The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1938-09-23

press, through the radio, in personal
conversations that liberalism" lib
eral thinking, is vitality necessary;
it is urgent that our government be
kept liberal, and that our daily lives
be moulded along liberal lines.
President Roosevelt says so, and
sought in a recent speech to define
liberalism; his spokesman repeat
and emphasize what he has said;
the vast army of ballyhoo artists
on the government payroll is saying
it after the manner of stooge for
a ventriloquist. A lot of Republic
cans, trying to ape the New Deal
ers, are saying it, too, and making
just as much of mess of the propo-
sition as the less slick-tongued
among the New Dealers.
Well, any way, at any cost, there
must be liberalism. If we don't be
liberal, we are warned, the devil
will get us. The nation, its $780,
100000 inhabitants and all of their
works will sink to the depth of per-
dition. It's very sorry situation,
indeed.
Recognizing the need, the urgent
necessity for liberalism, Mr.. Roose-
welt undertook recently to define it.
I quote his words from recent
speech in Maryland where he had
gone to try to bring about the defeat
of Sen. Willard Tydings in a race
for the Democratic senatorial nomi-
nation:
"For example, Mr.. A is compos-
lite conservative. He admitted that
in 1888, interest rates charged by
private bankers to ordinary citizens
who wanted to finance a farm were
altogether too high; he. admitted
that there were sharp practices, ex-
cesses and abuses in issuing securi-
ties and buying and selling stocks
and bonds; he admitted that the
hours of work in his factory were
too long; he admitted that old peo-
pie, who became destitute through
no fault of their own, were prob
lem; he admitted that national and
international economics and specu-
lation made farming and fishing
extremely hazardous occupations;
and he even admitted that the buy
ing power of farmers and fishermen
had not kept pace with the buying
power of other kinds of workers.
"But conservative Mr.. A not only
declined to take any lead in solving
these problems in cooperation with
the government. He even found
fault with and opposed, openly or
secretly, almost every suggestion
that was put forward by those who
belonged to the liberal school of
thought.
"Mr. B, said, was composite
liberal. He not only admitted the
needs and the problems like Mr.. A,
but he put his shoulder under the
load; he gave active study and ac-
tive support to working out meth
DDS, in cooperation with the govern
ment, for solving the problems and
the filling of the needs. Mr.. B did
not claim that the remedies were
perfect, but he knew that we had to
start with something less than per-
feet in this imperfect world"
Would Force Realignn,ent
OF Politics of Country
Mr.. Roosevelt's announcement
on what constitutes a liberal fol-
lowed very closely a statement he
had issued in meeting with the
newspaper correspondents at the
White House, saying that he had no
objection to election of Liberal Re-
publicans. Said he: eff there is a
good liberal running on the Repub-
lican ticket, I would not have the
slightest objection to his election.
The good of the country rises above
party"
The importance of these two dec
larations?
Mr.. Roosevelt has cast the die
for a new alignment of political
parties. He has swept aside all
previous bonds that held men and
women within the Democratic par
ty or the Republican party or the
lesser political groups and has said,
in effect, "Come with me into
new fusion of forces and action" OF
course, no one who has studied Mr..
Roosevelt's course since his politi-
cal ears were first pinned back in
defeat of his malodorous plan to
add six justices of his own choosing
to the United States Supreme court
could have failed to recognize this
eventuality. He was planning to
force realignment. in politics in this
country for some months; but now
the thing is out in the open, and
the Democrats and Republicans,
alike, know what confronts them if
it is their desire to maintain the
present political party setup.
What will happen is quite another
question. Undoubtedly, the Demo-
cratic party will be the greater suf-
ferer. It has to be so, because Mr..
Roosevelt became titular head. of
the Democratic party by virtue of
election to the presidency in 1892
and again in 1886 as the candidate
of that party. So many of the for
mer Democrats have become we'd
IL - %I.e Arax~, nao1 ,.At~~ T.. -