Evening star., 1937-12-05
ROOSEVELT FOR PRESIDENT?
Writer Well Known to Washington Views the Possibility Of Third
Term in the White House From the Angle of Old
Jeaousies in the Roosevelt Family.

Taking up, one by one, q group Of
verbal mummies. he asks what they
mean. And answers himself by say
ing, Nothing"
Radicals he notes, "hate Capital
Ism. But there Is no such animal.
They are hating nothingness. 1t is
akin to hating the Devil. Who Is the
Devil? Who is Capitalism? One
might as we'll waste his emotions hat
ing the Martians. Dumping neso
Morgan I, and Morgan II. radicals do
not nate them much. The cigars Of
Morgan II are excellent. Well, they
say they hate the System. Another
monster -
Then, says Mr.. Chase, somewhat
valiantly, Il have heard reformers
debate for hours whether the New
Deal is State Socialism or State Capt.
talism or just onery Liberalism. If it
is State Socialism then it is all right;
If 1t is State Capitalism then it is all
wrong; If 1t is plain Liberalism it is
beneath contempt. Presumably sane
men, arguing interminably. 1 have
advocated reform in the field Of eco
nomics for the most of my life" cries
Mr.. Chase, his voice rising to a wall,
land intend to continue. But am
sick and tired Of trying to reform
things which are not there, of fight
ing things which do not exist" Bravo!
But then, having made that procla-
nation, Mr.. Chase slides easily back
into the old terminology, for habit is
strong. saying. IF the purpose of an
economic system (and he has just said
that there is no such thing is to sup
ply people with necessities and COM
forts tbut is it not to supply necessi-
ties and comforts to people who can
get them?) let us try to see the people.
(Where?), see the commodities (also
whereof, see the institutions what is
an institution?) as they actually hang
together chow can we?) and throw
such strength as we possess into max
ing real changes in real situation
(and those last rousing words sound
just like political speech)." The re-
viewer should add that the parentheti-
cal remarks are her own Poor Mr..
Chase thus falls back heavily on OBJ
Jectives and the old business of keep
ing them clear.
1t would seem to the reviewer that
the remedy is not in keeping our
terminoloy clear at all, but in using
less OF it, in giving UP writing alto
gether about subjects on which We
have half or less knowledge. and
mlndlng our own business. The world
is full today, as our periodicals attest,
OF persons who have half-baked rene
dies for misunderstood troubles;
they have great wealth of good
intentions sometimes, and again they
have only an eye on the article-buying
market. But the effect is much the
same. The troubles of the world are
everybody y's-and hence nobodys-af-
falr. The wise man attends to his
own and thereby lessons the general
sum of grief. That is the only really
puolic-spirited thing which can be
undertaken
IN THE December Coronet Lawrence
Martin comments on one of the
Nations minor inconsistencies In a
somewhat original manner. Mr.. Mar
tin calls his piece ''Disarming the Kid
dies and he is amused, he says, by
the propaganda which is issued each
year about Christmas time against
selling toys of military nature to
children. Why the objection, he wants
to know.
SO - What are We preparing our
n fNr 1N orI,-
peace or a world of war? In
Europe the kindergartners receive gas
mask drill, as we'll as bib instruction.
OF course, that's Europe for you, and
this is Gods own green footstool, but
we are bound to get into the next
row, unless it is too short for us to
make the crossing. For we shall lend
and we shall send" says Mr.. Lawrence
Martin, and then adds with horrid
cyniciSm, What neat solution war
would make of the unemployed prob
lem."
His own program for making chill
| dren unmilitant, says Mr.. Martin, in
cludes number of items more prac-
tical than prohibiting the sale of war
like toys. He would, among other
things, "emasculate the comic strip
of its rowdyism, crudity and melo-
drama, ditto most of the kid stuff
on the radio, ditto the gangster and
wild West films and newsreels" and
'civilize newspapers as to crime stories
and pictures" That he thinks, would
be more effective than just trying
to stop the sale of toy tanks and
soldiers at Christmas time.