Evening star., 1942-09-08
By SAMUEL GRAFTON.

President Roosevelts weakness
for the bright idea was never more
in evidence than when he popped
out at press conference with a plan
for sending postwar tourists from all
over the Western Hemisphere to
Spain. This was bait for Franco.
If he would stay neutral (what
heavy winkD then, after the war,
he would have tourists.
1t did not seem to cross the Presi-
dents mind that thus, inadvertently,
he had conceded the possibility of
postwar world with Franco still in
it, with Fascism still installed in
Spain.
What hurts about this proposal
to win the four freedoms by going
into the tourist business is the lack
of punch revealed in it. 1t was like
that other bright idea of summon
ing the Supreme Court into stately
session to consider the fate of eight
Nazi saboteurs; that had it's orna-
mental aspect, too, but when you
were all through with it there had
been exposed a certain absence of
bite.
Somehow, deep in our hearts, we
felt that that was not what you do
with saboteurs, Just as somehow we
must have the feeling that tourists
are not quite the answer to Franco.
Nor is sending supplies to French
North Africa quite the answer to
Laval. That is the way you behave
when you do not have an army.
Then you sit in your room, and
slow smile crosses the lips, and you
decide, cleverly, to buy the bad
man off. 1t is plan without punch,
suitable to a nation without punch:
when one is, unfortunately not
lion, but a fox, one needs bright
ideas in order to live.
Exquisitely Simple.
Do we really need bright ideas?
The problems which stand in the
way of our victory are humdrum
problems, simple and even boring.
We have to free India. Even an
ungifted statesman could do that, if
he wanted to. No need to rap
knuckles against forehead and pray
for an inspiration. The cleverest
man in the world would have to
agree with the stupidest that when
great democratic leader like Nehru
is in jail during war for democ-
racy, the exquisitely simple solution
is to open the door and let him out.
But If we land I insist we are as
close to the Indian situation as are
our Allies, the British don't let
Nehru out, then we must send Mr..
Willkie to the Middle East to tell the
natives of our love for them and
their freedom. That is the bright
idea, again, in action. If we were
actually freeing peoples, we wouldn't
have to send messengers to talk
about it, Mr.. Nehru would tell them,
. in our name.
All the really big creative jobs of
this war could be done in mental
overalls, on an eight-hour day, by
any moderately able person. How
smart do we have TO be to say that
we are going to give enough sound
war jobs to Negroes to make them
part of our national life, or that
we are going to stop every unessen-
tial car on the roads, and save
gasoline and tires?
The dullest man in America could
do it. Quite obviously, we are wait
ing for bright ideas in these fields,
while we watch the wheels go round.
on the roads, and in the heads of
discontented men.
Just Days Work.
There never was a time when
right action was more obvious and
inspiration less necessary. A nation
with four million men under arms
could, If worried about Franco, let
him smell hairy American fist, and
then hear him promise, aggitat-
edly, to send us tourists.
Or it could inform M. Laval that.
under certain circumstances, "unoc-
! cupied" France might no longer be