Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-22
Willkie Guides Own Campaign
With Little Heed to Advisers
Candidate on Cross.Country Tour, Cuts Loose
From Old Devices and Old
Political Axioms
By Marquis ". Childs.

ABOARD w1LLKIE SPECIAL TRAIN,
Sept. 2l.-Wendell L. Willkie is running
his own campaign in his own way, set
ting his own pace-and strenuous pace
it Is, too-from his private quarters at
the rear of this campaign train. He is
ignoring the old political axioms, scorn-
ing the customary campaign devices and
hitting out in his own fashion.
There are both advantages and disad-
vantages in thus cutting loose from the
past. Mr.. WILKES objective apparently
is to travel fast, unencumbered by the
old political tags and labels, the familiar
hallmarks that he believes people are
now disillusioned with.
His campaign in the course of this
cross country junket has had little rela-
ton to the Republican party. AS no
campaign in recent times, Mr.. Willkie
has made 1t q personal crusade. In the
Southwest, where the candidate spoke
to large crowds. they refer to Willkie
supporters as Willkiecrats. The term
Willkiecrats might we'll supplant Re-
publican in this remarkable presidential
race.
Willkie Still Unpredictable.
Mr.. Willkie has had great deal to
learn about campaign technique. While
he has been learning fast by the hard
way of experience, he is still unpredict-
able. 1t was difficult to believe that the
Willkie whose oratorical punches swung
so wild in Illinois and Iowa was the
same man who extemporized with such
skill and ease before huge crowd at
Tulsa Okla. 1t may be merely that he
has needed experience to gain facility
to acquire, above all, a sense of timing
and a knowledge of when to stop--a
sense of control
Once again President Roosevelt's SILL
perb mastery of campaign technique Is
seen in contrast to the beginning efforts OF
a challenger. -Four years ago ALI Landon
was surrounded by speech writer's, radio
experts, voice coaches. After prolonged
grooming he would approach a battery
of microphones with all the eagerness
of a man on his way to the dentists
chair for extraction of a wisdom tooth.
Mr.. Willkie rushes at the mike with
the zeal of a Notre Dame tackle. He is
inclined to yell into it as though 1t were
the ear trumpet of deaf old lady. He
is carried away with the flow OF his own
oratory, the reaction that he draws
from the crowd. To the intense concern
of his radio advisers he ran Is minutes
over his allotted time at Cofteyvllle.
This was after he had been warned that
his prepared speech was too long.
Promises Many Jobs.
At Tulsa he had the big crowd with
him with a broad, smoothly phrased ap-
peal. Then abruptly. he dropped in ref
erence to two or three specific issues.
You could feel crowd attention drop.
Mr.. Willkie sensed it. Having de-
nounced Government control of agri-
culture, he came back toward a gen.
eral conclusion with this imprisoned
flight of oratory, his hands appraised in
appeal:
Il do not have time to discuss with you
tonight the many ways. but it is so SIM
ple-so simple, Take their heavy hands
of of US! Take the poisonous wither-
ing hands of politics out of our private
lives and our businesses, and this coun-
try will prosper, and the 100000 un-
employed will disappear like mist before
the morning SUM-
From the rear platform of his train
he has cried out to crowds gathered to
hear him:
81 can give you jobs-jobs-jobs-in
private enterprise"
A comparison with Huey Long is not
without some relevance. Mr.. Willkie,
as was true of the Louisiana Kingfish
has obviously a strong belief in his
personal destiny. belief in his luck.
His confidence in victory in November
has not been touched by reports of a
slump in Willkie sentiment and the
downward trend of the polls. Mr.. Will
kie speaks of his campaign as a crusade
and this is no mere oratorical device
with him. He asks audiences to join
him in his crusade.
Has Scorn for Roosevelt.
Mr. Willkie has reai scorn for the
Presidents radio perfection. He was
told in Rushville, Ind, long before the
start of this first campaign swing, that
he would have to work on his voice tech
nique. He replied that he had no in
tention of doing anything about his
voice. That was bit of silly affectation.
He didn't want to be a radio crooner with
a Harvard Tilt. People would know that