Evening star., 1932-10-29
Will He Answer ?

indianapolis speech last night, that the
Governor of New York will announce
that I am acting upon the defensive If I
shall expose the self-irterested mex
actitude which he is broadcasting to
the American people
In the remainder of the speech he
gave some bread definitions of the term
"seif-!nterested incxactitude' and many
of his hearers, unacquainted with the
term before, probably decided that they
knew what it meant all along. but had
always thought of it under another
name.
For while the Presidents speech may
be classified technically as defen-
sive speech, what the President really
did was to heave number OF bricks
through the glass house from which
the Governor has been hurting his own.
A lot of these last-named bricks evi-
IDENTIFY lacked straw.
1t may not be considered the most
important section of the Presidents
should not be SO considered. But fun
damentally the President came as near
exposing the utterly false position OF
those who have lambasted him tor the
depression as he ever did when he
quoted a remark by the Governor con-
oemning the sale of foreign securities
in this country previous to the crash,
and followed up that quotation by
personally Identifying the distinguished
Governor Of New York with the sale
of such securities.
The quotation from Gov. R0osevelt's
speech was as follows:
This is an unsavory chapter in Amer
lean finance. These bonds, in large
part, are the fruit Of distres sing poll
Cles pursued by the present admins
tIation in Washington. None other, if
you please. than the ability Ct lending
to backward and crippled countries.
But in 1928, when this world was
such a lovely place to live in. Gov.
Roosevelt, as chairman of the Organ
izaticn Committee of an international
barking company, was writing the sort
OF prospectus that felt that foreign
Investments are in the nature Of a|li-
ances" and his company would provide
a new source of supply from which
American demand for foreign invest
ments may be satisfied" 1t would put
to sound protective uses part of the
surplus wealth of our Nation which
might otherwise be employed in the
purchase of existing stocks and thereby
increase present tendencies toward in
fation."
The Governor was doubtless engaged
in a highly respectable and perfectly
legitimate activity. But how can he
condemn, as a presidential candidate,
what he practiced as an individual? If,
as a presidential candidate, he can at
tack the President and the administra-
ton for contributing to the depression
BY distressing policies some of which
in some way influenced the sale of for
eign bonds, he should have been lifting
that golden voice of his as an individual
III 1923 to make the welkin ring with
condemnation and warning. But in
1928 he was seeking to provide new
source of supply from which American
demand for investment abroad may be
satisfied
The Governor has devoted good part
OF his campaign to denouncing the
Hawley-Smoot tariff. A good many
others join him in such denunciation.
But when the Republicans infer that he
will lower tariffs, he says that tariffs
on farm products will not be reduced.
What tariffs will be reduced? The
President asks fair question. Will he
reply?
The Governor has said a great deal
about reducing Federal expenses. He
has INDUCED in what President Hoover
Conceives as much pratt!e' in this
respect. What does he propose? Does
he intend to allow his Baltimore mis-
statement on governmental reorganiza-
ton to stand uncorrected?
Il myself am taking heart over this
debate" said the President. If it
could be continued long enough, I can
drive him from every solitary position
he has taken in this campaign. They
are all equally untenable. Perhaps I
could get him to declare himself on
other evssions and generalit.es.'
But can he? Is the Governor really
interested in explaining exactly what
he means? He has opportunities to re-
ply specifically to the charge of broad
casting to the American people num-
ber of elf-interested inexactitudes. :"
He has been challenged to reply. Will
he accept the challenge, or let it lie
unnoticed?
What he does may not influence the
election. But it will certainly shed
light on the character of the man whom
the American people may shortly choose
for the highest honor which lies within
their power to confer.