Evening star., 1936-01-29
Robinson's Reply to Smith
Democratic Standard.Bearer of 1928 Has Forsaken
His Old Principles, Declares Majority Leader.

and NTH, IN a nag-WaVlng, SOul-Stlr- =
ring crescendo he charged the New
Deal with trying to undermine the
Constitution and Supreme Court while
it fastened socialistic and COM
munistic dictatorship upon this
country.
Let's look at the record.
Smiths Words Used.
Why, Gov. Smith, from your own
lips, with your own words, with your
own matchless talent for Illuminating
the dark places of public discussion,
shall prove that you have advocated
and championed every basic principle
that has been written into law by
the Roosevelt administration.
In his speech on Saturday night
Mr.. Smith made the ugly charge that
the New Deal is fomenting class
hatred. Let me read you what he
said when he was addressing the
Alumni Association of Harvard Uni
versity on June %, 1888:
Il remember when we first spoke
about the workmen's compensation act
the Court of Appeals of our own State
set aside the first enactment as being
contrary to. the Constitution. l re-
member when we enacted the child
welfare act it was referred to as
paternalism and as socialism.
"Our whole democracy at that time
seemed to be devoted to the part
that constitutional law and statute
law was intended only for the pro-
lection of property and of money. and
the human element did not seem to
enter into it.
The same has to do with the fac
the provision for modern, up-to-date
housing for our small-income group;
the same has to do with the develop
ment of State-owned water power
and the ownership by the State Of
the power at the site. Twenty years
ago those we're regarded as sociallstlc.
I I was referred to many times by my
political opponents as a Socialist But,
in the light of our present-day legs-
lation. Mr.. President, I claim I am
one of the ultra conservatives.
Dictatorship Cannot Live"
1--WE have nothing to fear in this
country from a dictatorship. There
can be nothing of that kind in this
country. 1t cannot live here. We
are not organized to carry 1t on.
We have no desire for it. Great as
may be the grant of temporary power
in an emergency that Congress may
by congressional enactment put into
the hands of President, the things
we have to fear in this country. to
my way of thinking, is the influence
of the organized minorities, because
somehow or other the great majority
does not seem to organize"
Yes, those were Mr.. Smiths own
words. Somehow I think there must
be two AL Smiths. One is the happy,
carefree fellow behind whom we
marched and shouted in 1928, proud
of his principles and eager to place
him in the White House. Now we
have this other Al Smith. this grim
visaged fellow in the high hat and
tails, who warns us that We are going
straight to Moscow. If recall cor
rectly. he came before the Senate
Finance Committee in 1888 and urged
us to recognize Soviet Russia and
give it a five-year moratorium on
debt payments.
Throughout his 1928 campaign Gov.
Smith hammered at the power trust,
denounced greed and special privilege,
and faithfully promised the people
that if he were elected he would estab-
lish a new order of things and bring
about what he called more equal
distribution of prosperity Now he
talks about stirring up class hatreds,
but what he said then sounded a
good deal more like Share the
Wealth" than it does like the COM
paratively mild statements of Presi-
dent Roosevelt.
Takes Up Farm Point.
pass on to his next accusation.
He charges the New Deal with foster
ing an unconstitutional farm relief
program He forgets that in 1928
he advocated the principles of the
McNary- -Haugen BILL, which in many
respects was far more drastic in its
use of the taxing power than the
A. A. A. ever was. That's just case
of second guessing. Let me quote you
from his Jefferson day speech on
April 13, 1882. He said:
"It is a perfectly easy thing to
say we must restore the purchasing
power of the farmer. Fine! Of
course we must. But how are we
going to do it? I would sooner have
a short shake hands with the fellow
that knows how to do it, than listen
for week to the fellow who knows
how to tell you what the trouble is.
Well. Gov. Smith, you should have
stepped out of that Liberty League
banquet and gone four blocks to the
White House to shake the hand Of
the man who raised the purchasing
power of the farmers more than ST.
000,000000 in one year.
In his speech on Saturday night,
Mr.. Smith denounced the N. r. A.
as giant octopus that entangled
itself around all business, big and
small. and tried to smother it to Death.
Another second guess. He made
radio speech on August %. 1888. in
which he called attention to the
fact that N. R. A. was largely volun-
tary and he added, quote:
THE slightest reflection on these
facts should dispose of the claim,
from whatever source it came. that
the national industrial recovery act
shakes the firm foundations of our
Constitution or marks revolution in
cur Government and in the conduct
of our everyday life.
Let us see whether, by shorter
hours, higher wages and increased
employment we can avoid the dole.
called home relief, and the disguised
dole popularity known as relief work,
the evil consequences of which we all
know. 1t is infinitely better b pay
the bill by the methods proposed in
the national industrial recovery act
than to pay it in the form of public
or private charitable relief"