NO JOKE NOW.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20425, 2 October 1934, Page 5

NO JOKE NOW.

Democrats Tied to Upton Sinclair. CALIFORNIAN NOMINATION. SAN FRANCISCO, August 31. The New Dealers are really most unhappy about being tied to Upton Sinclair in California. A few of them tried painfully to take the joke of Upton Sinclair’s Democratic j gubernatorial nomination gracefully. Senator Pope murmured that California would be a good place to try out the Socialist system, implying that he did not think much of California anyway, as it was probably a Republican State. The always delightful Relief Administrator Hopkins said he was gled Sinclair won, but he did not say anyone else was. When Hopkins saw his remarks in print, he told the newsmen that they would ” get him in bad,” quoting him that way about everything. At any rate, these two happy voices were lost in the roar of silence generally. It was quite evident that the situation had rained all over sunny Jim Farley. He had “ nothing to say.” The reason is that Farley and the others privately feel that Sinclair's victory just about wrecks the chances of the Democratic Party in the fourth largest voting State in the Union. May Lose Seats. If you get them in mellow mood, you can find out, off the record, that they do not care particularly who is Governor of California, and that they believe that their Socialist-in- Demo-cratic-clothing will be snowed under by his Republican opponent in November. They think they will lose all save one or two of the eleven Democratic Congressional seats they now hold. And that dire possibility arises just when California’s Democratic registration shows a 75,000 majority over Republican, lealing the Democrats to expect a strong state-wide victory.

Another thing which makes the officials at Democratic National headquarters feel bad is that they were warned six months ago that Sinclair probably would win. That they did not stop him is at least partially their fault. The* could not even get one of the two acceptable Democratic candidates to withdraw. Their one hope is that when the Democratic candidates in California get together soon, they will adopt their own platform and not Sinclair’s. However, they will have to watch their step because they may offend the Sin- i clair Democratic following, j You may be sure, no matter what j is said about it, that their strategy will be directed toward saving what j they can of the Democratic Congres- i sional ticket. They may have to ac-! cept Mr Sinclair for the sake of appearances, but they will do it with their fingers crossed.—N.A.X.A. Copyright