Evening star., 1940-09-29

completing q cross-country tour that
has taken him nearly 10000 miles, Wen
dell l.. willikie is just now about to be-
gin his real campaign in territory in
which the presidential election will be
lost or won.
He has been travelling and speaking tn
the wide-open spaces Of the West, where
there are few electoral votes and Demo-
cratic strength Is admittedly difncult or
impossible to break. On Monday he be-
gins his invasion of Michigan and Ohio,
two States he must carry If he is to win:
and from Ohio he goes into Pennsyl-
vania, New York State and New England,
where Republican fervor must be aroused.
To Judge Mr.. WILKES chances of cleo
ton on the basis of his Western tour
would obviously be unfair. In a sense,
1t has been test hight. in which, by
trial and error, the candidate has i'm
proved his campaign technique. On the
other hand, the election is only five
weeks of, and undeniably Mr.. Willkie
enters the East with certain definite
handicaps.
propagandists for the opposition write
OF Republican chances of victory at this
date. This is not an ordinary election
year. The third-term issue may have
far more weight than is reflected in any
of the polls which show a pronounced
trend against the G. o. P.
Biggest Issue Ruled Out.
In this crucial year of 1940 there may
be q reservoir Of resentment against the
New Deal, against the ms who have been
in for eight years. Precedents can be
summoned up. Political leaders in 1882
failed to realize how widespread was the
revolt against prohibition. At the very
time the conventions were adopting
pussyfoot planks, the people were ready
to vote repeal.
Although no final judgments are pcs
sible, Mr.. WILKES Western swing does
give a certain perspective on the whole
campaign. both what is past and what
is still to come in the last crowded weeks
An appraisal can be made on three
phases: Issues, political organization
and personality.
So far as issues are concerned, Mr..
Willkie is under handicap in that the
matter of most immediate concern to all
Americans-the war in Europe and what
part this country shall take in it-has
been ruled out Of the campaign. The
Republican candidate did this deliber-
ately, and, in his belief, from the highest
patriotic motives. There was also the
fact that, in the light of past statements,
he could not very we'll have campaigned
convincingly on a non-interventlonlst
line. His views on aid to Britain are
nearly identical with those held by
President Roosevelt.
War News Aids Roosevelt.
While there is no division over the
war, 1t is Mr.. Roosevelt who benefits
most from the headlines that tell of
Britain's struggle and the steps America
is taking In aid of the British. No one
knows this better than Mr.. Willkie. 1t
is, in fact, his explanation of the trend
shown by the polls. Persons close to
Mr.. Willkie believe he will be elected
unless the situation in Europe continues
critical with the prospect of British de-
feat. If the situation remains as 1t is
now, or if 1t worsens, then, they frankly
concede, Mr.. Roosevelt will ride in on
the crisis.
Thus far on domestic issues Mr.. WILL
kie has developed little real difference
with President Roosevelt He is for vir-
tually all of the New Deal reforms, ap-
parently without reservation beyond the
suggestion that a Republican admins
tration would be more efficient than that
of the Democrats. He has attacked New
Deal spending, but at number of points
he promised continuation of power and
water projects, as we'll as pledging him.
self to continue relief.
There is another issue Mr.. Willkie has
emphasized-that he, as a businessman,
is far more capable of rearming the Ma
ton than Mr.. Roosevelt. But perhaps
his major issue, the one he hammers
away on at every stop, is the third term.
He holds up the threat of dictatorship,
ranging Mr. Roosevelt alongside Adolf
Hitler and Joseph Stain. He invokes
the Founding Fathers. Thomas Jeffer-
son and George Washington. He tells
his audiences that the American way
of life is menaced"
When 1t comes to political organiza-
ton, the Democrats, the party with
power and patronage, have it all over
the Republicans. This is particularly
true in the cities. Boss Hague of New
Jersey, Boss Kelly of Illinois, Boss Crump