Evening star., 1936-10-21
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

This is the eve-of battle phase which
finds the Democratic and Republican
high commands watching each other
like hawks, to guard against guerrilla
attacks. It is the anything might
happen stage, which always fills CAM
paign managers with jitters. The situa-
ton is like the last tense minutes of q
foot ball game, when a forward pass,
long end run, a tumble or a trick play
suddenly leads to surprise victory. In
other words, it is the hour for bonerS
and breaks, lucky or otherwise, depend
ing on whose OK is gored. Somebody
might make q fool speech-a modern
DR.. Burchard, whose Rum, Romanism
and Rebellion" beat Blaine in 1884-or
sensational disclosure, development or
indiscretion, rejecting directly or in
directly upon either of the presidential
candidates, might come along. One of
the fears that gives the Farleys and the
Hamiltons headaches is the possibility
that the enemy might trot out some
thing damaging so close to election day
that there would be no time for refuta-
tion and retaliation. The campaign has
become so bitter that there'd be little
surprise If q devastating bombshen were
to be sprung at the last moment.
**
There's still time for outbreaks Of i'm
portant mugwumpery. If the Jef1erSonian
Democrats, for example, were to be joined
at the eleventh hour by Senator Carter
Glass, the New Deal would suffer q
major disaster. It is, of course, not In
sight. Were Democrats of the caliber OF
Glass, Byrd, Newton Baker and Owen
Young tardily to desert Roosevelt, as
Smith, Reed, Ely, Colby, Breckenridge,
Bruce ct al. have done, Democratic
confidence would receive a terrific jolt.
Party defections to date are regarded
wholly negligible, as far as any effect
on the result Is concerned, but the Presi-
dent has always had a healthy respect
for the x represented by the independent
vote and habitually warns party leaders
not to leave 1t out of account. Com
parable with q Glass detection from
Roosevelt would be Borah bolt from
Landon. But the Idahoan evidently
means to remain regular-more or less.
r X
Despite the critical state Of the world
beyond our gold-plated shores, foreign
affairs have been amazingly conspicuous
by their absence in the campaign. Bar
ring reciprocal trade, international ques-
tions have been virtually ignored. Even
the tariff agreement issue has stirred
the emotions of only handful OF farm
States along the Northern border. In
both camps there have been sporadic
pro or con references to Stabilization, but
on the broad proposition of the United
States interests and obligations as q
world power, mum has been the word.
Foreign diplomats, who thought the
Roosevelt-Landon duel would shed light
on American intentions amid the chaos
and conflict depressing Mother Earth,
have been disappointed.
Il Il
Reuters, famous worldwide British
news agency, has just completed the
first European straw vote ever taken IN
an American presidential campaign. II
was conducted by its own correspondents
in the 4S States. The poll gives Roose-
velt 314 electoral votes and Landon III
Democratic majority OF AZ IN the
college and O Roosevelt lead OF 81 over
Landon. The Londoners' figures award
Landon all the States which Hoover car
ried in 1892 (totaling So votes) and l5S
additional votes, including Illinois. Iowa,
Kansas, Massachusetts,, Michigan, Mis-
souri,, New York, Rhode Island, South
Dakota and wyoming.
y y 4
with young Jimmie Warburg, one-time
Roosevelt Treasury adviser, but until
recently . full-blooded anti-New Dealer.