Evening star., 1940-01-09
Text of Roosevelt Talk
President Says Politics Only an
Instrument to Achieve Government

leve government
generals-hundreds of thousands
of men and women-oficers and
privates, foremen and workmen-
have to get a job done. have to
put in day after day of honest,
sincere work in carrying out the
multitudinous functions that the
policymakers in modern democ-
racy assign to administrators in
modern democracy.
People tell me that I hold to
party ties less tenaciously than
most of my predecessors in the
presidency, that l have too many
people In my administration who
are not active party Democrats.
I admit the soft impeachment.
My answer is that I do believe
in party organization, but only
In proportion to its proper place
in government. I believe party
organization-the existence of at
least two effectively opposing
parties-is a sound and necessary
part OF our American system:
and that, effectively organized
nationally and by States and by
localities, parties are good instru-
ments for the purpose of pre-
senting and explaining issues, of
drumming up interest in elections,
and of improving the breed of
candidates for public office.
But the future lies with those
wise political leaders who realize
that the great public is interested
more in Government than in
politics: that the independent
vote in this country has been
steadily on the increase, at least
for the past generation; that vast
numbers of people consider
themselves normally adherents
OF one party and still feel per-
fectly free to vote for one or
more candidates of another
party, come election day, and on
the other hand. sometimes up
hold party principles even when
precinct captains decide ito take
a walk"
The growing independence of
voters, after all, has been proved
by the votes in every Presidential
election since my childhood
and the tendency is on the in
crease. I am too modest. Of
course, to refer to the most recent
example-the election of 1896.
Party regulars who want to win
must hold their allies and sup
porters among those independent
voters.
Some Examples of
Strictly Party Voting.
There are, of course, some citl-
zens--1 hope decreasing num-
ber-with whom find it difficult
to talk nationally on this subject
OF strict party voting. I have in
mind, for example, some Of my
close friends in the South, who
are under the impression that
they would be ostracized in So
clety and in business If it were
to appear publicly that they had
ever voted for Republican. I
also have in mind some very
close friends in northern villages
who tell me, quite frankly. that
though they would give anything
to be able to vote for me. a
Democrat, it would hurt their in
f1uence and their social position
in their own home town.
I have in mind the predicament
OF one of the ablest editors of
today, who some time ago said
to me, very frankly:
Il am really in complete
sympathy with your program,
but cannot say so publicly be-
cause, Mr. President, the read
ers and advertisers of my
paper are 80 per cent Repub-
hcans and simply cannot
afford to change its unalter-
able policy of traditional op-
position to anything and
everything that comes from
Democratic sources. OF course,
you understand"
Millions of unnecessary words
and explanations and solemn
comments are uttered and writ
ten, year after year. about the
great men of American history
with ample quotations-to prove
what Jefferson or Hamilton,
Jackson or Clay, Lincoln or Doug
las. Cleveland or Blaine, Theo-
dore Roosevelt or Bryan would
have said or would have done
about some specific modern prob
lens of government if they were
alive today. The purpose OF all
these comments is either to in
duce the party leaders of today
blinoly to follow the words of
leaders of yesterday; or to justify
public acts or policies of today
by the utterances of the past,
often tortured out of context. The
devil can quote past statesmen as
we'll as Scripture, to prove his
purpose.
Most. Not on Firing Line,
Attach Importance to Motives.
But most people, who are not
on the actual firing line of the
moment, have come to attach
major Importance only to the
motives behind the leaders of
the past. To them it matters,
on the whole, very little what
party label American statesmen
bore, or what mistakes they made
in smaller things, so long as they
did the big job that their times
demanded be done.
Alexander Hamilton is hero
to me in spite of his position that
the Nation would be safer if our
leaders were chosen exclusively
from persons of higher education
and of substantial property
ownership; he is a hero because
he did the job which then had to
be done-to bring stability out of
a chaos of currency and banking
difficulties.
Thomas Jefferson is a hero to
me deSDite the fart that the