The Wilmington morning star., 1940-07-15

DAYBOOK

dXNAI July 13'-A
figure out yet when people sleep during poiti-
cal conventions. Decent and respectable folk
20 home and to bed, leaving the city somewhat
freer and easier to get around in, but the con-
vention gang carries on. They must work IN
shifts. because no sooner are the hotel 1obbies
cleared Of nightowls than the morning crowds
come on. In the bars, it is impossible to tell
who is having a nightcap and who an eye
opener. In the restaurants, you can't even
guess by the food who's having a bedtime
snack or who's eating breakfast.
And always, the conversation is as thick as a
pea-souper. But if you listen long enough and
hard enough, you'll get enough choice bits to
set even the foggiest mind racing down paths
of possibilities.
THEY'LL BE IN THE AIR
For instance, around the table at one of these
midnight snack-early breakfast tables the 9TH
er morning, it came out that the presidential
race probably will be one of the fyingest cam
paigns on record.
The reasoning was something like this: Wen
dell L.. Willkie already has demonstrated that
he believes in carrying the G.. o. P. banner
above the clouds. In his pre-convention cam
paign, he made hay in his whirlwind 48-day
campaign mostly by harvesting his crop of
personal appearances with airplane propel-
lers. He recently flew from New York to
Washington for the big republican %conclave
out of which came the naming of Rep. Joe
W.. Martin as campaign manager and perm
anent chairman of the national committee.
He few from there to his vacation in Colo
RADIO. In other words, there's no doubt about
Willkie. He'll do an air campaign from the
moment he unleashes until the polls open No
vember S.
~ H. >xL.~ 49, e IL L.
President Roosevelt. For something over eight
years, he has been the hod-carrier of the Dem
ocratic campaigns. Not even his worst enemy
would refuse to concede that he's one our
ablest campaigners and not even his dearest
friends would contend that Democratic con.
~stituents don't care about the intimacy Of see
ing F. D. r.. and, after a fashion, discussing
the situation with him personally. The radio
is great, but it doesn't take the place of the old
stump when it comes to reaching down into
hearts of the people and pulling out votes.
But what is Roosevelt's' predicament? He's
tied to the big chair behind the gadget-strewn
desk in his oval-domed Office. On the speed
and efficiency of the defense program depends
not only our state Of preparedness for ''any
contingency" but a lot of November votes as
well. If the preparedness campaign boys
down, so does the New Deal. How, then, can
the President turn his back on Washington for
tnOSe long swings around the country, cam
paigning to keep the dominant Democratic
theology going for another four years?
He can't do it often, he might do it once.
The only other answer is a series of quick
thrusts by air into enemy territory a little
dive bombing from the capital base and back
again before the ink is dry on his last order.
ANOTHER PRECEDENT GONE?
If Roosevelt should. it was pointed out. it will
be another Observation-Disclosures, just like his
flying to Chicago to accept his nomination on
the convention floor in 1882. Besides, for as
many years as there have been airplanes,
there has been an ironclad understanding
against a Presidents taking the airways.
But times have changed. The heads of 9TH
er nations have been flying all over the place
in recent years. Hitler flies, Mussolini even
pilots his own plane. Chamberlain and Church
i'll lately have done more travel by air than
any other way. Daladier, Reynaud, Weygand
and a haf-dozen others all have taken wing
when necessary.
Add to that the fact that Roosevelt is the
most air-minded President we have had and
that he is eager for the whole country to be
air-minded and you have a lot of reasons why
he might try to match Willkie in an air blitz-
krieg. !