Evening star., 1940-06-28

AL Itlc course Oh
Charles G. Ross. a struggle that
threatened to disrupt the commit
tee and precipitate a fight on the
convention floor, but it is a plank
nevertheless that any candidate can
stand on. Like any political pro-
nouncement framed to reconcile ir-
reconcilable views, it faces both
ways. Governor Landon, head Of
the subcommittee which drafted it,
said as much when he declared, in
effect, that 1t would permit the
presidential candidate of the con-
vention to write his own ticket.
Mr.. Hoover, in his address to ths
convention prior to the adoption Of
the platform but after the general
lines Of the foreign relations plank
had become known, expressed ths
same thought. Said the former
President in a remarkable and sig
niflcant passage Of his speech: I'm
a few days this convention will have
chosen our national leader. The
President will be able to secure
from him the views of our party
upon those transcendent questions"
Platform Not Specified.
Mr.. Hoover didn't specify the
platform as the source Of President
Roosevelt's information regarding
the views of the Republican party on
foreign relations. He carefully
named the candidate Of the Re-
publican party as the source. Clearly
the former President, like Mr.. Lam
don. sees that the presidential
candidate of the G. o. P. will, in
the end, set the course of the party
in foreign affairs-and will set 1t,
perhaps, under the impact of events
which no one can now foresee.
A realistic plank would have
stated in terms this obvious fact.
The "isoiationists," led by c. Wey-
land Brooks of the Illinois delega-
ton, succeeded in whiting down
the aid to the Allies part of the
tentative draft to an expression in
favor Of "the extension to all peo-
Piles fighting for liberty or whose
liberty is threatened of such aid
as shall not be in violation Of inter-
national law or inconsistent with
the requirements of our national
defense" To this the Brooks faction
would have added the sentence:
But this does not include the sons
Of America" The other group, in
which former Senators George
Wharton Pepper of Pennsylvania
and Walter E. Edge of New Jersey
were conspicuous, succeeded after q
bitter row in preventing the addi-
ton. Thus both sides scored debat-
ing points and were able to get to-
gether on unanimous report to
the convention.
Plank Wide Open.
We have a plank, then, with a
sop to both groups, though the
larger unquestionably goes to the
group which has labeled itself anti
interventionist" and has sought to
hang the war label on those who
In varying measure have disagreed
with 1t. The fact remains that the
plank Is wide open to varying in
terpretations.
That this is true was evidenced
by the passionate manner in which
Brooks and Representative Fish Of
New York, seconding the motion
for adoption of the platform as
written; sought to strengthen the
antt-interventionist wording with
their own views of what it meant.
Fish was especially vehement. He
said the Republican party by its
action had put itself before the
people as the peace party" while
the Democratic party had shown it
self the party of Intervention and
war" He branded Roosevelt as IAN
out-and-out interventionist who for
two years has led the country on
the road to war"
"Now," he shouted, "the word
goes out that the Republican party
intends to keep America out of for
eign wars"
WilIkie Critics Answered.
This Is the line to which those who
think with Mr.. Fish and Mr.. Brooks
will endeavcr to hold the candi-
date. 1t is the line which will be
followed in the impending effort Of
the G. o. p. high command, as it
now appears, to convince the coun-
try that the Democratic party is
war party, and that only through
the election of a Republican can
non-involvement in foreign wars be
assured. 1t was in difference to
this developing strategy that Rep
resentatlve Halleck, nominating
Willkie, declared that Willkie more
than any one else could be depend
ed upon to keep this country out of
war. This was in plain answer to
the criticism that WILKES views on
foreign relations are too much like
We shall know more about the
probable success Of the peace par.
ty" maneuver when we see how the
Democrats meet the challenge. The
strategy, as shown by the division
IN the Republican Platform Com
mittee and what would have been
the division in the convention IL
the issue had been permitted to
get to the floor, can cut both ways,