Evening star., 1932-10-03
A Successful Tour.

n DuCCEbslul AUui'
Gov. Roosevelt back in New YORK
today. has concluded one OF the most
effective campaign tours made by any
candidate in recent years. This can be
said regardless of the November results
For If he loses, 1t will have been IN
spite OF a remarkably able demonstra-
ton Of his many fine points before
hundreds OF thousands OF interested
man and woman voters, and il he wins
the victory will in part be credited to
the manner in which he took his fight
to the country.
But while the Governor has impressed
many audiences with the charm OF his
personality and the persuasion OF MS
oratory, while he accomplished an ex-
traordinary feat of physical endurance
under conditions that exhausted many
of those who Travelled with him, 1t has
been left to that able crusader from the
camp of his enemies Secretary OF the
Treasury Mills, to note the really sig
nificant attainment of his tour
This the Secretary did In st. Louis
Friday night when he stated, with a
hint Of regret, that:
This. indeed, is a strange campaign.
There is an entire absence OF tnat oe-
bate Of issues and questions OF pollcy
which IS SO necessary in enabling the
people to reach decision, and in giving
those entrusted with power clear
mandate after the decision is made. For
this situation, neither our candidate nor
our party Is to blame.
Gov. Roosevelt has talked long and
often and well since he first headed
West. Yet he has left such an able
critic as Secretary Mills powerless to
debate with him tissues and questions
of policy" for unless one includes as the
drawing of an issue the traditional plea
in varied form of all candidates for
confidence in such abstract images as
new deal" the Governor has left
his opposition with no real issues to
shoot at or to defend.
And this, the evidence indicates has
been the strategy Of the Governor in
his tour Of the West. He has told the
farmers what they want: he has said
what Is good for the railroads; he has
paid his respects to the power trust
without running afoul of radical COM
mitments regarding unqualified indorse-
ment OF Government ownership and
operation; he has lamented the high
cost of Government and the entangled
bureaucracy at Washington; he has
commented adequately on the tariff;
he has said what he thought about pro-
hibition and said it as the guest of a
community that shares his thoughts,
and. above all, he has talked about dis
tress and what might have been done
to relieve it when and where everybody
is talking about the same thing. In a
markedly emotional campaign, the Gov
ernor has appealed to emotions.
For this situation, neither our can
didate nor our party is to blame" said
Mr.. Mills. Nor can one consistently
blame the Governor and his able staff
of advising strategists. The search of
party platforms for vital issues is fruit
less, for there are no such issues. There
are none of the burning questions of
the past that by their appeal create the
sharp issues. If the issue were in
truth one Of real leadership during. the
present crisis, the reconstruction pro-
gram would be debated hotly, far and
wide, with the Republicans defending
and the Democrats attacking. Except
for few impassioned utterances regard
ing delay here and there, as in the case
of the Reconstruction Finance Corpora
tions delay in granting loans for self
liqudating projects and few inept
and erroneous criticisms regarding the
distribution of the corporations loans
to banks, the underlying principles OF
the reconstruction program have not
been attacked. 1t is not subject to at
tack-from Democrats. They have been
willing enough to let the inference sink
In that Democrats can carry out this
program as well as Republicans.
From this point Of view, which is the
point Of view of candidate seeking
election in November, Gov. Roosevelt
has been as wise as his enemies have
been harrassed in his failure to build
up issues. He has made good cam
paign, as campaigns go, and his return
to New York is doubtless the occasion for
real rejoicing in his camp over escape
from the many pitfalls into which one
more unwary might easily have
stumbled.