The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1940-10-31
CIV Staff Writer)

all domestic issues, even that OF
third term for the President, the
major issue upon which the PEG
pie of the United States will vote
next Tuesday is that OF America
participation in the war
AS Washington sees it, the cleo
ton of Mr.. Roosevelt is most ap
to tend toward early and active
entry into the war by the unltee
States. Mr.. Willkie has given MI
pledge that if elected he will no
lead the nation into war, but VIII
do everything in his power tt
give aid to Great Britain, snor'
of actual fighting.
The difference between the two
points of view is one of persona!
temperament., Mr.. Roosevelt mas
already gone long way TOWARD
helping the British resist the
Nazi blitzkrieg. Mr.. Willkle has
criticized him for not going tar
enough or fast enough in that d.
rection, While the Republican
candidate has not said so IN SO
many words his attitude reflects
a widely-held opinion among
Washington observers. That opln-
ion is that Mr.. Roosevelt wants
to take this nation all the way
into what the wisecrackers call
q "shootin' war" against not only
Germany and Italy but also jap
an.
lust how far the belief mas
snread that Mr.. Roosevelt's re-
election would be more likely 10
take the country into war than
would a victory for Mr.. Wlllkle
nobody can be sure, but reports
coming into Washington from all
narts of the country indicate an
increasing popular confidence IN
Mr. Wilkes intentions ana
ability for preserving peace.
Pronounced OpS"A6
Even among the Democratic
party strategists there is recog.
milton of a sharp up-curve OF
Willkie sentiment in most OF the
critical states, in this last week
of the campaign. This upswlng IS
so pronounced that it has Lea
some of the most able polltlcal
forecasters to begin to talk ABOUT
nossible Landslide" for Wlllkle.
That is passed on for what II
NAV be worth, but it comes from
Emil Hurja, who was the status
tician and forecaster of the DEM
ocratic National Committee IN
1892 and 1886, and whose predlc-
tions of the results in those two
campaigns were precisely lOO%0
accurate. Mr.. Hurja now has no
political or party connection OF
anv kind but is the independent
publisher of a weekly news ma
gazine. And in that connection
he has made the same sort OF m
tensive survey of the election out
look that he made for Chairman
Farley of the previous two cleo
tons.
It would be going far beyond
the facts to say that the election
is in the bag for either MIR. Will
kie or Mr.. Roosevelt. This Is the
sort of a campaign in which any
thing can happen, and it is en-
tirely possible that some last MIN
ute development may. change the
whole picture Indeed, there have
been mysterious hints carefully
planted among the newspaper
correspondents, by gentlemen
who often speak for the White
House, that the President has
something up his sleeve which
will be sprung at the last min
ute and which will change the
whole election outlook. The hints
seem to indicate possible interna-
tional development, a suggestion
which is strengthened by the
coincidence that the British Am
bassador to the United States
Lord Lothian, suddenly decided
to fly back to England just al
the time that the American Am,
bassador to. Great Britain, Mr.
Joseph Kennedy, decided to fly
back to Washington.
Help for Britain Certain
Putting these two facts and the
Presidents previous actions ir
lending aid to Britain into one
package, some of the shrewdesr
guessers in Washington wonder
whether there is not some dea
afoot which would amount to ar
actual alliance with Great Bri
tain.
The one thing upon which prac
tically the whole nation seems tt
be agreed is that the safety o
the United States from European
aggression still depends in thu
first instance upon Britain
strength as our first line of de
tense, and the integrity of thu