ustxtxb_obs_1955_11_23_50_00003-00000_000.pdf

Party Harmony By Etta Hahne for The Texas Observer The Need for Republicans in Texas I As Jefferson Said, Man Is Naturally Divided into Parties of Aristocracy and DemocracyBut Not in Texas \(Franklin Jones of Marshall here makes the case for a vigorous Republican Party in Texas and a clearer division of candidates for public office on the issues. The first of two MARSHALL It is inevitable that there will be ‘division of the body politic into parties. As said in The Federalist : “So strong is the propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.” Tit my opinion, it is safe to say with Jefferson that there is a natural division among men into those who distrust the people and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes, and those who have confidence in the people and regard them as the wisest repository of the public interest. Likewise, as Jackson remarked, although distinctions in society will always exist, there are those who believe that it is evil for the laws to underfake to add to the natural and just advantages, so as to extend gratuities and exclusive privileges in a fashion to make the rich richer, and the potent more powerful, at the ex \\ pease of society’s humbler members. It is not my purpose to suggest that the Republican Party has never manifested any interest in the well-being of our humbler citizens: As has been well said. it sincerely believes that our citizenship generally will be best advantaged by favoring those at he top of the economic heap, in the belief that the benefits conferred will trickle down to the less fortunate. The gesture that comes to my mind is that of feeding pigeon’s in the park. Both parties profess the same ob jective, but the Republican Party sin, he bought some Texas newspapers for White and gestured at a story in one of them. As it happened, this was the time of a spate of “centrist coalition” talk by Texas reporters. White said he thought that Johnson was hinting to him that this was the straight stuff \( indirectly because of the Republican coalition story appeared and corrected it the next week; but the re-write men didn’t notice the correction \(which was tion persists. J OHNSON WANTS TEXAS to send only one delegation to the national convention. If there is a fight in spite of this, he will not intervene, but he will look with jaundiced eye upon those who precipitate it. He Nvould probably welcome the favorite son method of controlling the Texas delegation, but he,. is emphatic that he does not want the presidency or the vice-presidency. This position would leave him free to .negotiate with the TI exas delegation at the Chicago convention. He is interested in influencing the Democratic platform in the direction of “moderation.” He also believes that a Congressional record of temperate but constructive achievement will help the Democrats in the summer. The majority leader is very impatient with, and frowns darkly toward, liberals who criticized the State Executive Committee for dump-, ing former Texag committeeman Wright Morrow and then objected when he. Rayburn, and the Democratic Advisory Council accepted Lt. Gov. Ben Ramsey as Morrow’s’ successor, These citizens evoke from the Senator, a master of suasion, his clip of arguments, similes, and analogies to prove that moderate liberals should cerely believes in bringing it about by protective legislation for and favors to the higher classes, or to lapse into my language, “them that has gits.” The basic distinctions outlined necessarily bring about a positive outlook on the one hand and a negative one on the other. It is only natural that the apostles of the status quo should gather into the Republican Party and those believing in progress should congregate in the Democratic Party. It is a refusal to recognize these facts of life that has left Texas as nominally a one party state, but in truth, as so admirably expressed by the late Paul Holcomb, a no party state. THE TRUE CURSE of Reconstruction days is not found in the indignities heaped upon the Southern people as such. It is found in the fact that it served to perpetuate the social outlook of the Southern aristocracy that should have perished with the Civil War. The misgovernment of the early 1870.’s forced people of varying political beliefs into one party in Texas. Irrespective of a man’s political philosophy, he must needs label for election to a political office. This situation guaranteed a built-in strife within the Democratic Party. Texas has not been a two party state; nor has it been a one party state. It has been a state wherein individual politicians have used the Democratic Party to advantage their personal objectives, without respect to party principles. This may not have been true of earlier splits in the party, such as the famous Clark-Hogg division in 1892. Yet, I see something symbolic in the Hogg forces repairing to the Houston car stable to hold a convention, while what must have been the more respectable element of that day met .with the supporters of George Clark at strive for effective programs instead of insisting on ideal programs. He is of, the “don’t scare ’em of f school,” to wit : what if every preacher barred from his congregation all who had used a .curse ward some time back ? He, like Speaker Rayburn, is opposed to the recent Advisory Council resolution that no one should be included in the Texas