The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-10-31
Economic
eM@hA9hA
Happenings That Affect the Dinner
Pals, Dividend Checks and Tax
Bills of Every Individual. National
and international Problems Insep-
arabic from Local Welfare.

This has been one of the strangest
campaigns in American political his.
tory. The President has not mention.
ed his opponent by name, and has
left the real work to group of lesser.
light New Dealers, none of whom
possess any great appeal for the mass
es of voters. So far as the Demo.
Gratis are concerned, the issues have
hardly been discussed. The campaign
ers have contented themselves with
praising the President and his achieve
ments and urging his reelection on the
grounds that he is better fitted than
anyone else to lead the country during
the unpredictable years ahead.
On the Republican side, one Of the
most remarkable phases of the cam
paign has been Mr.. WILKES energy
Never in our history has a man made
so many speeches and public appear
ances. 1t is great testimonial to his
physical and mental vigor that instead
of cracking under the strain, as some
of his hackers feared, he has actually
as he has gone along. There
isn't a single possible issue, no mat
ter how minor, that he hasn't touched
on, usually in considerable detail
There has been little vagueness in his
campaign, and an almost unprecedent-
ed amount of forthrightness. No one
who reads the newspapers or listens
to the radio has any excuse for not
knowing precisely where Willkie
stands. AS Time recently put it, the
U. S. gradually "learned what sort of
ia strange, uncompromising, unpoliti-
cal, rugged character the G. o. P.
has nominated" Even in the strongest
Roosevelt circles, Mr.. Willkie has
earned respect.
We will know on November G
whether or not the kind of campaign
he has conducted will pay dividends
in the form Of enough votes to elect
him. In the meantime, it is apparent
that his stock has risen immensely
In August and September Republicans
were shaking their heads-it looked
as if they were to take another she'll
acking as bad as that of 1886. The
gambling fraternity, which has proven
it's judgment right many times in the
past, was offering up to three to one
on the President with few takers. Ir
some places even money was offered
that Mr.. Roosevelt would carry more
than 40 states. The various analysts
were close to unanimous in believing
that another NesDeal landslide was
on it's way.
Today there is a great change. The
betting odds have. dropped to sever
to five and less. late polls show the
Presidents lead in key states ebbine
and in some instances vanishing Ir
many important states the lead OF
either man is only two to six per cent
and it is certainly not reasonable to
believe that any poll could be accur.
ate within such narrow limits A num-
Der Of political analysts have said that
it looks as if the election is a toss-up
And the realistic Democrats, for the
first time, are becoming worried. II
was a significant commentary on con,
ditions when the President scheduled
his series of formal political talks
That amounted to a reversal of his
past campaign strategy.
What has caused the improvement
in WILKES chances? Certainly his
scores of appearances before voters
have helped-he has first-class plat
form personality, and is better in off
hand talks than in prepared speeches
which must be read. The feeling he
gives of absolute honesty and SINGER
ity is another factor. Still another
has been his refusal to take the easy
way out and dodge or becloud delicate
and dangerous issues. He has made
excellent capital of the third-tern
issue. He hasn't talked down" tt
the voters, and he has avoided those
windy, grandioquent phrases, beloved
by many politicians, which amount
to sound without meaning. He ha!
based his campaign on the case fol
regards as the collectivist tendencie: