The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-10-23
NEWSPAPERS OPINIONS
A JANUS PERFORMANCE

last week Mr. Hoover did show the ASTOUNDING
inaccuracy of the statements made by Mr. hoose-
volt ON his recent tour relating to debts, dehc"S
ord expenditures. and he did exhibit to the couh-
go, . shocking picture of Treasury Juggling Oh
snorciaI figures and trick bookkeeping when IN
orv business in the world would be termed 1aiS''-
coton and call for Jail sentence. instead OF "''-
swering these serious charges or trying 10 relute
the figures taken from the governments own IT,
norris the facts were brushed aside and oeluge
If denunciation descended upon Mr.. Hoover ABOUT
matters wholly irrelevant to anything ne mad SAID
That is the New Deal technique. 1t has beeh
brought to a high state of perfection IN TINS cam
paign.
The most offensive phase of this political hum
buggery is that invariably it is accompanied by
snug assumption of virtue. With every pfetehSe
If righteous anger its Spokesman denounce the OPP
position for the very things they have done ana
are doing themselves For example. there Is the
uproar over the Du POnt contributions to the nc
publicans-a piouS protest proceeding from men
who in 1923 and 1882 spent for the Democratic
marty more Du Pont money than all the Du PohtS
have given to the Republicans The most indignant
cries come from the very men who not only uSeo
Du Pont money for Mr.. Roosevelt in 1882, were
delighted to get it and thought the Du POINTS
poble band of patriots but men who at this mo-
r,ent are fully aware that their campaign tund
for this wear is now swollen with contributions
from various 'princes of prvilege'-to say moth
ING of two exceedingly conspicuous "princesseS -
., large as 10 make the individual Du Pont contrl-
buttons seem puny. Yet, protected from exposure
before election by Democratic majority on SEN
ate committee. they can howl their hypocrtcal
heads off with entire impunity.
Another example of cant which got by with al
most no public notice was furnished by Mr. ko0Se-
Welt himself on his recent tour. 1t should nave
made the nation laugh at him-probably would
have if il could have been effectively presented
Il WAS in his Nebraska speech that he rghteously
Indicted Republican spokesman for taking one
way in the Feast and another way IN the west
He used the old two-faced Roman god Janus as an
illustration and it was done in his very pest man
nor Administration journalists took it up and the
next day the Republicans were roundly denounce"
for being two-faced and contradictory. mat 'hey
ayered, was not the Roosevelt way-not at all
New Dealers did not do that sort OF thing Coh-
sistency was their watchword and sincerity m"FNe"
all New Deal utteranceS. Undoubtedly there was
truth in the Roosevelt allegation and 1t was hela
he had scored heavily.
However, in IS hours after he had branded TINS
business of talking one way in one part OF the
country and another way in the other, very m
teresting thing happened on his side. Mr. Jesse
Jones. head of the RFC, made speech in wash
ineton in which he severely criticized the new sur
plus tax law passed by the last session and assured
business men of his conviction that Mr. Roosevelt
recognizing its dangers, would modify it If re-eeet-
ed simultaneously out in Nebraska, Senator Nor
ris praised the law, vigorously declared it one OF
the best things Mr. Roosevelt had done and eX-
pressed the belief it would remain untouched II ne
is reelected. Both of these men are New Dealers
of high degree. Both are personally close to MI
Roosevelt know his views and have his confidence
One of them must be wrong. Which is right Is not
revealed nor will be until after the election Janus
himself would be pleased at this performance Ger
tanly it would be hard to beat it for absurdity-
Frank Kent in Charlotte Observer