Evening star., 1936-05-03
ROOSEVELTPLANS
LIGHT CAMPA|
May Keep in Background,
Confident Reelection
Is Assured.
BY y.'RUSSELL YOUNG

President Roosevelt Is going to
disappoint persons expecting him to
run q whirlwind persona: campaign
for reelection.
Despite printed reports that Mr..
Roosevelt is planning an intensive
campaign to include q swing across
the country and number Of CAM
paign speeches. the President will do
no such a thing.
Those who have discussed the mat
ter with him within the past few
weeks feel certain he will be as in
active In speech making and "galli-
wanting" as possible.
Mr. Roosevelt knows as we'll as any
one that at this time his reelection
Is virtually assured. Unless something
unforeseen happens, the wisest of the
political obcrvers admit Mr.. Roose-
welt will not have to lift finger.
Exertion Held Unnecessary.
Those In his confidence quite natur-
ally ask why he should do any cam
paigning. Why should he subject
himself to such physical and mental
ordcals? Why should he take any
undue chances of putting his foot
In II" by making some unfortunate
or inadvertent utterance? Most i'm
portant of all, why should he run
the chance of saying something which
might ALLEVIATE the many thousands
OF Republicans who voted for him in
1892 and from every indication will
vote for him again next November?
OF course, Mr. Roosevelt has not
yet worked out his plans. He says
1t Is far too early. But it Is his ma
ture. and his way Of doing things. TO
have at this early date a fairly clear
idea Of just about what he is going
to do.
While Mr. Roosevelt has made no
public commitment, it Is doubtful II
he will make more than three or four
so-called major speeches between now
and election day in November. Fur
thermore. it is believed doubtful IL
any one of these speeches will be Of
the ''rip-snorting, hard-hitting" type
political spectators are anticipating
May Stick to Ideals.
There is reason to feel that, unless
the campaign takes a very unexpected
turn, Mr.. Roosevelt will avoid fire.
works and vitriol and will confine
himself to policies and New Deal
ideals. as he did before the Young
Democrats in Baltimore and more re-
Gently at the Jefferson day banquet
of the National Democratic Club in
New York. Although not especially
popular politically, they at least did
not cause any ill-feeling.
OF course, If it develops that the
opposition succeeds in making things
too hot for the President and his ad-
ministration. he might alter his plans
and take of the kid gloves and go
crusading in typical, fighting Roose-
welt style.
But Mr.. Roosevelt has intimated
that he does not expect this to hap
pen. What little speaking he will do,
will be more or less Of compliment
tary gesture to political leaders, and
a compliment to the people Of that
part of the country at which he
speaks.
What travelling and talking the
President engages in will be more to
be seen rather than to be heard. Few
understand public psychology better
than Mr. Roosevelt. He realizes the
people of the country want to see him.
He is q good enough politician and
student OF human nature to know he
is a sort Of public hero and 1t is the
way of hero worshipers to long for a
glimpse Of their hero.
To Visit Strategic Points.
In line with this sort of reasoning
Mr.. Roosevelt probably will select the
most strategic sections Of the coun-
try to make his appearances.
The President has a tentative en-
gagement to speak in Dallas at the
opening of the Texas Centennial cele-
bration and to make three or four
addresses en- route. but this Is not
definite. While discussing 1t several
times recently the President has
thrown out hint that he might even
cancel this engagement, or possibly
put it of until late in the Fall. The
tentative program also calls for a
journey from Texas to Vincennes.
Ind, with a speech incident to the
dedication of George Rogers Clark
Memorial.
But to speculate as to the Presi-
dents plans the probable answer is
that he will spend most of his time in
Washington, later going to his old
home at Hyde Park for a three or