Evening star., 1935-09-09
ROOSEVELT REPLY
STRATEGY SCORED
Work of UnskiIIed Adviser
Seen in Answer to
Roy Howard.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


President Rcosevelt's reply letter to
Roy Howard certainly could not have
known practical politics. This is one
reason why considerable discussion
has arisen whether the President him
self wrote it or whether it was the
handiwork of the same advisers who
drafted the Inflated Green Bay. Wis,
speech year ago. @s -'
For Mr.. Roosevelt himself Is mas
ter politician and strategist. Unfor-
tunately. however, he has been i'm
mersed in grueling work at his desk
for several months and has not had
a chance to study conditions first hand
throughout the country. The change
in the editorial press has probably
been brought to his attention. but
not the reasons for the growing criti-
cism.
Strategy Held Poor.
Given all the facts, literally all the
true facts, and with nothing hidden
from him, the President himself could
probably devise a much better strategy
than was contained in his breathing
spell" letter. If he was indeed the
only author of the reply to Mr.. How
ard, the document must be set down
as the product of a tired and over
worked executive For one thing, de-
fenSive strategy when man has been
in the White House two and half
years must be far different from the
offensive which a mere candidate as
sumes, as in 1882.
The two things are entirely unlike
and call for complete reversal Of
tactics. That's where the Presidents S
present advisers have been making
their mistake ever since the N. r. A.
decision of the Supreme Court. In
deed, the series of blunders since then,
from a political viewpoint, have been
understandable but not defensible.
They have been the result Of we'll
intentioned reform miiitancy which
ignores the precepts of practical poll
tics
In 1882 the Roosevelt attack was
simple and direct-Hoover was re-
sponsible for the depression, the Re
publicans had caused the loss Of jobs
to millions of persons, the Government
commissions had grown and grown,
the Farm Board had wasted millions
of dollars, and, generally speaking, the
incumbent administration was accused
of being on the whole "do-nothing"
administration. 1t should not be for
gotten, too, that Mr.. Roosevelt in
sisted on a sound currency. berated
Mr.. Hoover for even mentioning the
Syth ~ 4F "a Ia ri
and argued that the continuing
deficits of the Federal Government
pointed toward national bankruptcy.
Now, obviously, the same line of at
tack will not work. It is difficult. if
not impossible, for a political party
to win a presidential campaign twice
in succession on the same issue. Ts
.the basis for victory in 1882 was dis
content, the basis for triumph in
1895 must be proved contentment, sue
. cess. prosperity, millions back to work,
a sound fiscal situation, the wicked
, punished and the underprivileged COM
ing into their own.
Attacked "Reactionaries."
: Did the breathing spell" letter SAVIOR
; of the 1882 or the 1886 strategy? 1t
continued to attack the "reactionaries"
and the bad business men,. 1t con-
tinued to hold up as sinister" forces
the persons who were refusing to be-
lieve that the punishment admins
tered to them in the form of taxes and
reform laws were for their best in
terests, after all.
Obviously, the breathing spell" let
ter was plea to the conservative
forces of the country. who have been
gradually deserting the Roosevelt
standard ever since he began to at
tempt to use the Federal power to
regulate that which, under the Con-
stitution, the States alone have the
right to do and ever since he aban-
doned his pledge, publicly given to a
joint session of Congress, that we
would have balanced budget in the
fiscal year 1886. The official estimate
now is for a deficit of from $780,
100000 to $4,000, ,000, 900 in 1896.
But the recent appeal alone will not
win back the conservative forces. The
only way that kind of support will
come back to Mr.. Roosevelt is when
he does the things the conservatives
heard him promise in his 1882 cam
paign, when he pledged himself to
cut out useless governmental bureaus
and commissions and to bring about
sound fiscal condition through. drastic
economies.
Can Rally Strength.
Is Mr.. RooSevelt's cause lost? Will
any strategy avail him in 1886? There
are plenty of observers who think he
can rally strength, though not all
that he has lost, by simple program
of action rather than words
To tell business there's a breathing
spell coming there must be breath
ing spell realized. Will Mr.. Roosevelt
now assure only breathing spell"
and then boldly resume at the next
session of Congress the punitive spirit
with which he has tackled legislation
affecting business2 Will he appoint
unsound and unorthodox expert
mentalists to the newly created Fed
eral Reserve Board which Is to manage
the credit Of the country? viii he
sabotage the public utility industry
tnrough the new law, or Will ne place
on the commissions to administer
this act men of fairness and i'm
partiality who do not have sup
pressed desire for Government own
ership? Will he accept the judgments
Of the Supreme Court Of the United
States, or will he make an appeal
for an amendment to the Constitution
giving the Federal Government 2len-
nary powers over manufacturing and
production? And, above all, will he
make it possible by mutually trust
ful policy with American industry and
business for 100000 men to get
back their jobs or for such large
number Of them to get jobs as to
indicate clearly that the economic
system, which he mentioned in the