Evening star., 1932-07-31
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Most Republican leaders here think
that stopping Franklin D. Roosevelt In
his run for the presidency will be like
Clamplng the brakes on q train that
has original momentum enough to 60
clear by the fateful given point-of
November 8 next-at a high rate OF
speed unless the braking is done with
amazing vigor and ingenuity.
They nevertheless hope that, as
and vigorous and ingenious enough, for
the job.
They concede to Gov. Roosevelt three
powerful sorts Of steam In the cylinders
of his candidacy.
The first is the prevalent discomfort
with economic conditions, lsading
to the demand for change" for al
most any Change" The second is the
increasing discomfort with Federal pro-
hibition. leading to widespread de-
sire to get away from it in almost any
direction. The third Is Gov. Roosevelt'S
own remarkably charming personality,
leading to favorable impressions of his
manliness and of his sincerity during
his contacts with the public, both on
the platform and at the microphone.
There the Republican leaders stop in
their estimates of Gov. Roosevelts as
sets. They grant him, to his advantage,
the general psychology Of the moment:
The recoil from the depression and the
recoil from the eighteenth amendment.
And they grant him a superiority to
President Hoover in the personal art Of
oratorical appeal to the electorate.
On the other hand, they claim a
superiority for President Hoover over
Gov Roosevelt in natural and acquired
fol Nf zoft
and more generally, they claim a clear
superiority for the Republican party
over the Democratic party in national
issues as developed in the party plat
forms and by party speakers.
Their essential plan IS to try to wear
Gov. Roosevelt down and out on the
issues.
This establishes a strong difference
between the present campaign and pre-
vious campaigns Of longtime 'ins"
against longtime outs" In the pre-
Wous campaigns the outs" did the at
lacking and the 'ins" confined them.
selves essentially to defending. That
was because the "ins"-generally speak
ing-had the initial advantage. They
were defending fairly normal condi-
tions. This time the conditions are far
from normal They are unusual and
unsatisfactory; and the initial ad-
vantage is with the outs" Therefore
the country will witness an almost un-
precedented spectacle. 1t will see the
outs" tending to rely very largely
upon the impetus furnished by the
conditions themselves, and 1t Will see
the "ins" perSistently and energetically
attacking the outs" and challenging
them emphatically to comparison OF
platforms and Of records.
@E%
The Republican leaders are deter
mined most especially to challenge Gov.
Roosevelt on the details OF prohibition
reform, of electric power and Of "re-
lief-under which last point they in
clude general discussion of the
causes and cures of the depression.
On prohibition reform they rejoice in
their so-called "straddle" plank. They
do not merely admit, they contend, that
their plank pledges the Federal Govern
ment, II and when the eighteenth
amendment Is repealed. to retain in It
self the power to prohibit the saloon
throughout the whole United States.
They point out that the Democratic
plank leaves the prohibiting of the
saloon, after the repeal Of the eight
zenith amendment, solely and exclusive
ly to the discretion of the States. They
will say on thousands Of platforms and
In hundreds Of radio talks that the
Democratic party merely transmits to
keep the saloon abolished.
The Republican party, on the other
hand, they will say, recognizes the
liquor traff1c as being In an important
degree a national problem and prom
ises to use the fun national power to
perpetuate the disappearance of the
liquor trafiic's most denounced feature
the legalized saloon, the leg1timated
bar room"
Thus they will endeavor not only to
retain Republican drys but to attract
Democratic drys. That they are already
having some considerable success in this
effort is undeniable. Notable dry pc
ricdicalS like the Christian Century and
the National Enquirer are supporting
the Republican ticket ardentIy. Sena-
tor Borah is not on this point assailing
1t at present and is thought perhaps un-
likely to resume doing so with any
great earnestness. The Republican
leaders count upon capturing the dry
remnant" and they calculate 1t to be far
from negligible numerically.
Meanwhile they are equally vigor-
ously endeavoring to pacify the "wets"
in their ranks by pointing out to them
that under the Republican 'straddle"
proposal they can secure every con-
ceivab,e wetness except the bar room"
They realize that this argument can
bring them no Democratic vets. They
realize, further, that 1t will fail to re-
convert a considerable number of Re
publican vets who have already left the
Republican reservation. They calculate,
however that it will restrain q great
multitude Of Republican vets from bolt
ing between now and November. Con-
sidering that there are normally many
more Republicans than Democrats in
the electorate, they hope that their net
loss on the prohibition question-and
they anticipate net loss-can be kept
down to manageable proportions.
On electric power they hope to prove
that Gov. Roosevelt has ideas which are
either merely Identical with President
Hoover's or else so advanced" as to be
obnoxious to a large part OF the voting
public.