The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1942-10-22


now hardly two weeks off, it is unim-
portant whether Democrats or Repub-
llcans are chosen for Congress 50 long
as they are good men who want to win
the war. Coming from Mr. Hopkins,
who used to be our most bitter parti-
SAN holding that no one should be
elected to anything who was not lone
of us" this was notable statement
deserving more attention than it got
#n#
One reason is that Mr.. Hopkins
closeness to the President makes it
reasonable to assume that he reflects
the latter's political views though Mr.
Roosevelt has said nothing personally
along these lines. Aside from his an
nounced support of Mr.. Bennett for
Governor of New York, which was
inevitable, the President has made a
plea to the people to vote. That is all
that reasonably can be expected from
him. An appeal for a Democratic
Congress would be resented by the
voters, as it was during the last war
when made by President Wilson. And
an appeal along the Hopkins lines
would clash with the Democratic
Committees campaign and seem UNI
fair to Democratic candidates who fol-
low the President as the titular party
leader.
~##
Yet, Mr.. Hopkins is undoubtedly
right when he says it makes no diff
ference whether Republicans or Demo
Gratis are chosen so long as they are
good men. One assumes that all candi-
dates want to win the war and since,
prodded by Mr.. Willllie, the Repub-
lican party has now shaken off it's
isOlationist ties and is committed not
only to the Roosevelt foreign policy
but to postwar international cooper
alton, there seems no way by which
the result could give aid or comfort to
the enemy or seem a reputation of
the President
:: = 4:
This is a fortunate thing 1t will en-
able voters to register against the
Presidential rubber stamps and
against both Democrats and Repub-
Leans who have been subservient to
the farm and labor Hobbies without
fear Of damaging the national inter
ests or lessening the power of the
President to conduct successful war
On the contrary the replacement of
such members with men of greater
independence and intelligence ought
to help him in that direction
:
No greater boon could come to the
country now than a Congress that will
resist the demands of pressure groups
for special consideration and insist
upon greater competency upon the
part of Executive. What the nation
needs is a Congress that will uphold
the President on every proposal for
increasing our military might, but
vigilantly press for cessation of
favoritism and New Deal politics,
with which the war management is
saturated-a Congress that will
probe, prod and constantly keep its
finger on the weak spots; that will
expose inefficiently and demand an
end Of the black lists and preiudices
which keep out of the war effort men
who clearly ought to be there. We
have not had that sort of Congress,
but we should have There is no
sense in blindly voting against the in 7
cumbents. And it is less than sensible (
to replace good men with inferior men.
But there never was time when it .
seemed more important for the voters
to discriminate - to satisfy them
selves that the man they vote for is
the best man; to ask themselves
whether the man they support is one
who, without fear, either of the Pres
ident or the pressure groups, will vote
for the national interests as a whole.
= :: 4:
Usually, the average voter does not
take the trouble to make the simple
inquiries necessary to inform himself
as to the character and quality of the
men for whom he is asked to vote. Too
often he does not take the trouble
even to vote. This time, it is more i'm
portant than it has been before. This
time, the average voter ought not
only, as the President has urged, exer-
else his right to vote, but use it. as
Mr.. Hopkins has advised, to elect good
men to Congress, whether Democrat
or Republican. If the alternative to
the sitting member is clearly an i'm
provement in character and independ-
cnce, then the national interests will
be promoted by his election If the i'm
provement is not clear then there is
no point in voting against the sitting
member except in cases where his
record has been such as to make any
change an Improvement.
$3.50.
If the voters approach the election
with this thought in mind, all efforts
to interpret the result as either an
Endorsement or a reputation of the
Administration will be frustrated. At
the moment, the general belief is that
the Republicans will gain number of
seats-not the fifty-two necessary to