Evening star., 1935-10-03
liberal UNITY
CHALLENGING PLEA
President May Have to De-
pend on Loyalty of Party
Conservatives.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The Webster International Diction-
ary speaks of a liberal person as being
open handed" and as not being mar
rowly restricted by pecuniary con-
siderations" and as 'bestowing in a
large and noble way" bounteous and
generous.
The liberality Of the Roosevelt ad-
ministration with taxpayers money
has been unprecedented. The es-
Inmates Of expenditure for the three
years from 1888 to 1885 have been
given as $4,000, 900, 900. which is just
about equivalent to the sum that it
took the Federal Government from
1889 to 19l3-from the administration
of President Washington to President
Wilson-to spend.
The question of whether it was nec-
essary to spend all this money will be
open to considerable debate. especial
ly since the unemployment figures do
not show a material change, COM
pared with what they were in the
Autumn Of 1888.
The President, in his speech on
the Pacific Coast appealing to the
liberals" to stand together, gave the
impression that "reactionaries" was
the proper term for those who op-
posed liberalism. Actually. a more
accurate term would be "conserva-
tives' because the Webster dictionary
defines the word. conservative" as
meaning one who "conserves," that
is to keep in a safe or sound state"
or to preserve from destruction"
Hint Of Friction.
Mr.. Roosevelt hinted, OF course, that
there was friction inside the ranks
of the liberals" and he. no doubt,
was using the term in its political
sense, which is given in the dictionary
thus:
Not bound by authority. orthodox
tenets. or established forms in politi-
cal philosophy, inclined to welcome
new ideas, friendly to suggestions. or
experiments of reform in the consti-
tuition or administration OF govern
ment."
The political definition Of "con-
servative" is a party which ''favors the
conservation of existing institutions
and forms of government" and "op-
posed to change or innovation"
On the last point. the opponents OF
the New Deal are divided, too. There
are many who do not want return
to old methods that have been proved
harmful to the Nation, but only a
preservation of the methods and insti-
tutionS that have built it up.
AS for the liberals" there are many
who favor new ideas and changes, but
they do not wish reckless experiment
tation or unsound policies to be kept
after their ineffectiveness has been
proved.
Today there are liberal" publica-
tions like the Nation which are at
tacking the New Deal on many counts
pointing out some of the unavoidable
laws that have been passed and the
disillusionment which is coming when
it is found that social security is more
of slogan than an achievement.
Conservatives Not United.
But the Presidents idea that the
liberals" should unite is sound
politically and his complaint about
their disunity would be echoed by those
of the opposite school of thought. too.
Are the conservatives united? BY no
means. They are to be found in the
Republican and in the Democratic
parties. and recently there has been
much talk about a fusion or coalition
which would enable them to come
together in party that would be con-
structive and forward-looking and yet
sound from fiscal standpoint, party
that would not waste the taxpayers
money or continue borrowings to pay
annual expenses.
Were such fusion brought about,
the difference between the liberal
and conservative" viewpoint would
turn largely on governmental expenses
and the high cost Of living. President
Roosevelt, in the period of his ad-
ministration when he was urging
economy, uttered in a single sentence
the most penetrating comment on
liberalism that has ever been pro-
nounced. 1t was in his message to
both Houses of Congress on March 10,
1888, shortly after his Inauguration.
He said:
Too often, in recent history liberal
governments have been wrecked on
the rocks of loose fiscal policy"
Reciting the deficits of each pre-
ceding year, Mr.. Roosevelt added
For three long years, the Federal
Government has been On the road to
bankruptcy"
Deficits Continuing.
But the deficits have continued; !;
and, during the current fiscal year,
when Mr.. Roosevelt once promised
to have a balanced budget. the indi-
Gated deficit, officially predicted, is in
the neighborhood of $4,000. 100000.
This is why the term liberalism"
will no doubt produce challenge and
tendency to apply it in the sense
in which Mr.. Roosevelt himself used
it in his address of March 10, 1898.
If all the liberals" would rally to
one banner and all the savers" and
economical-minded persons who have
to pay the tax bill would rally to the
opposite, there might be real divi-
sion, irrespective of the old-line
parties and labels, and America would
have a chance to choose on the basis
of principles and not personalities a
program looking toward fiscal sound
ness. or its probable antithesis, the
road to bankruptcy" But political
ties are hard to break and Mr.. Roose-
welt is probably counting on the fact
that the conservative Democrats may
not break away from their party and
intact.
(Copyright. 1935)