between thesupporters of Governor Franklyn Roosevelt, of New York, and sectional interests representing nine other candidates. Tho stage managers have almost finished rushing around and shifting and changing the scenery. They have been moving quietly, but violently, behind the curtain. To Mr. James A. Farley, the Chairman of the New York

Boxing Commission, has been given the job of bringing about the nomination of Governor Roosevelt. Mr. Farley is an amateur. This is his first ..big professional role, save for some very skilful work he has done in rehearsals by way of rounding up delegations to give him the control of the Committees. He has otherwise said or done nothing to justify his assignment. He was, for example, stampeded into announcing that the Roosevelt forces would abrogate the two-thirds nomination rule. This faux pas of the first water was impediatly accepted by the Roosevelt opponents as indicating that New York’s Governor could not obtain the Presidental nomination if he had to

get a two-thirds vote of the conven•tion. Mr. Sage .Touett Shouse gets the role of skilful manipulator. With Mr. John Raskob, he pulls the big purse strings. , Mr. Shouse was slated for the job of Permanent Convention Chairman, but ’ the Roosevelthians wanted Senator Thomas Walsh. There will be a row about that. Senator Allen W. Barkley, of Kentucky, will be the deliverer of the keynote speech. The man who gets the tragic role is ex-Governor Alfred Smith. He might fool them, and might yet regain some power, but, as the days march, observers note that he goes to confer with important persons, though they ’do not come to him. Mr. Smith often confers with unimportant people. , Among other possible candidates are Mr. Albert Ritchie, of Maryland; Mr. Melville Traylor, of Chicago; Mr. Newton Baker, of Ohio; and Mr John Nance Garner, of Texas. A long-waited Coalition threat to bolt

Governor Roosevelt if he should be nominated as President, without the customary two-thirds majority of the delegates, took organised form among the Democrats, as several more party stalwarts, including Mr. Newton Baker, lined up against the abrogation now of the two-thirds rule. Th© two-thirds rule was originally designed to protect the South against the North. It has latterly operated to enable a group of big delegations to prevent thp nomination of strong candidates.

PROHIBITION AND TARIFFS. CHICAGO, June 26. A majority of Democratic platform committee agreed on Saturday night to a tentative Prohibition plank calling for a decision by the people on the question of repeal, after a storniy session, the Roosevelt leaders dominating. A sub-committee was appointed to draft a platform confident of beating down all attempts to commit the party to repeal. A tentative tariff plank was also drafted calling for a competitive tariff for revenue purposes, and reciprocal tariff agreements with other nations.