Evening star., 1940-01-19

~; lE$z AiutIC1 III Ck1l0
way is greatly to
Ca.ris' G. Ross. oversimplify the
third-term puzzle. 1t is also to use
the word run without the defini.
ton that it requires. II any safe
prophecy can be made about the
1910 campaign it is that Mr.. Roose-
veft Is not going to run" for the
Democratic nomination in the sense
OF being an avowed candidate. He
will only run" in that meaning Of
the word, II he receives the nomt-
nation.
II the President runs as the can.
didate OF his party he will do so
because he has been drafted" His
strength In comparison with that
OF any other party leader is such
that he can get the nomination by
going out and fighting for it. In
that case, however, he would DESTROY
the present semblance of harmony
In the Democratic party and greatly
diminish the value of the nomina-
ton. He would also take away from
whatever justification he might
nave for an assault on the third.
term tradition. He would lay him.
self open to the charge Of seeking
f1rst OF all his personal aggrandize.
ment. 1t Is essential to the ration.
alization OF the third-term move.
ment that the nomination of Mr..
Roosevelt, If made, shall be made
without any apparent initiative
on his part.
He Will Not Run.
1t Is safe to say that these con.
s1derations, however unimportant
they may seem to some of the more
fanatical of the third-term adyo-
Gates, weigh heavily with the Presi.
dent. He is better politician than
any OF them. Moreover, he is think
Ing not alone Of 1910 but Of his place
in history.
Mr.. Roosevelt. therefore. is not
running" for the nomination and
will not run" This is true whether
or not in his heart he wants the
nomination. If he wants it, he
wants 1t on the terms that will give
him the best chance of being elected.
One can only express a personal
opinion, but it seems to the present
writer that there is no reason to
doubt the word Of Mr.. Roosevelt's
friends who say that he genuinely
wishes to retire; that his sole present
interest in the nomination Is to SEQ
someone chosen who can be de-
pended upon to remain loyal to the
New Deal policies.
The Announcement.
1t is a fair assumption that In his
own time Mr.. Roosevelt will mako
an announcement to this general
effect. He will, I think, publicly
choose not to run. When he will do
this is anybody's guess. The writer
would like to hazard the guess
merely that the announcement, if
made, will not come on either Of
the two dates that have lately.
through the medium of a White
House press conference, been widely
publicized. Whatever may haye
been the intention of the President,
those two dates-January 20 and
March Are definitely out. Can
any one imagine the President fore.
going such perfect opportunity to
saw of the limb behind columnist?
The Presidents attitude toward
Finland, though far from being the
clue for which everybody is looking.
Is not without its significance.
Marking as 1t does a definite, though
slight, retreat toward the isolation.
ist position, it fits into the pattern
OF the Presidents other cautious
words and acts since the beginning
OF the special session to revise the
neutrality laws. He is consistently
pursuing a course calculated to do
two things-remove the impression
that he is "war- minded" and pro-
mote harmony in the Democratic
party.
Desire for Party Peace.
BY those who attribute to him
the desire to gain a third term.
both these objectives are explained
IN terms Of his personal ambition.
But they are equally consistent with
q desire on his part to see the
Democratic party, under some other
leader, win at the polls In Novem.
Der. The conciliatory message at
the opening Of the present session
OF Congress, the Jackson day speech,
the failure to bring toward any new
social legislation that might breed
dissension in the party-all these
point to keen awareness Of the
requirements of orthodox politics in
presidential election year. Mr..
Roosevelt's gingerly handling Of the
Finnish question is Of piece with
all the other manifestations Of q
will to hold the party together.
Time alone can answer the cues.
ton whether Mr.. Roosevelt's efforts
on behalf Of party harmony will
rebound to his own advantage as a
third-term candidate or to that Of
some other nominee. The stage Is
set for either result. The action
on Finland is q "tip-off" only in tho
sense that is shows Mr.. Roosevelt
has not deviated from his soft-step.
ping political course Of the last sew.
eral months.
That is course which any Presi.
dent. in the circumstances, might
follow. It happens also to be ono
that does not close the door against
draft. And the draft movement
grows with every fresh bit Of evi.
dence that the door is still open.
Banquet to Mark