The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-05-29
FROM EDITORIAL COLUMNS
Dividing Americas Progressiyes

Dividing Americas Progressives
The frantic effort of certain groups to award
themselves exclusive monopoly liberalism progressvsm
and patriotism because they favored involvement before
Pearl Harbor producing astounding results Perhaps
the most fantastic result of all available for public nspec
ton last week when the welmeanng but confused New Re-
public and Union for Democratic Action released their
gressonal roll CALL
It's sponsors hope that the roll call will guide
for American liberals when they vote for senators and
gressmen the fall confusing contradictory
that it's value to progressive virtually nil
Here and there the roll call expose enemy
of democracy and but these almost lost
in jungle of distortion Nowhere in the harsh language
hurled at the 18th Congress there recognition of the
that President Roosevelt everything he asked for the
field of policy the fact that of the shortages
and since Pearl Harbor be traced to admnr
tive rather than legislative failures that has passed
administration bill with record speed
December z.
Based On A False Premise
Contradictions the roll understandable because
the whole idea based the faacous premise that inter
ventionm and liberalism synonymous So muddled is the
result of the poll that it's found to de-
in separate section of the most vicious Tories
who managed to high in the roll call ITSELF
The New Republic and the UDA took 10 measures in the
field of foreign policy and 10 in the field of domestic action
recorded the votes of the 435 and the 80
for reelection this and called liberals elect
defeat lawmakers the basis of how they voted these 20
proposals.
This scrambng of foreign and domestic issues turns up
results of the southern Bourbons who
knitted the New Deal in the back whenever they couldhch
pretty ofen-and the errand boys
and Hague machines with better records than do
of the liberals and of the north and
northwest.
The reasons are obvious enough Many of the votes to
support the administrators foreign policy from machine
congressman collected patronage Natur
ally they rate high in the foreign policy section of the roll call
Many other votes from southern and northern Tories
mostly the formerwho figured that whoopng for the
-Four Freedoms for the rest of the world would lessen the
for action the home front Naturally they rate
high in the foreign policy section of the roll CALL That there
genuine liberals who voted for nervenionst
because they sincerely believed in them without saying
but they constituted tiny fraction of the total for
vovement in war.
Re-elect MIR. Hyde, Defeat Dr. JekyII
The roll call itself makes the point better than
the Georgia. The 10 congressman
from that state cast only three total of 80
votes foreign policy according to the New Republic but
hey wrong 38 times on domestic issues
The of Virginia garing That state has
believe that they practically perfect liberals in foreign pol
because they right 80 of possible 80 times These
however, reaconares in the field of
ocy because they 46 out of possible SO times
the of Virginia reelect Mr. Hyde and leave
ekyll at home is not made clear
But them maybe being Maybe not
opposed to look at the foreign and domestic records separately
Maybe the sponsors want you to swallow the product
Whole sort of strike between the votes foreign
md domestic issues Let's try in few and what
appens
Three of the most violent critics everything progressive
Cox Smith, and Dies turn out to be liberals
Vsconsins three Progressves in congress- Reps Sauhof
Iu and Gehrmann according to the roll CALL Not only
er, mind you but 100 per cent better!
Senator Ball of Minnesota, who started introducing
abor legislation he got his bag unpacked Wash
ngon with much better average than George
Norris of the great liberal leaders in American hstory
Rep Thomas Eliot who has the applause all lib
for his of the Dies committee
pretty good grade but nowhere good one the
oil call gives Rep Michael Kennedy the leader Tam
lany Hail. !
Ialf Tory and Half Liberal u
Rep John Tolan whose superb investigation migratory
bor and related subjects has praise from genuinely
rogressve gets measy 588 batting average COM
AIRED with .684 for Cox TIT for Vnson 666 Dies
Rep Thad Waseewsk who held Wisconsin Pro-
example of what real liberal be- gets
500 from the New Republic because so IL
light foreign policy The fact is too, that he wrong
of possible five times domestic because he
habit of taking his from the vcousy reactonary Mil