Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-11-07
Alternatives
Offered in
Election
Certain Issues
Seen Affecting
Future Of u. 5.
BY JAY FRANKLIN,

Behind the platforms, the pledges
and the speeches of the campaign
lie certain large issues of public
policy, affecting the whole future OF
the Uniteo States and the trend of
American democracy. These issues
OF 1910 can best be summarized in
the alternatives that were offered
for the decision of the voters.
Social Democracy or Social Syn
dicalism-The Roosevelt-New Deal
program was, as Westbrook Pegler
noted, a program for social democ-
racy. The proposal was to retain the
traditional political institutions Of
the American people and to use
them to satisfy the demands Of labor
and industry, Of agriculture and
finance, In policy of balance, with
the Federal Government acting as
arbiter and make-weight.
The so-called "unholy alliance" of
John L. Lewis and the tough
minded industrial employers sup
porting Willkie was a program for
social syndicalism-a league of big
business and big labor, with powers
apart from and superior to (or at
least invulnerable by the big
government" which ,Willkie de-
nounced. 1t offered the promise that
the marriage Of dynamic" industry
and dynamic" labor would increase
production, but held the threat that
agriculture and the mass Of white
collar workers, unorganized workers,
might not be considered in the major
national decisions.
Foreign Policy Issue.
World Peace or World Power
The Roosevelt-Nev Deal program
was program for world democracy,
fer world unity and world trade
based on the restoration Of the
essence of the status quo ante
through aid to Britain and to China,
and the creation of an America
strong enough in ornaments to tilt
the balance for world peace in the
approaching settlement of 194l.
Fundamentally it was a continual
ton of the policy of Theodore Roose-
welt and woodrow Wilson.
The isolationist and appeasement
element in the Willkie following,
and the trend Of Republican utter
ances, made it clear that the alter
native was the creation of an Amer
lean world power, playing power
politics in the Western Hemisphere
and prepared to match the methods
and detectives OF the Old World
lf1N, i
America, where guns would be pre-
ferred to butter and where YANKEES
imperialism would be revived to
meet the situation of a world given
over to power-politics.
Choice Of Traditions.
Tradition or Experience - The
election involved a choice between
two American traditions: The theo-
retical tradition, custom, habit or
myth by virtue of which no Amer
lean President has served more than
eight years in the White House; and
| the practical tradition by which no
man has been elevated to the presi-
| dency without previous training and
experience in public Office The chief
Republican charge against Roosevelt
was that he was greedy for personal
power at the expense Of the sacred"
tflird-term tradition. The chief
Democratic charge against Willkie
was that he was utterly unquaI-
fed" to deal with the problems Of
national administration and foreign
policy.
Public Opinion or Popular Sow
ereignty-The campaign involved a
major test of the relative values Of
public opinion" and popular SOW
ereignty. Public opinion, as repre-
sented by the newspapers, the radio
time, the movies, the billboards, etc,
was modified against Roosevelt
with all the skill at the disposal
of the shreWdest brains in the adj
vertising and publicity professions
backed by sufficient funds to utilize
all media for the formation of pub
lie opinion to their fullest extent.
Popular sovereignty-the principle
that the people are the source of
their own political decisions-waS
thus clearly involved in the Roose-
welt campaign, above all in the Pres
ident's appeals to the moral fervor
and religious bent of the American
electorate. Here the implication was
clear and simple: If the public
opinion: crusade succeeded, there
would be unlimited tenure of power
by the groups in control Of the
means for reaching the public.
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