Evening star., 1932-11-06


the election affect it materially, put
not in the sence Of changing Roosevelt
voters to Hoover ones, or vice versa.
Last minute effort results in getting
voters to the polls who might not
otherwise go. in stirring to acton
voters who are indifferent. An elo-
ouent speech on Monday night, or
convincing argument. may move a
voter to so to the polls who had not
felt strCngly about going. But hardly
in the United States is there person
who on frid&v night intended to vote
for one candidate. but on Tuesday VIII
do tie opposite Certainly nothing hap
pening from now on can change the
minds of enough voters to reverse
whatever is at this moment the des-
tined result.
To one who has watched the moods
of many party managers III many cam
paigns, Friday night is just about the
deadline Repeatedly l have observed
the managers-aS a rule they are tenn
peramental-shoW increasing strain UP
to or O'Clock of the Friday evening
preceding election. As the next hour
or two passed without news of crisis,
/ have seen them begin slowly to re-
lax The portentous hour unconsclously
in their minds is the hour the Satur-
day morning newspapers go to press.
With that deadline safely passed they
sleep easier Instinctively they know
that developments after the fourth day
preceding the election will be ignored
or discounted by the voters.
"3 RS" Incident Is Cited.
What a manager always fears during
the closing week is an accident, an IN
cautious statement by the candidate
perhaps, an explosive incident OF sort
likely TO anger groups of voters. The
classic example. now familiar legend
of American politics. is the 3 RS in
cident In the campaign of Blaine
against Cleveland in 1884, delegation
of Protestant clergymen called on Re-
publican Candidate Blaine. An elderly
one among them. the Rev. Samuel D.
Burchard, hoping to please the Repub-
lican candidate said they were opposed
to the Democrats as the party OF Rum
Romanism and Rebellion Blaine, too
tired by the campaign to notice the
phrase or to realize the dynamite in
it, or even perhaps to hear 1t, said
nothing. When newspapers the next
day repeated it. everybody realized the
sensational quality OF it. When, on
election DAY. New York State went for
Cleveland and thereby carried the
country for him. it was assumed that
anger of Catholics against Blaine ac-
counted for the narrow margin by
which he lost New York. Cleveland's
majority in the State was only 1,149
1t may readily have been that as many
as SIS voters had been sufficiently pro-
yoked by the explosive phrase to switch
from Republican to Democratic and
thereby give the country Cleveland as
President instead of Blaine. 1t was the
smallneSS of the margin by which the
hot "a sa2
RS incident its dramatic quality.
The Burchard incident happened on
the evening Of October %, which was
six DAYS before the election. That is
about as late as anything accident or
argument or otherwise, can affect the
minds Of sufficient number of voters
to reverse a predestined outcome.
The events of the closing 48 hours may
readily have an effect of stirring voters
to action who had been listless and Of
tmpressing the seriousness of the issues
on voters now Indifferent. Quantita-
lively the number of those who vote on
one side or other the other may be
increased to such degree as to be de-
cisiVe. But nothing happening from
nov on is likely to change a convinced
Hoover voter to a Roosevelt one or vice
versa.
Under this condition we can look
forward to some of the consequences
that will follow one outcome or the
other.
Government Cost Must Be Cut.
One consequence there is that must
follow either outcome. The first neces-
sity to be faced by whoever wins, to
be faced, indeed, before Inauguration
day. to be faced by the old Congress
that will set from December until
March 4. is reduction of the cost OF
government About this both candi-
dates for the Presidency have said
much. Both may be credited with COM
plete good faith. What has given the
writer of this article a feeling of sad
futility is the fact that the public
seems not to have expected, and GER
tainly did not receive. dependable
promises Of reduction of expenditure
from candidates for Congress as a
whole. 1t is Congress that makes gov
eminent expensive. and only Congress
can reduce. All that a President can
do is TO urge and to appeal to pub
lie opinion. At this moment, in the
435 Congressional districts there are,
roughly. twice that many candidates
for representative. 1t is doubtful if
any one of these has made to his dis
trict specific promise to reduce gov
eminent expenditures On the con-
trary, it is fair guess that out of,
roughly, $40 candidates for representa-
tive in both parties. fully 500 have
made promises to increase eXpendi-
tures, because at least that many have
made promises to local groups of vet
Grams to vote for the bonus.
The immediate struggle for reduc-
tion will come in the existing Congress,
during the period between the election
next Tuesday and Inauguration day
next March 4. The burden of the fight
will fall on President Hoover, who will
be in Office until March 4. regardless
of who wins the election. The struggle
will consist Of President Hoover de-
manding reductions, of Congress openly
resisting or furtively evading, and of
President Hoover appealing to the coun-
try to help bring pressure.
That is what the fight was last winter
and spring. In that fight Mr.. Hoover
asked for reductions of about $780,
100000 a year. The House, under the
leadership of Speaker Garner, was will
ing to give him only about S40,000,000,
subsequently raised in the Senate to
about S155 100000, or approximately
half of what Mr. Hoover demanded
That process Mr. Hoover must now
repeat, with an objective of getting re-
ductions of upward of half billion
dollars. For the coming fight Mr. Hoover
will be strengthened by his present
campaign, for his speeches have edu-
Gated the country to the need. If he
should be reelected next Tuesday he
will be further strengthened by the
verdict of approval If defeated on
Tuesday his authority will be de-
creased.
But whatever is the outcome on
sh1aSIau rpdnctinr nf tho of
ernment is the indispensable requisite
to business recovery. The whole busi-
ness and financial world, especially in
Europe, is watching the American gov
eminent to see if it intends to keep
its expenditures within its income
Once it is convinced of this intention,
once it sees good faith steps toward