Evening star., 1943-08-02

concerning the David Lawrence.
White House. 1t suggests the posi-
hility that the occupants of the
Executive Mansion live in a vacuum
and neither read what is said about
them nor allow the currents of criti-
cism to come to them through those
who are called advisers"
The President must know, if he
pauses to think about it, that the
newspapers recently have had many
reference to his fourth term candi-
dacy and that most of these refer
ences have come from his own
friends and political supporters.
The President doubtless knows, If
he cares to recall it, that each one
of his campaigns since he has been
In the White House has been pre-
ceded by what he chose to call non
political" speeches or trips and that
the only people who did not notice
the odd coincidence that these
speeches treated of political mat
ters or that they happen to be de-
livered in what used to be called
pivotal" States where the persons
In the New Deal with a blind spot
on the subject of the use of public
power to advance ones ambition.
Draft" Engineered.
For more than year prior to
July, 1910, the President gave the
impression that he had no desire
for or interest in third term and
his supporters talked about a
GRAFT" which usually means a
spontaneous demand and not a cam
paign engineered by officeholders
who stand to benefit by the re-elec-
ton of an incumbent administra-
ton.
To this day the President and his
associates insist that he was draft
ed" at Chicago in 1910 and yet
most everybody who attended the
National Democratic Convention
that year and saw Harry Hopkins
handle the delegates and heard
some of Mayor Kelly's men operate
the megaphones came away with
the impression that the whole thing
was hardly spontaneous.
When Mr.. Roosevelt. therefore,
uses momentous occasion in war
time to make radio speech in
which he weaves in the subsidies
and compensations that are to be
given to the returning soldiers, 1t
certainly does make citizens wonder
whether the fourth term draft"
campaign hasn't already begun.
Could Have Waited.
The President could, of course,
have waited for the non-partisan
commission which is studying the
problem of rehabilitation to make
its own report public or he could
have waited until Congress recon-
vened in September to submit his
recommendations all this has
to be acted on by Congress anyway
but the President didn't. He put it
into speech which the Nation ex-
pected to be devoted to the critical
international situation brought
about by the sudden elimination OF
Mussolini.
If the Presidents friends do not
see the politics in that kind of
performance they must indeed
themselves believe the Hopkins aph-
orism OF a few years ago, mainly
that the people are too d-n dumb
to understand anyway"
Mr.. Roosevelt can be renominateG
In 1914 by his party If the war is
still on and he will not need any
self-propelled draft" movement.
Likewise. he can go to the country
on his war record and stand bet
ter chance of winning If he doesn't
resort to the tricks of politics which
for SO many years now have con-
sisted to no small extent of giving
away other peoples money.
One Explanation.
There can be only one explana-
tion for the Presidents mistake in
judgment in his recent speech-he
is evidently surrounded by yes
men and he shuts himself off from
the very criticism that should be
helpful to him and constructive in
wartime
The cause Of democracy and good
government and disinterested pub
lie services is injured far more than
Mr.. Roosevelts political career by
such blunder as he made in last
weeks radio speech. In wartime,
especially, it is of the utmost i'm
portance that the people have the
highest confidence and faith in the
Commander in Chief of the Army
and Navy" but it is rather difficult
for them to salute a Commander
in-Chief one minute and the same
man as party politician the next.
The public would rather have him
remain Commander in Chief all
the time and let his admirers-most
of whom are hardly inarticulate-
ID