Evening star., 1932-11-06
LAST-MENUTE CAMPAIGNS
TO AFFECT VOTE SLIGHTLY
Changes Are Few After Four Days Prior
to Election, Past Experience Reveals,
Barring Accidental Occurrences.


would retard business recovery. Some
Republican orators, declaring 1t would,
did not stop with the word 'retard."
They said, rather too excitedly, that
transfer of the government to the
Democrats would make business recov-
cry impossible Most business men
came to feel that change was undesir-
able Hardly in any campaign since
1896 has business been SO prevallingly
on the side of the Republicans. Such
business leaders as Henry Ford were
frank in saying to their employees that
they believed reelection of Mr.. Hoover
desirable.
1t is precisely on the efficacy Of this
leadership b. business heads that the
outcome next Tuesday largely depends.
In normal times. workers tend to ac-
cept the Judgment of heads of indus
try. But when workers are laid off
heads of industry cease to have so
much weight with employees. That is
what has happened in good many
areas of life during this depression.
Accepted authorities have lost their
authority Workers feel emotionally
that if heads of industry have not the
magic to keep their factories going and
their employees on the pay roll, then
their magic may be insufficient to ad-
wise wisely how to vote. 1t is out of
this mood that arose the expression,
1t couldn't be worse" And the cleo
ton on Tuesday will be determined
largely by the extent of that mood.
Hardly any emphasis put upon bal
ancing the budget can be too great.
Lack of a balanced budget is the buga-
boo to real. deep-reaching recovery.
The necessity will be up to the Repub-
licans if they win, as much as to the
Democrats if they win. And business
is almost as suspicious of the Repub-
licans as of the Democrats, because
business knows that in the final reality
the budget must be balanced by Con-
greSs.
One reason for apprehension in some
business circles about Democratic VIC
tory is fear of general tariff revision.
A considerable section of American
business is involved in the tariff di-
rectly or indirectly. Necessarily that
part of business must hesitate until
it knows whether there will be revision.
The apprehension is unfounded.
There will be no general tariff revision
downward. The Democrats may Justly
be charged with something about the
tariff, with SO harsh a thing as muck
raking perhaps, but not with the de-
termination to change it. The Demo-
Gratis. by their attacks on the existing
tariff, have led persons to suppose they
will. if successful reduce it. Or, to
put it with less odium to the Demo-
Gratis many persons who heartily dis
like the existing tariff have worked
themselves into belief that the Demo-
Gratis will change it. But the Demo-
Gratis will not.
Tariff Is Denounced.
Gov. Roosevelt. in his campaign
has denounced the existing tariff has
placed upon it the blame for all of
this country's ills and most Of the
worlds. But nowhere has he said, IF
elected I will Immediately initiate
general tariff revision downward" On
the contrary, he has specifically assured
the farmers that their part of the tariff
will not be touched, and the farmers
tariff is two-thirds of the whole Else
where he has in effect given the same
assurance about the tariff on manu-
factures.
If Gov Roosevelt, in the event
of his election, will not initiate a gen.
eral tariff reduction, certainly the
Democrats in Congress will not. The
sum Of individual Democrats in Con-
gresS, each with favored industry in
his district, is as opposed to general
tariff revision as the Republicans.
Whatever apprehensions business may
have about Democrats success, fear Of
general tariff revision downward need
not be one of them
That the Democrats, if elected. will
not reduce the tariff generally will be
apparent to business soon after the
election. Thereafter will arise the ques-
tlon-Which would remain a question
for some little tine-Whether Roose-
velt. if President, will lean to the right
or to the left to conservative or to rad
ical. If he should go with the radicals,
that will be, Of course, very disappoint-
ing to the conservatives. But even in
that there might be some comfort to
them
Radicalism Is Widespread.
If the condition Of the country is
such as to produce inevitably a regime
at Washington in some degree radical,
Gov Roosevelt may be a blessing
OF moderation. 1t is pretty difficult to
imagine man of his background
Dutch patrician. landholding stock
with large inherited wealth, and his
associations, Groton and Harvard, do
ing anything very dreadful. Moreover,
It has not occurred to any one to call
Gov Roosevelt's administration of
New York State radical That there
is much radical sentiment in the coun-
try is neither deniable nor surprising.
Most Of 1t is not really radical in the
sense Of having definite body Of revo-
lutionary doctrine there Is OF
that is isolated in the Socialist and
Communist parties. Most Of 1t is rather
to be called sentiment Of angry dis
content, having no definite objective
and making no attempt at having
body Of concrete principles. Whatever
1t Is, it is, nevertheless, the sort of
thing that makes conservatives nervous.
AS between radical and conservative.
Gov. Roosevelt, during the cam
paign, has been picturesquely equiv
ocal. On one night during the last
10 days, Democratic Leader Frank
Hague of New Jersey was assuring an
Eastern audience that Mr.. Roosevelt is
conservative. and proving it by calling
a roll of financial leaders who are sup
porting him. On the same night Sen
ator Huey Long, who was speaking to
Western audience in behalf of
Gov. Roosevelt, was preaching lini-
tation of income, limitation of wealth
and other doctrines deemed pretty hor-
rlble by Mr.. RooSevelt's conservative
Eastern supporters.
II Mr.. Roosevelt should be elected
business pretty surely will await to see
which path he takes.
Farm Machinery Falls
Il n:eco -