The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-02-21
A NEW FRONTIER

endorse. He saw Roosevelt retreat
| from position after position. But it
wasn't so much Roosev elt's quixotism
| in foreign affairs-as when he tried
to shunt the United States away from
neutrality in the Ethiopia affair
only to have England and France re-
nege and agree to Ethiopia's dismem-
berment-that frightened Moley. 1t
was such incidents as Roosevelt's ask
ing, on December 20, 1885, for flight
ing speech" He went on to admit
that he didn't want to fight anybody
nor for anything; he merely wanted
to keep his left-wing supporters salts
fled. 1t was Roosevelt's continued in
sistence on attack that bothered
Moley
Moley felt that Roosevelt's refusal
to ask for congressional amendment
to extend the power of government
over agriculture and business, while
he continued to belabor and abuse
businessmen, was a confession of con-
fusion and lack of planned program.
And when Roosevelt told him in May,
1886, There's one issue in this cam
paign. It's myself, and people must
be either for me or against me-" Moley
concluded Roosevelt was fighting a
sham battle, and that he could no
longer be of use to him.
What Moley says about Roosevelt's
intoxication with his own Importance
may not be true, but it squares with
what knoss- about people My theory
is that we have raised Roosevelt I'D
in our own image. We are muddled
and anxious to evade our problems;
we want to smite the "theys" or to
save the world; we like to deal in
blacks and whites, in blanket hatreds
and blanket acceptances; we prefer
great personalities to great principles.
So Roosevelt. Pardon me if | seem
to think that Moley is fairly correct
in many of his opinions He doesn't
ask the reader to believe he is in
fallible in those opinions. He simply
asks that this is the way it seemed
to him, and that for these reasons
he did these things.
And to my friends who will say,
Eyes, but if you admit that Roose-
welt is muddled and egotistic you are
giving comfort to the republicans I
shall reply, That's Roosevelt's fault.
and ours, who made him what he isl
| like especially these paragraphs
of Moley's summary:
perhaps the most serious injury
that has been done the cause of order
ly progress has been the impairment
Oh the nations unity by the repeated
that benefits can come to
one group only at the expense of
others. Progressivism depends upon
cooperation, not upon conflict. 1t
looks to the creation of an increasing
" large number of shared values, not
10 the establishment of an economy
If maintenance which can do no more
han redistribute Lie wealth that al
'eady exists.
Roosevelt has never condemned
businessmen or newspaper publishers
Is a whole. He has always qualified
lis denunciations with reference to
he SMALL bad minority in those
groups. But the fact that he has
United himself to denunciation of the
small, bad minority in these specific
groups and ignored tue small, bad
in all other groups has been
usl as effective in developing class
lntagonism as a general denunciation.
An administration that leaves more
ather than less consciousness of class
las done the country disservice.
'Progressivism has always thrived
lpon the attacks of it's enemies. It
emains to be seen whether It can sur
i've the mistakes of its friends"