Evening star., 1939-10-11

Charles 6. Ross Den ocratic
ticket in 1910 are-get ready for the
shock:
Roosevelt and Garner.
There's at least one highly placed
Democrat who, if he had to make a
bet at this stage, would put, his
money on that ticket. This is not
to say that he or any other rational
person would welcome the neces-
sity of laying such a wager, except
at fantastic odds.
The reasoning back of the Roose-
velt-Garner idea is that the war
will still be on when the nominal
tlons are made; that this fact will
constitute an emergency in which
Mr.. Roosevelt will forego his desire
to step down and will consent to
being drafted; that the nominal
ton of Mr.. Garner as his running
mate will be put through as the
best available means of curing the
breach in the Democratic party and
enabling 1t to present a united
front.
In all this there is a cartain de-
gree of plausibility 1t is conceive
able that things will turn out &C.
cording to the pattern. Stranger
things have happened both III in
ternational and in domestic politics.
Weak Points Obvious.
The weak points in the reasoning
are obvious. 1t furnishes a perfect
example of the wishful thinking to
which politicians are given. There
is, for one thing, the assumption
that nine months from now the
war emergency will be of such grave
character as to justify the conven-
ton in believing that the party can
successfully defy the third-term ira
dition.
If at that time we are actually
in the war, probably the third-term
movement will prevail in the con-
vention and again at the polls in
November. If We are not in the
war, it may still win in the con.
vention but where, in view of what
Congress is doing with the neutral
!ty laws, will be the validity of the
argument that because Europe is at
war Mr.. Roosevelt should be kept
at the helm?
Will not the force of the argu-
ment be greatly diminished, or de-
stroyed, by the passage of a neu-
traity act which strictly circum-
scribes the executive power and
which, both its Democratic and Re-
publican sponsors tell us, will keep
us out of war? If we are safe.
guarded against war by the neutral
ity act, with its rigid provisions un-
touchable by any President save
with the consent of Congress, what
difference does it make who is Presi-
dent, so long as he is patriotic and
high-minded American citizen?
Garner Attitude Unknown Factor.
II we are not at war when the
Democratic convention meets. should
not the question of third term be
decided on grounds entirely apart
from the war?
The attitude of Mr.. Garner is of
course another unknown factor in
the equation. and another big "if"
is the attitude of the President him.
self.
Nothing could better please the
party rategists-meaning, again,
those whose first aim it is, whatever
the platform and whoever the can
didates, to keep the party in power
than the prospect of an alliance
between Mr.. Roosevelt and the man
who now symbolizes the Democratic
opposition to the President.
How to bring about a semblance
OF unity in the party how to take
the curse off a third term cam
paign if the President gets into the
running under circumstances that
do not clearly warrant third term
these are disturbing problems. Mr..
Garner could doubtless do a great
deal, perhaps everything, toward
solving them.
Mr.. Garner could, but will he?
Wishing will not make it so. but
the wishing of the party harmonic
ers may be excused. They've got
to find some anodyne for a confused
and troubled state of mind, and
they can point to political miracles
of the past: