Evening star., 1938-10-28
Washington Observations
Roosevelt and Hull Stand Pat on Doctrine of Non.
Recognition of Changes by Force

II the Japanese don't give US the
satisfaction now firmly asked.
*
Times without number F. D. r. has
refused to comment upon, or interfere
with. the legislative processes or the
prerogatives Of Congress. White House
press conferences are the recurring
scenes Of such manifestation OF SELF
restraint. Those Of us who recall the
persuasive accents In which this
hands-oh policy Is proclaimed marvel
at the zest with which Mr.. Roosevelt
has lunged at the Dies Committee.
He is. Of course, no blind worshiper
OF precedent; nor, resourceful quarter
back that he is, does he shrink from
new plays when others fail to gain
ground. The President, too, is fond
OF going to the rescue of political ships
In distress. So, with Gov. Murphy
nghting for his official life in Michi-
gan. the Squire Of the New Deal is
not stepping out Of character in rush.
ing to the laundering Wolverines de-
tense. Murphy isn't the first per-
1ectly good American to be the VIC
tim Of character assassination on the
Hill. Senatorial quizmasters like Hugo
L. Black, before he exchanged the
toga for the ermine. was not accus-
toned exactly to handling Senate
investigation witnesses with kid gloves.
Nor was Jim Reed. whose merciless
mantle Black always was said to
covet, famed for his consideration of
a witness susceptibilities. Nobody re-
members any White House remon-
STRANGE against such tactics, either
before or since Roosevelt.
X 4
There's a mistaken notion that
Roosevelt speeches on major occa-
sions are the products Of ghost writer's,
like Tommy the Cork" Charley the
Mike" or the scholarly diplomat OF
whom It's sometimes facetiously said
that "All's Welles at the State De-
partment." As matter of fact the
Presidents key utterances are. In
nearly all cases, 80 per cent his own
products. The ideas are certainly his.
and the language In which they're
finally couched Is preponderantly his,
too. Those qualified to know will
tell you that most OF the famed termi-
nology-like economic royalists,"
"intrenched greed" Quarantine Of
aggressors," ad ubitum, and inf,nitum
are OF pure Rooseveltian origin.
The President often, after receiving
the draft Of speech finally okayed
by his literary staff. will add a graphic
passage. sometimes In epigram, that
comes to give the address its indelible
hallmark. There's such a passage in
Wednesday nights homily on the
American way" 1t reads: you can
not organize civilization around the
core OF militarism and at the same
time expect reason to control human
destinies."
One Of Calvin Coolidge's famous
wlsecracks was that he once encoun-
tered Senator Borah riding horseback
IN Rock Creek Park Idaho Bits
mount. which happened to be named
al Smith. was going in one direction,
said Coolidge. while the Senator was
going in the other. The silver-tongued
Westerner has Just blossomed out as
an apostle Of consistency, for once In
his eminent career. anyhow. He re-
fuses to identify himself with any
action designed to bring American
pressure to bear on British policy in
Palestine as long as Uncle Sam isn't
ready to do anything but give advice.
(Copyrisht 1889