Democratic Shuffle

POLITICAL NOTES

Democratic Shuffle

When, last January, President Roosevelt frowned a big black public frown on potent politicians who campfollow a new administration into Washington, the Democratic National Committee lost only two of its 106 members--James Bruce Kremer of Montana and Robert H. Jackson of New Hampshire. Fortnight ago, after the President had repeated his views on lawyer-lobbying, resignations began to fall by the handful. By last week it became apparent that this phase of the New Deal was leading to a new Democratic shuffle of the political cards in the dexterous fingers of James Aloysius Farley, Postmaster General and chairman of the National Committee. P: Arthur Francis Mullen, Committeeman from Nebraska, resigned to continue a lucrative political law practice in Washington. Last week in a stormy Democratic meeting at Grand Island, Neb. Mr. Mullen shouted: "I represent the President here." At his command his henchman, Keith Neville, was elected National Committeeman in his stead. P:Nellie Tayloe Ross. Committeewoman from Wyoming and national vice chairman, resigned to continue her job as Directress of the Mint. P:Jed Cobb Adams, Committeeman from Texas, resigned to continue in his job on the Board of Tax Appeals--a resignation offered in May 1933 but which Mr. Farley did not see fit to accept for ten months. P: Mrs. Catherine Rouse Conner, in charge of information for Federal Surplus Relief Corp.. resigned to retain her post as Committeewoman from Kentucky. Others still to resign last week included U. S. Treasurer William Alexander Julian, Committeeman from Ohio; Second Assistant Postmaster General William Washington Howes, Committeeman from South Dakota; John Jacob Thomas, Nebraska State Chairman who holds a job with the Federal Reserve Board; and Mr. Farley himself. Obviously Mr. Farley could not resign as head of the National Committee until he had finished rearranging the Democratic pack. Last week the shuffle began. First card dealt was a new Treasurer to dig up funds for next autumn's Congressional campaign, to pay the party's $500,000 debt, to mend financial fences in anticipation of 1936. The post was decorously offered to John Sanford Cohen, the job-hungry publisher of the Atlanta Journal. He declined it, presumably because it was short on prestige and profits. Within 24 hours Mr. Farley made his second choice and Walter Joseph Cummings was put in charge of the party's money bags. Mr. Cummings headed Deposit Insurance Corp. until January when the R. F. C. foisted him on Chicago's Continental Illinois National Bank as its chairman. Said Mr. Farley: "I feel that the party is very fortunate in securing for committee treasurer a man of such outstanding prominence and ability. . . ." Republicans were also prompt to congratulate the Democratic Party, pointing out that as head of a big bank, whose largest stockholder is the U. S. Government, Treasurer Cummings should indeed have unusual ability in raising money. Second card of the new shuffle was another ace. Mr. Farley named Emil Edward Hurja to assist him as head of the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Hurja, a 40-year-old Finnish-American, was a mining analyst in Manhattan when Frank Walker. who last November resigned as treasurer of the committee, introduced him to Mr. Farley. He became attached to the Democratic National Headquarters in 1932, won Mr. Farley's confidence by his unusually accurate estimates of Roosevelt strength in various States. When Mr. Farley and his campfollowers went to Washington he first put Mr. Hurja in the R. F. C. to weed out Republicans and replace them with deserving Democrats. One weak point in Mr. Farley's dispensation of patronage was the Department of the Interior where Secretary Ickes obstinately insisted on choosing Public Works Administrators without regard to politics. Mr. Hurja was deftly moved to the Interior Department where he did a good job, for Mr. Ickes ceased exploding at the manner in which patronage was dispensed (TIME, Sept. 4). Last week Secretary Ickes paid tribute to Mr. Hurja in saying farewell: "I understand why the Democratic National Committee should want to avail itself of your services with an important campaign approaching. . . . 1 accept your resignation with regret." Thus Mr. Farley could congratulate himself again. Whether he resigns or merely abstains from actively running his party in order to execute the President's ideas, he will have an able alter ego to carry on. P:To be sure, this will not do much to separate party politics from government preferment, but Washington looks cynically on the whole idea of separating politicians from government. Men do not lose their political power to confer favors by resigning party offices to their friends and supporters. Chief effect of the severance is to forestall criticism in forthcoming political campaigns.

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