Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-11-06
Vote Reflects
Public Slap
At Reforms
Farmer, Worker United
Against Democrats
BY PAUL MALL0N

M ASH AA''S w. .N
w Democratic cong rcssmen
were slightly dazed in their first
comment on the election result.
All they could mutter, as the
final returns came IN, was:
1T looks like some one kicked
us In the teeth"
One ousted member attributed
his defeat solely TO the 1873
year-old draft. Another says he
crawled through by promising
eight gallons of gas on each
ration coupon.
More typical Of the general
run. however, was the defeated
Missouri member from q farm
district. who was a sure IS to l
shot 10 win before the votes
were counted. lie did not know
what happened to him.
The successful Republican can
didateS generally said In their
public statements that their sue
cess WAS a popular demand 10
get on better and faster with
the war effort.
I BELIEVE the explanation
runs deeper than that. My
mail furnished an advance warn
ing of what was coming. and the
reasons for il. There is a popu-
lar revolt in this country against
methods that have been fol-
lowed.
1t is a reYulsion not only
against war methods, but re-
form methods. 1t is an express
sion OF feeling that pervades,
not only the small business men
and the conservative element,
those who, together. might be
called the Willkie vote of the
last election. the anti-New Deal
vote of 1910.
This one goes further-down
into the middle class groups
everywhere, and has spread
widely into the ranks of farmer
and worker.
These people are not turning
conservative" as the radicals
say, They do not want to aban-
don the gains that have been
made in social progress, but they
have reached the point where
they want these gains made
practical.
They want this reform wave
settled to a workable basis
which will consolidate and per-
petuate the gains. rather than
have il blown up further and
further into ever new heights.
They just want some common
sense about il. They want prac-
tical methods.
LIVERY man in this country,
H Furthermore. has been hit
hard by this war in many ways,
but Washington does not recog-
nize il. Some have lost their
businesses. All remaining busi-
nesses have lost their help and
are struggling to keep going.
Most of their businesses have
been made Improbable by tre-
mendous taxation.
All individuals at home are
suffering sacrifices of their
friends and relatives TO the serv-
ice. but, on top Of that, they are
sacrificing themselves in many
ways. in changed modes of liv-
ing. food, work, transportation,
hours.
have heard no one begrudge
these sacrifices, but their plant
and plea is for better admins
tration over them. They want
kindly direction. not arbitrary
and unexplained admonitions.
They must line up every few
weeks in a different rationing
for this and that, haggle and
scrape for gas. sugar. coffee,
meat. They see themselves that
administration is not efficient in
the way il is handling them.
They want better methods in
this respect also.
THEY will get them, are get
Il ting them. AS one wise
Democratic leader said when he
saw the returns:
, "Now we have some one look
Ing over our shoulder"
The election result. therefore,
cannot be anything but con-
structive in the war effort.
Democratic congressman who
survived are going 10 the
White House for some changes
in methods of handling them
also. They are saying FDR has
failed TO consult them, although
they have their ears closer 10
the ground than Leon Hender-
son. Ben Cohen. Frankfurter,
Hopkins. TWO or three good
Roosevelt friends are saying
this out loud in the corridors.
They think also Mr.. Roose-
yelt'S advisers represent a
wholly union labor or extreme
liberal viewpoint. 10 the eXclu-
sion OF the interests Of other
factions, Some southern Demo-
Gratis call his administration