Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-08-29
BY Henry ". Laurence.

BY Henry W. Laurence,
Professor of History and Politica
Science, Connecticut College.
COMPARISONS are commonly
said to be odious. In a presi.
Dental campaign they are
also dangerous. especially II
the fellow who makes them.
Nobody is satisfied with anybod,
elSes comparisons. When the candi.
dates themselves are compared with
each other, everybody suspects the
author of partisanship. When the
comparison is made with eminent
statesmen of the past, it is easily
pointed out that there are both SINH
larities and dissimilarities in most
cases.
1t is possible. nevertheless, to single
out certain tendencies toward likeness
or unlikeness in the present candi.
dates and their predecessors. and that
rather risky task is to be attempted in
this article, subject to correction by
each reader to suit his or her own
opinion.
It has been more or less fairly said
OF Franklin Delano Roosevelt that he
Is cratic, experimental, courageous
benevolent and dictatorial In similar
fashion Alfred Mossman Landon has
been characterized as dependable, in
experienced, cautious, friendly and
subservient.
With Roosevelt, product of the
smooth and devious East, We COM
monty associate the view that the
United States has reached the end OF
a political and economic era. and that
we must now move toward. though
not yet into, collectiviSm and It's in
evitable accompaniment of bureauc-
racy.
With Landon, sprung from the rug
red and straightforward West, we find
the purpose to improve the old era,
rather than to abandon it; to preserve
1ndividualism, and guard against the
imminent danger of plutocracy.
IN FINDING predecessors OF these
L candidates who more or less re-
semble them, it is necessary to cross
over party lines: Roosevelt most often
being like eminent Republicans of the
past. and Landon like eminent Demo-
Gratis.
A spiritual kinship can easily be
shown, for instance, between Franklin
D. Roosevelt and his distant blood
relative, Theodore Roosevelt; also
with the first Republican President,
Abraham Lincoln; with the non-par-
tisan Federalist, George washington,
and with the extremely partisan
Democrat, Andrew Jackson. A llst
of those Presidents who seem
to resemble ALI M. Landon most
nearly would include woodrow Will
son. James Buchanan and Thomas
Jefferson: and also, as has been often
pointed out, one Republican, CALVIN
Coolidge.
Theodore Roosevelt resembled the
present Democratic candidate in many
respects. Each had an uphill fight for
physical health, T. RS coming in early
life, F. DIS in the midst Of his polltlcal
career.
T.R. felt during his presidency that
he had a special mandate from the
people. and that he should try to
dominate the Government, without
much regard to the checks and bal
ances which Congress and the Supreme
Court were supposed to impose. He
swerved cautiously to the left, in seek
ino Tn control industrial society in
order to preserve individual economic
freedom, in his famous square deaf
policy.
He was bitterly fought by conserva-
tive members of his own party, In
congress conspicuously by such leaders
as Speaker Cannon and Senator Nelson
w. Aldrich. His technique OF man
agement was probably a bit more
rough and heavy-handed than that OF
the present Roosevelt.
A single illustration of this is his
inept handling of the Negro situation
by inviting Booker T. Washington to
lunch in the White House he aroused
unnecessary anger among Southern
white voters; then by peremptorily
Furnishing Negro regiment for rioting
at Brownsville, Tex, he alienated
many Negro supporters.
He was not above passing along to
his successor some problems that he
had no stomach for handling in his
own term. Thus he wished on Taft
the long overdue revision of the tariff,
somewhat as F. D. seems likely to be-
stow on whomsoever succeeds him the
LIQUIDATION of a man-sized national
debt.
The charge that F. d. is promoting
reform at the expense Of recovery is
rather more than matched by Wall
Streets efforts to attribute the specu-
lators' panic of 1907 to r. RS med
ding with the delicate machinery Of
business relations. T. r. was fire.
uuently called the enemy of business
and of his own class: also he was
spattered with bitter epithets, such as
ouack, demagogue and liar.
- Both Roosevelts have known the
painful and costly breaking of close
friendships with men who were unable
to follow them toward radicalisn.
Thus r. r. had his ugly combat with
William H. Taft, and his steadfast OPP
position from Henry Cabot Lodge: Just
as F. D. has suffered desertion by
Alfred z. Smith and other prominent
Democrats. Finally, T. r. quite as
much as F. D. held the view that the
Constitution must be amended If 1t Is
too rigid to conform to the needs Of
modern life.
"A BRAHAM LINCOLN, in 1864, like
Franklin Roosevelt, in 1896. was
seeking reelection in the midst Of the
tncompleted task of meeting the crisis
which had filled his first administra-
ton.
In the period from his first election
10 his Inauguration, each had RETAINED
from interfering with his predecessors
handling Of the emergency, Lincoln
y l. T. sA