delegation to Chicago who supported Eisenhower in 1952. He wants everybody to come into the party fold, including some Republicans, if they will. H E IS INCREDULOUS of any logic that questions the wisdom of welcoming conservatives who might then fight the liberals at the state elections. He believes that Ramsey, as national committeeman, may get more votes for the national Democrats next summer than any liberal. Fie believes that Ramsey’s committeemanship does not and will not have any connection at all with the state elections. He does not believe that Ramsey’s conservative role in the Texas Senate should be considered at all in connection with his new national committeeinanship. A man’s policies are not part of his qualifications for this post, the Senator believes, provided he is a regular Democrat. Johnson is also a personal friend of Ramsey’s. Ramsey was his campaign manager in 1941 and 1948. Johnson emphasizes his key role in passing through the Senate public housing legislation for 135,000 units for five years and his leadership in the fights for a $1 minimum wage when the President wanted only 90 cents and for the Democrats’ federal highway money bill. R.D. The Texas Observer Page 3 Nov. 23, 1955 Turner Hall. The cry of the Clarkites then was not “Save the Tidelands” but that the Hogg administration had driven and was keeping capital from the state. Again, “Turn Texas Loose” was the way the Hogg opponents expressed their real desire to “Turn the Railroads Loose.” In those days, history suggests that the railroad interests in Texas occupied the position currently held by the oil interests in the election of state officials. It is interesting to speculate on what the effect on present Texas politics would have been had George Clark run as an out-and-out Republican in 1892. Had this occurred and had his following been molded into a true opposition party in Texas, how much healthier would .have been our political life in this century ! But, this Clark did not do, and the pattern of splitting within the party instead of splitting between parties was established in Texas. N THE SMITH-Hoover campaign of 1928, the Texas Gov ernor set the stage for our brilliant latter day saints by refusing to permit the delegates to the Beaumont convention to choose their committeemen by districts and engaging in the screening process so prominent of late. Thereafter, he may not have sulked in his tent as did Achilles, but if he made any vocal outcries in favor of the Happy Warrior or derogatory of the Great Engineer, they did not make the daily press. Likely there had been hyphenated Democrats before 1928, but most certainly, that was the year of the harvest for the hybrids when the Hoover Democrats carried Texas for their man. From that date through 1948, we have all witnessed the sorry spectacle . of those high in. power and office in the Democratic . Party seeking to wreck itin each national election, only to be welcomed back as prodigals before the next presidential election, in order that they might repeat their performances Democratic chairman was the junior partner in the firm. That throughout the state, Eisenhower and Nixon banners floated over “Democratic Headquarters” set up by the local officers and committeemen of the Democratic at the last one. This was done in the name of “harmony,” and small wonder that the fumbling and weak ineptitude of the national leaders bringing it about eventually reflected itself in the debacle of.1952. I sha’nt dwell long on the unbeliev able Texas political history of the 1952 campaign for president. I might become partisan. Nonetheless, in passing, I remind that the state chairthan of both the Democratic and the Re.. publican Parties shared_ the same law office, and as has .been remarked, the Party. In short, here at last was the ultimate perfection of the one party, system, lvherein Republicans brazenly, ran their candidates under the Democratic banner, and the Democrats had neither party nor leader. Thus did the failure of the national leaders of the party to recognize and reward the loyalty of those believing in the party, principles result in the complete subversion of the party. We cannot permit ourselves the luxury of applying the “personal devil” theory in fixing blame for this result. Naturally, the state leader who made it poSsible would be a good can didate for the role, yet it was neces sary for the national leaders to place him in position to carry out his part. FRANKLIN JONES The Reese Murder TO the Editor : I read your writeup about the trouble in East Texas. I am with you all the way. I can’t to save my life see why John B. Shepperd doesn’t take steps to put an end to the outrage A. B. BARKER 371 West Harding Blvd. Sari Antonio To the Editor: Your courageous coverage of the atrocities against the Negro commun ity of Mayflower is a masterpiece …. S. W. NICHOLS Box 226, Rockdale ERNEST BERGLUND Rte. 3, Box 10, Marshall To the Editor : Send me 10 copies of the issue of Nov. 2. It is a humdinger and it took lots of guts and backbone to do it …. CHARLES M. ALBBRECHT1 Rte. 3, Yoakum To the Editor : I greatly appreciate the excellent work you are doing. You are serving the state in a very important way. Power to you ‘SHERWOOD S. DAVIS 1150 South Alamo, San Antonio \(Mr. Davis is chairman, San An tonio Interracial Committee, and pas 47, THE SENIOR SENATOR To the Editor: Please take my name off your mail.; ing list.