Evening star., 1941-07-29
Campaign Statements

has taken to implement 1t, have
sought to bolster their case by keep
ing before the public certain state
ments made by Mr.. Roosevelt during
the last presidential campaign.
OF these statements. or pledges as
they frequently are called, two have
been given wide currency. One OF
them. written into the Democratic
platform and indorsed by the Presl-
dent last September, follows: I'VE
will not participate in foreign wars.
and we. will not send our Army, naval
or air forces to fight in foreign lands
outside the Americas, except in case
of attack" The other is taken from
the Presidents Boston speech during
october. in which he said: Il have
said this before, but I shall say it
again and again. Your boys are not
going to be sent into any foreign
wars"
1t might be argued that the Presi-
dent. in using the term foreign
wars. was reServing the right to
exclude from that category the war
between Britain and the Axis. Ger
tainly, our attitude toward that war
and particularly cur pledge of all
out" aid to Britain on the assumption
that her victory is essential to
American security, would give
certain validity to contention that
this is our war, not foreign"
war. But there also can be no
reasonable doubt that the majority
of the people did not understand the
President to be making such a dis
tinction. When he used the term
foreign" war the people undoubted-
" believed he was talking about the
war then under way in Europe, and,
so far as today's realities are con-
cerned, it may be conceded that their
understanding was correct.
That being the case, it would be
idle to deny that these campaign
assurances are handicapping the
President now. In fairness to him 1t
should be remembered that he was
being accused at the time by his
political opponents of trying to lead
the country into war" but, even so,
his position would be better today If
the assurances had not been given,
or if they had been plainly qualified.
Fundamentally, however, this issue
of the campaign statements is
artificial. 1t furnishes the isola-
tionists with effective ammunition,
but it has little if any bearing on
the question of whether the things
the President has done-as dis
tinguished from the things his
opponents said he was doing-have
been good or bad for the United
States.
1t might be pointed out in this
connection that the President year
ago said the defense program was
going to be superimposed on our
existing industrial Establishment. 1t
has proved impossible to do that, but
none of his opponents is accusing
Mr.. Roosevelt of bad faith en- that
score. And they are not doing so,
obviously enough, because the ma
tional interest would have been
harmed rather than helped if the
President had not abandoned that
assurance.
But this, surely, is a curious situa-
tion. In the one case, of necessity,
the President has abandoned a
promise and no point is made of it.
In the other, he has kept his promise
for we are not fighting in any
foreign war-and yet he is haraSsed
at every turn by those who vocifer-
ously proclaim that he is violating
or is going to violate his other
pledges to the people
The net result of this extraordinary
campaign has been to impair public
confidence in the President, despite
the fact that the things he actually
has done-again to be distinguished
from what his opponents said he was
doing-have been in the national
interest and have received the over
whelming Endorsement of public
opinion.
There can be no reasonable doubt
that everything the President has
done has contributed to the
strengthening of our national de-
fense. Nor can it reasonably be
doubted. that he must continue to
take defensive. or even offensive
defensive, steps in the future. That
these measures may result in wal
cannot be denied. But the same thing
would be true-and probably more
so-of a do-nothing policy on his
part.
It should be recognized that the
President. by force of circumstances
beyond his control. is obliged to dea
with a fluid and highly dangerous
international situation. For two
years he has kept this country ou
OF war, and to accuse him Of
deliberately seeking to involve the
United States in war Is not only
patiently false but exceedingly harm