The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-08-31
Self-Made Issues
(New York Times)

(New York Tmes)
 It is generally agreed that unusually large number of citizens have yet made up their minds how to vote in November One of their complaints is that issues between the leading parties not sharply defined Tn this there is force and point If two lawyers representing respectively the Demo- cratic and Republican parties to into court to argue their experienced and competent judge would be apt to tell them to go back to their offices rewrte their briefs the ground that they did not present to him the essential thing in the trial namely issue joined" One result of this confused and doubtful feeling on the part of many voters is that they taking up for themselves the task of deciding what the real policies between which a choice must be made It appears if popular book might be written under the title of "Everyman His Own IssueMa
 One consequence, at least for the present is large amount of perverse reasoning the subject of pol tics together with decisions based upon whim or per sona freaks Thus voter will say: T am against Roosevelt because I hate Hitler" Another will take the ground that he cannot possibly support Landon because the Republican candidate has not come out against vaccination for smallpox the practice of vvisecton. It may be thought that such things have possible logical connection with the pending poll tical contest But we know that the political animal is often very poor at making correct deduc- lions from given premises, and no one can tell what may be the effect on the actual election of judgments which are really fantastic fs 4
 We have to consider also the large number of societies and organizations that have been quietly formed in various parts of the country, each with distinctive political demand or objective. clergy man in Kansas City has made a collection of the of these orders some of them secret and oath bound They extraordinarily numerous and di- in their aims. One proposed to forbid any for eign-born citizen to hold office in this country. Another would insist upon the immediate deportation of all aliens. Others would make short work of re- ligionS and races which they dislike The whole is amazing congeres of private prejudices and pas sons not directly related to any political cause or party, but capable of throwing many votes into the balance in way to disturb it. We do not need to take seriously the exorbitant claims of Representative Lemke and Dr. Townsend and Father Coughlin The millions of votes which they pretend to be sure of will doubtless shrink into hundreds when the actual re- turns come in. But there is prospect of more cratic voting next November than accustomed to see in Presidential years.
 Wholly apart from these political eccentricities, there is visible and growing purpose of many citizens to make up their own lists of issues between the parties. Conventions and platforms and committees cannot dictate to them. They will think questions independently and carefully by themselves and arrive at conclusions very different from those assert ed by politicians to be the only true ones. It has often happened before and may happen again this year, that decisive issues born in the minds of the voters and not made to order by party leaders.