Evening star., 1932-11-01
Arguments and Personalities.

Arguments and Personalities.
The President devoted a substantial
portion of his three major campaign
speeches Immediately preceding his ad-
dress in Madison Square Garden last
night to the business of dissecting some
specimens chosen from the more en-
phatic utterances of his distinguished
opponent The dissection was under
taken to find out what they were made
out Of Some of them, apparently,
were made of what is known generally
as hot air, some of them were put to-
gether by use of fictitious tissues which
rapidly evaporated when treated with
fact, and some of them were what
generous and kindly man might re-
gard as mere mistakes.
These, at least, were the generallzed
findings of the Presidents dissection,
and all ears were glued to Boston last
night to hear how Gov. Roosevelt would
reply in defense of his own works.
The Governors reply was interesting.
The President. in discussing the Gov
ernor's arguments has lost his dig
nifty. He has abandoned argument for
personalities"
The Governor, unfortunately, leaves
unanswered the delicate question OF
when an argument ceases to be an ar
gument and becomes a personality.
For instance, statement that the
President and his Secretary of the
Treasury encouraged speculation" or
statement that "he Ghe PresidenD in
tensified the forces that made for de-
preston by encouraging speculation" or
the statement that under Republican
leadership we have lost it (world trade)
and the President of the United States
seems to - Indifferent about regaining
it." is noe dealing in personalities. but
Is an argument. The statement, how
ever, that Il presume the Governor of
New York will announce that am act
ing upon the defensive if shall expose
the self-interested inexactitude which
he is broadcasting to the American
people," is not an argument, but a re-
sort to personalities.
Inasmuch as the issue of when argu-
ments cease to be arguments and be-
come personalities is just bit hazy, 1t
might be as well to accept the Gov
ernor's statement that the President
has been engaging in personalities and
to ask whether such indulgence is justi-
fled or important.
A man certainly exposes his person.
ality when he makes campaign speeches.
When the campaign speaker happens
to be candidate for the Office OF the
President Of the United States his
speeches and, therefore, his personality
as reflected in these speeches are tre-
mendously important to the people of
the United States. The cultured and
pleasant gentleman who has gone about
the country utilizing his fine gift of
oratory in calculating the obvious facts
about the distress and suffering of the
American people and picturing the pots
of gold that lie at the end of rain
bow symbolic Of Democratic victory at
the polls has, of course, expected that
facts.
If they sfe challenged, the American
people have the right to expect, on the
other hand. that he will defend them.
This, he apparently chooses not to do
If they are not facts, they are at least
arguments. And If one replies to an
argument. one is abandoning argument
for personalities.
1t is all very confusing and most dis
tressing. In Indianapolis the President
quoted Gov Roosevelt as saying:
The crash came in October, 1929
The President had at his disposal all
the instrumentaltieS Of the Govern
ment. From that day to December 81
he did absolutely nothing to remedy the
situation. Not only did he do nothing,
but he took the position that Congress
could do nothing.
The President, suggesting that it was
salmost incredible that a man, a cam
didate for the presidency of the United
States, would broadcast such viola
tion Of the truth" enumerated the
steps that, as matter of recorded fact,
were taken.
Gov. Roosevelt, replying specifically
to that charge, said in Boston last
night:
The President complains because
have charged that he did nothing for
a long time after the depression began.
That is true add to that charge that
from the time this report was published
(the report of 1923 on unemploymen)
in 1923, for the six years that pre-
ceded the crash in 1929 he did moth
ing to put into effect the provisions
advocated in 1923, against the posi-
bilities of future depressions.
And this, as well as anything, re-
veals the personality Of the gentleman
who has been conducting highly sue
cessful campaign which is apparently
based on the fundamental tenet that
there is no advantage in facing an issue
II one can walk around it. That may
be all right for the candidate, but what
about the country?