Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-10-13
Too Busy to Campaign Tactic
Working Well for Roosevelt
Quiet Race Dictated by Presidents Strategy
Exceeds Hopes, While Republicans
Issues Seem to Fall Flat
By Ray,n ond p. Brandt.

By R0ym0n
NEW YORK, Oct. l2-The Demo-
cratic National Committee set up Roose-
welt campaign headquarters at the Bilt-
more Hotel this year as 1t did in 1882
and 1886. But the atmosphere is differ
ent. With the election less than four
weeks away, officials and subordinates,
most Of whom worked here four and
eight years ago, are doing a professional
Job without the waste of motion, the
hustle, the ballyhoo and the misunder-
standings usually associated with tenn
porary campaign headquarters, even now
evident in the various Willkie Offices.
The same professional attitude, &C
cording to reports to Washington and
New York, prevails at the Democratic
regional ofices in Chicago, Dallas, San
Francisco and Birmingham. The only
exception is the Independents-for-Ro ose-
welt office in New York, in charge of
Thomas H. Corcoran and David Niles,
who have brought from Washington
their airs of mystery and sublety. The
regular Democratic organization will
have nothing to do with this outfit,
whose principal aim is to cooperate
with Mayor La Guardia.
A Quiet Campaign.
The quiet campaign is a logical conse-
quence of the Presidents grand strategy"
for an election dominated by the inter-
national situation, situation, he claims,
justifying a break of the third-term
tradition. 1t also results from the
choice Of Edward ]. Flynn, Democratic
boss of the Bronx, as a successor to
James A. Farley as National Chairman.
So far there has been only one miscal-
culation. When the silent Flynn took
over the Craftsmanship, he announced he
would remain in New York and call ma
tional committeeman, State and local
chairmen to his office. He soon learned
that Farley's success was built on thou
stands of personal meetings with local
politicians and that often the National
Committeeman or Committeewoman was
not on speaking terms with the State
chairman or chairwoman or with vari-
Gus local party officials. Farley was q
master at hearing all sides and per-
suading the boys" to forget their local
differences during a national campaign.
Flynn abandoned his original plan, al
though Farley had turned over to him
his elaborate card indexes and flew to
the Pacific Coast for organization work"
there and in the Middle West.
Grand Strategy" Exceeds Hopes.
If unofficial polls are a reliable guide,
the grand strategy" supported by ORTIZ
odox campaign tactics, is working out
even better than the Democrats had
hoped. President Roosevelt has been
able to maintain his position that he is
too busy" to campaign, and at the same
time to make innumerable inspection"
trips to defense projects, to use his press
conferences as forum for replies to
political questions, to dedicate schools
and other P W. A. or w. P. A. projects
and to broadcast before labor and educa-
tional groups.
The bitterest complaint from the
paign funds needed the two weeks be-
fore the election to get out voters. Of
ficials here interpret the Hatch laws to
mean they cannot get loan from bank
or private citizen, although the Ma
tional Committees credit is rated as ex-
cellent by the banks. The SIS 900 linn
itation on contributions has prevented
the former angels" from coming in at
the opportune time and it was said in
Washington that the committee has lit
tie more than 81 900 on hand.
The Hatch laws, however. cut two
ways. With the momentum of the gov
ernmental and Farley machines, the
Democrats will need far less money this
year than the Republicans, who will have
no difficulty in collecting the maximum
of 100000. One State Democratic
campaign manager told the writer he
could stretch one dollar as far as $40
spent by the inexperienced and out-of-
power Republicans This probably is
true for his State where the Democrats
are in control; the ratio. of course, would
be much lower in Pennsylvania, Ohio or
even Missouri
Republicans of the relief vote issue they
used so effectively in the 1888 congress
sional campaign and not so effectively in
the 1886 general elections. A majority
of persons on relief are expected to
continue their support of the New Deal,
labor groups. Had there been no Hatch
Acts the Republicans surely would have
claimed again that the administration
was coercing the unfortunates on relief.
Oficials here were unable to tell where
the Democrats will get the required
funds. 1t probably will have to come
from State organizations working for
election of the State tickets.
Third-Term Strategy Fails.
The Republican grand strategy" was,
of course, to make the third term the
predominant issue. The practical poll
ticians are skeptical of commercial polls,
despite what they say when polls are
in their favor. They rely on the reports
Of county chairmen, and the Democrats
national oficials insist that these expe-
rienced observers, who have their own
regulations at stake, are generally
agreed that the breaking Of the great
precedent has become less and less Of
an issue as the international situation
has become more tense.
The refusal Of the President to debate
with Wendell L. Willkie, Democrats
contend, has caused no protests from
the rank and file voters and has left