Evening star., 1939-10-27

that the principal opposition to the
repeal of the embargo is derived
from deep-seated distrust on the
part of Republicans which accuses
Mr.. Roosevelt of being so eager to
have third term as to be willing
to drag America into the war to full
all his ambitions. Only few weeks
ago, former Gov. Landon voiced pub
licly the hope that Mr. Roosevelt
aspirations as one way to bring ma
tional unity In the face of the Euro
pean crisis.
1t Is true that Mr.. Wallace's utter
ances do not necessarily reflect the
Presidents views, but, at a time
when the administration would wish
to allay suspicion. the interview
given by the Secretary of Agricul-
ture will be taken by partisan Re-
publicans as confirmation of their
fears of political capitalization of
the present war by Mr.. Roosevelt
despite his request that politics be
adjourned.
Resists Smoking Out"
For reasons of his own, Mr.. Roose-
welt has chosen to remain silent on
the third-term question. Whether
he intends to run or to decline to
run is something he alone will decide
and there has been no sign that he
will consent to be smoked out
ahead of the spring of 1910, when
presumably he has intended all
along to make his position clear.
Unfortunately for Mr.. Roosevelt
whether or not he intends to run
he cannot in advance take anybody
into his confidence, not even his
cabinet officers. So far as is known,
he has never revealed his desires to
anybody-possibly not even to the
members of his own household. It
Is, therefore, apparent now more
than ever that office holders who
talk third term do so on their own
responsibility and initiative. For
II there was any collusion between
the White House and the third-term
boomers. it certainly would have
functioned better than to permit the
Secretary of Agriculture to be is
suing interviews about the third
term to the press just as the neu-
trality debate reaches its critical
stages.
But the Wallace episode will serve
q useful purpose in that it will
enable the country to dismiss all talk
OF the third term emanating here
after from cabinet officers and po-
htical henchmen as merely wistful
thinking on the part of a political
machine. The incident also will
bring out into the open the question
OF whether any man is truly essen
tial to the presidency Woodrow
Wilson, in his speech accepting the
Democratic nomination for the pres
idency In 1912, said there was no
indispensable man in America and
he was by that remark singing out
for criticism Theodore Roosevelt,
who was seeking a third term even
though four years had elapsed since
the ending of his second term.
An Issue of Fitness.
Many Democrats will no doubt
agree with Secretary Wallace that
President Roosevelt has a back
ground of information and training
valuable to leadership of America in
wartime. But the real issue will be
whether only one man in the Demo-
cratic party is so fitted, or whether
the Nation will be setting by con-
trast an example to the one-man
governments of the world of a
country which has an abundance
Of men of poise. of judgment, of
capacity and of patriotism who can
steer democracy through the
shoals of wartime crises.
This correspondent has believed
that Mr.. Roosevelt does not wish to
run and will SO announce in due
time, but that the Democratic party
convention may decide in 1910 to
draft him anyWay-a circumstance
which Chairman Hamilton of the
Republican National Committee says
publicly he would welcome because
he thinks the Nation would defeat
Q third-term candidate in 1910.
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