Evening star., 1940-06-23
A Lost Chance

yed1 oiilCe prominent Republican
leaders, in specific language or in
effect, were accusing President
Roosevelt of "ballyhooing" the in
ternational situation in an effort to
divert attention from breakdown
OF New Deal domestic policies. In the
spring of 1889 the President was an
tlcipating and warning the Nation
OF the menace to America which
would grow out of totalitarian domi-
nation of Europe. Most Republicans,
together with a bipartisan isola-
ZIONIST group, voiced the belief that
he was wrong, that either he had
misinterpreted the warning signals
which were flying in the Old World
or that he was deliberately misrep-
resenting their significance in an
effort to improve his own political
position
But time has dealt harshly with
short-sighted prophets. 1t is now en-
tirely clear to the great majority of
Americans that the President was
right, his critics wrong. The war
which they said was not going to
materialize is here The menace to
us which the Presidents critics could
not see a year ago-Which, in their
judgment, was so remote even a few
weeks ago that important elements
In Congress were planning to finance
farm parity payments by trimming
the original War and Navy appro-
priation bills-has moved appre-
ciably closer to the Western Hemi-
sphere.
The dissident Republicans and the
isolationists must realize that this is
true, for otherwise they would not
have voted unanimously for vastly
Increased defense appropriations
since Hitler began his devastating
march toward the English Channel.
But, except for their votes on these
defense bills, there has been not the
slightest evidence of a willingness to
acknowledge past errors and to plan
for the future accordingly. On the
contrary, the critics have merely
shifted the direction of their attack
on the President and his foreign
policy, launching new assault that
is more bitter, more harmful and
more fallacious than anything that
has gone before.
Because the President has taken
two such able and distinguished Re-
publicans as Frank Knox and Henry
L. Stimson into his Cabinet, it is
being charged openly that he is an
"interventionist" bent upon dragging
this country into the war. That is
both prepOsterous and dishonest. If
the President were to accuse these
compliments of being pro Hitler"
in their sympathies, he would be far
less unfair than they.
In the convention opening at
Philadelphia tomorrow the Repub-
licans may rectify some of the past
mistakes of individual members This
cannot be accomplished, however, if
the drafters of the party's platform
insist upon ignoring the probable
consequences to us of what is hap
pening in Europe, and set for them
selves no higher goal than the at
traction of votes from whatever
source they may come
Up to this time the Republicans,
individually and as a party, have
had nothing constructive to offer as
an alternative to the Presidents
policy. Those who have disagreed
with Mr.. Roosevelt have been de-
structive in their criticism, but they
have not shown that they have any
worthwhile program of their own, or
even the faintest conception of such
program.
During this coming week the Re-
publican Party will have an oppor-
tunity to take an enlightened and
realistic stand on what Americas at
titude should be toward the world as
1t exists today. Every friend of the
party hopes that this last chance
will not be bungled.