Mcallen Daily Press

By CHARLES P. STEWART
Central Press Columnist

WASHINGTON, D. C. - Harry L. Hopkins was not senatorially confirmed as secretary of commerce by a flattering majority. The difference between 58 and 27 votes is a pretty liberal margin on some issues but a cabinet appointee who has as many as 27 ballots cast against his confirmation by the upper congressional chamber cannot but feel Harry L. Hopkins that he accepts his portfolio in the face of formidable opposition.

Besides, Hopkins got quite a few of his affirmative votes grudgingly. As Senator Guy M. Gillette, of Hopkins' native state of Iowa, expressed it in advance, he was going to vote for the latter, but Hopkins, he added, was the "last man on earth" that he (Guy M.) would want in his own cabinet.

In short, if all those 85 votes had been cast as per the real sympathies of those who cast them it is doubtful that Harry would have had any favorable margin whatever -- particularly considering the fact that several solons proclaimed openly that they would not vote at all, because they did not like to vote to overrule the presidential selection, but they would be darned if they would vote for Hopkins. So they just hollered, "Present" when the roll was called and weren't recorded.

Some odd anti-Hopkins votes were scored, too -- the votes of Senators William E. Borah of Idaho, Arthur Capper of Kansas, Hiram W. Johnson of California and Henrik Shipstead of Minnesota.

Now, Senator Borah certainly is an advanced liberal. Senator Capper is more than moderately liberal. Senator Johnson once was liberal enough to run for vice president on a bolting liberal Republican ticket and Senator Shipstead is a Farmer Laborite, liberal to his heart's core.

This quartet must have doubted Harry's liberal "bona fides" or his competency or something.

He Won Anyway

Regardless of all this, Secretary Hopkins now is at the head of the commerce department. He has one substantial count in his favor -

The Washington newspapermen like him: he will get a "good press" insofar as they are able to give it to him. Conservative publications may be expected to give him the gaff as much as they are able, but their personal representatives in the capital can be counted on to let Hopkins have the "best of it" to whatever extent their various editorial policies permit. And the "boys" can take a lot off from editorial criticism of him. They can not prevent ugly comment, but they can withhold from it a good bit of its ammunition.

Believe me, a government official who "plays in" with the Washington correspondents gets his reward for it.