The Western news., 1940-07-18
High Proise
To B. K. Wheeler

SdmDel Is. FeltlnBli tolieci liiii6
Montanas outstanding citizen, Sen
ator B. K. Wheeler 1t was written
some time prior to the national
democratic convention and is col
ored by that fact, but nevertheless
it gives an interesting picture of the
influence exerted by Senator Wheel
er in the minds of competent OBJ
servers Mr. Pettingill writes:
Senator Wheeler will compromise
with a porcupine, but he is adamant
when facing a lion With Wheeler
it seems that it is only the Go
liaths who can warm his blood. Then
he is dauntless, immovable.
When Mr. Roosevelt undertook to
pack the Supreme Court under the
pretense of being a good Samaritan
to old judges with heavy burdens
Che has just named Henry l.. Slim
son, aged 73, to be Secretary of
War;, Wheeler said, Not six judges,
nor five, nor four, nor three, nor
two, nor one. Not half of a judge. /
No COMPROMISE on a moral wrong.
Wheeler is like a baseball pitch
er who lobs them over when a hit
or two is of no importance, but
when the heat is on, and the bleach
ers are yelling for the kill, he lis
superb. | have seen no one IN
Washington who has his flint-like
quality of one-man- against the
world in the big pinches The kind
of stuff that lifted the names of
old John Brown and William Lloyd
Garrison out of the shadows.
Wheeler has now announced that
he will be a candidate for the Dem
ocratic nomination whether Mr.
Roosevelt is or not. He has further
stated that unless the Democrats
write peace plank as strong as the
Illinois plank the Republicans re-
jected, that there will be new
and great anti-War party" in this
campaign He knows that American
war means American dictatorship.
All this means either that pres
sure is being put on Mr.. Roosevelt
TO decline denomination and to get
the Democrats out of the trenches
and back to Chicago Or it may
the keep-out-of-war issue, as the
Republicans did, that the big new
party is on the way
If it comes it will be no pink tea.
Wheeler is campaigner There
is tremendous non-interventionist
sentiment in this country. It has
been shouted down in recent weeks
But it is there. strong in labor, ag
riculture, youth, in the churches,
and among women. 1t has deep
roots They 60 down to George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
James Monroe.
#, as Walter Lippmann says,
there is now no choice between the
. foreign policies of Roosevelt and
Willkie, this non-intervention vote
will be formidable if given place
to 90. 1t seems likely that it will
be at least as strong rs the pro-
gressive sentiment in 1924, when to
several million people there seemed
to be little difference between Cal
vim Coolidge and John W. Davis.
In 1924, LaFollette and Wheeler
ran on the Progressive ticket With
all the handicaps that new party
labors under,-no funds, no local
organizations, no newspapers, nc
traditions, it got 1925 856 votes. al
, most five million, the largest third
party vote in history Davis got
8.386,OOO and Coolidge l5.725,0O0
The Republicans had campaign
fund of $3,063,0O0 and LaFollette
and Wheeler only $222.000, or ST
to s14 Nevertheless, in IL states
LaFollette and Wheeler got more
I votes than the Davis Democrats, ano
in Wisconsin, got more votes thar
1 Coolidge and Davis combined.
I LaFollette had voted against wal
9 in 1917 Wheeler. before coming te
: the senate in 1928, had been u. S
/ District Attorney, in which office
S he had not pleased Attorney Gen
! eral Palmer in his crusade against
the bill Of rights. AS result Wheel
t er had to face the music. He was
4 framed with a criminal indictment
i and carefully picked federal judge
e was sent out to convict him. Blu
o the plain people in the jury. bo,
: said, "Gestapo and Montana dom
d mix Wheeler has what it takes.
0 In addition, the Progressive plat
: form of 1924 called for revision
t of the Versailles treaty in accord
e ance with the Armistice," and fo
e public referendums on peace ant
war" As the latter, in the form o
: the Ludlow Amendment or in tn
+. Hamilton Fish version of no con
It scription for war overseas, has Otter
received majority in public polls
r. it can be seen that Wheeler is nj
S pushover in any mans campaign.
| venture two guesses. If Their
e there are three tickets headed b,
Roosevelt, Willkie and Wheeler
} Mr. Roosevelt, at least will not b,
president beyond next January goth
If Mr. Roosevelt does not run, ant
the Democrats, by some goot
u chance, nominate Wheeler on
straight-out, keep-out platform, i
n will be dog fight. As a matter o
y fact, in two-party race, Willki
:, would probably find Wheeler tough
!. er going than Roosevelt.
Id |