Evening star., 1939-02-20

reasons accounted for the loss of
Democratic seats in the House and
Senate, whereas many Democrats
as well as virtually all the Repub-
llcans honestly believe the last cleo
tlon revealed national tide of dis
satisfaction with the New Deal.
The Democrats have told this to the
President but, they report, without
persuasive effect
Now the President has certain
reasons for disagreeing ard they
are entitled to consideration. For
one thing, the Gallup poll, which
has been so uniformly accurate, re-
ports this week that Mr.. Roosevelts
popularity is So per cent, which is
higher by 3 points than it was last
November and higher than it has
been with few exceptions since 1882.
This matter of personal popular
ity, however, is not the basic argu-
ment on the Presidents side. His
deep-seated conviction is that no
matter how many Republican seats
were gained last autumn, the ma
Jority of the voters are still welded
to what he interprets as the lib
eral' cause. Indeed wrapped up
In that particular approach to the
question is the origin OF the Presi-
dents disagreement with his COL
leagues. He might even be made to
believe that there were general or
national influences at work in the
last election. but he will not con-
cede that the majority of the voters
were aware of national issues in
1888 or would in 1910 exchange lib
eral' Democratic for conservative"
Republican rule.
Support of Organized Labor.
Mr. Roosevelt knows, to be sure,
that in 1886 he had the overWhelm-
Ing support of organized labor He
cannot believe that, however dissat-
lsfled the A. F. of L. members may
be with some aspects of the labor
board, they would be willing to
trust a Republican administration to
administer the National Labor Rela-
tlons Act or revise it. He cannot
believe also that, however discon-
tented the farmers may be, they
will desert the Democratic party in
such greater numbers as to give the
Republicans their old-time majori-
ties in the farm States.
So long as the Roosevelt admin
1stration feels it can hold sub
stantial part of the farmer vote and
OF the city labor vote, it is sure that
the big segment of independent
voters of the middle groups will also
stay with the Democratic party.
When 1t comes then to "appease-
ment" or "co-operation" between the
left and right wings of the Demo-
cratic party itself, the President
sees no reason for shifting his posi-
ton, because to do SO. he thinks, is
to compromise with liberalism, and
the only kind of compromise each
side really wants is absolute sur
render by the other.
Wants No Concessions.
II Mr.. Roosevelt had been con-
vinced that the country was really
turning thumbs down on "liberal-
ism" and was moving over to what
might have been disposed to make
4 concessions, but he feels that to do
so when majority sentiment does not
plainly indicate its disapproval of
his purpose is to betray true lib
eralism"
Perhaps one of the things that
sticks in the Presidents mind is the
way the Republicans on the stump
last autumn told audiences that
they favored New Deal "objectives, +"
but not the New Deal methods. "
Mr.. Roosevelt fears this may be but
political maneuver. something like
that which the Republicans worked
In 1920, when many of them, in
cluding Charles Evans Hughes, for
mer President Taft and Elihu Root,
told Republicans to vote for War;
zen Harding because the latter IA
vored American entrance into the