Milford chronicle., 1934-10-19
The Political Situation
By JULIAN. MASON
Vite-PrrsideHt, National
Republican Builders
his candor is a delusion. :"

concerning Mr.. Franklin Roosevelt
as self-revealed by the latter in his
mushily-named "flreside talk" ol
two Sundays ago.
That was my own conclusion ex-
pressed in this column last week.
I And it seems to be the conclusion
of a considerable number of other
Americans.
/ Certainly, mail and telephone
messages prove 1t by the volume In
which they have come into the
headquarters Of the National Repub-
lican Builders, go East 42nd Street,
New York City. They prove 1t 10y
their almost unanimous approval of
an indictment of the devious pollti-
cal methods of Mr.. Roosevelt.
In these communications, there is
! a sense of progress, from the reali-
zation that at last responsibility is
being placed, not upon theories or
advisers. but upon the man upon
which both depend.
"It is a return to nOrmalcy," said
one message. I'VE are getting some
where, when we can cast off fear
and place the responsibility for our
present mess upon the shoulders
where it belongs"
sss
Even the much bedevilled bankers
would find, in the letters received at
my office, a consciousness that peo-
pie are beginning to transfer from
them to Mr. Roosevelt the blame for
the present choking of the channels
of credit.
A rural Pennsylvania writes:
"A great majority of the unem-
ployed seem to think that the pres
ent administration is doing every
thing possible to put them back to
work. You and / know that 1t Is not.
Well, If you were to address one OF
your Sunday articles to the unem-
ployed, and explain the facts,
think you would be doing another
great service. Among other things,
you might say something like this:
If Mr.. Roosevelt were to say to the
bankers: i am ready to cooperate !
with you If you are ready to cooper
ate with me. l will not devalue the
dollar any further. / Will cut all
government expenditures to mini
mum. l will give up the idea of es-
tab!ishing a central bank, and will
stop calling you money changers
and will also step intimatinS to the
l.eople that you are all dishonest
This, will allow the bankers to- loo
sen up on loans and will enable
business people and others to secure
the money and credit that is needed
to put you unemployed to work and
return to you your self-respect.
The truth is, think, that the
symbolic bogeys of the adndnistra-
tion are beginning to wear thin.
The moment is arriving when Mr..
can no longer keep on
criticism by shouting:
1929" Hoover" Bankers" "Busi-
uess," Tories" and so on.
have just been in upstate New
York. found there decisive evil
lence that a business people, as the
are, are getting tired OF
he eternal Roosevelt attacks upon
business and upon the greatest
packer of business-which is, bank
ng. =. /
The evidence lies in the cam
,aigns of E. Harold Cluett,. Republi-
AN nominee for the Unitcd States ,
senate and of Colonel Henry Breck-
nridge who is running for the same 6
,fice as a Constitutionalist. Isr. ,
Icyal Copeland, the sitting Senator {
s, of course, the Democratic nomi-
lee. ,.. '
Mr.. Cluett actually has the cour- \
ge to run as a business man. He Is .
ne, and q most successful one. In
he upbuilding of his family firm he
as seen 1t do a business OF from =
%. .000, 900 to $35,000,00O q year. In q
hirty years it has never had :
trike. ...-t.
But, somehow or other, by innu- ,
ndo or by irritated adjective, Mr.. =
.oosevelt has put such men into
le semi-criminal class. a
&Sa
"Cluett, a Business Man for Sem
tor''S is the Republican nominees c,
nswer to this sort of thing. Defying .
le New Deals professors he is go
Ig out to the solid Americanism of N
le state and saying: ., y
Here, this thing isn't working N
nd it can't work Let's get some -
lsiness back into the government. in
nd let's get some business men b,
to the Senate, amongst the Bilbos st
I'd Huey Longs. Do you want doc m mlIl
r there, to represent New York, or :
/ you want a business man." .- @
And Col. Breckinridge, according
the best reports that / heard at
Ibany, is making so good a CAM
lign against Roosevelt and Cope
nd that Democratic experts are
ginning to fear that he may take
Vay from Copeland enough Demo-
atic votes to let Cluett in. .'...
But the point l want to make Is
at here we have two C0nserVa-
res making campaigns with an
en conservatism as their platform.
Under the Tugwells!
link of It! ...-5 ..:...~...r.,
Most amazing of all, as sign of
e times, is that the Republican
ndidate dares to fight under the
ted name of Business man."
What is Mr.. Roosevelt and his
coming to? 49,
Abuse OF business has stood him
good political stead for many
,nths past. ,-.. 49,
But, now. l believe public opinion
beginning to absorb the meaning
the nractical remark of AL Smith