Evening star., 1943-05-30
First in War

FIRST IN war
Fortune magazine has caused
survey to be made of the chief polit-
ical issues, national and interna-
tional, which confront the American
people-or will confront them. First
place in the survey is given. to the
presidential election of 1914, still
more than seventeen months in the
future. If the people were voting
today, according to the survey, 64.8
per cent of the people would support
President Roosevelt for reelection
and will do so in November, 1914, If
the war is still on.
However, 59.2 per cent of the people
would oppose fourth term for the
President If the war is over by elec-
ton day. In other words, always
supposing the survey is correct test
OF public sentiment, the people dis
tinguish between Roosevelt as leader
in war and Roosevelt as a leader in
peace. A considerable majority would
oppose him as Chief Executive once
the war has been won. In some
measure this must indicate distaste
for the New Deal as it has more lately
developed. The rules and regulations
which have been imposed on the
people-which in the early days of
the New Deal struck principally at
business and it's executiveS-are now
felt by all the people as result of
the war. They do not relish being
told what to do.
No one knows precisely what the
situation will be six months, a year
or seventeen months from now. Gen.
orally it is presumed the war will still
be with us. That is the view of a
majority of the persons quizzed by
the concern which made this survey
for Fortune. No one knows what the
economic situation in this country
will be year from now, nor how it
will affect the votes of the people
next year. A real shortage of food,
for example, might have very great
effect on the voters Or if it appeared
that the war was not going well for
this country there might be differ
ent attitude toward the present Com
mander in Chief.
The survey also shows that there
has been a change toward this
country's position in world affairs.
A very large majority of the people
now believe that the United States
should play a larger part in world
affairs than it did before the war.
Indeed, 1855 per cent take this view.
In December, 1941, just before Pearl
Harbor 58.4, in a similar survey by
Fortune, favored greater activity by
this country in world affairs.
The difficulty, however, in this
kind of question lies in the fact that
there has been no definition of what
a Larger part in world affairs" really
means. Until concrete proposal is
advanced, therefore, it will be diff
flcult to measure sentiment with
exactness. 1t is encouraging, on the
other hand, to find a growing belief
that this country must not, for its
own sake, turn its back on world
affairs and seek to withdraw into its
own shell after the war has been won.
Fortunes survey touches upon the
attitude OF Americans toward Rus
sia, our ally, and toward Germany,
our enemy Eighty per cent of the
people, it figures, favor working with
Russia as an equal in fighting the
war. A similar percentage holds
that we should work with Russia as
an equal partner in working out the
peace.
When it comes to dealing with
Germany after the war, the views are
various. The largest group-36.9 per
cent-favor setting up United Ma
tlons Council to rule Germany for ten
years, and eventually to see to it that
she operates as democracy. Thirty
one per cent support a proposal to
execute all leading Nazi officials. But
only 81 per cent would kill Nazi for
every pesron killed by Germans in
occupied countries. In general, the
American people, again if the survey
is a correct estimate of sentiment, do
not seek a vindictive settlement of
the war with Germany. But they
intend to see to it that Germany shall
not rise again to hurl the world into
mad conflict-as she has twice with
In quarter Of a century.
Every once in while some of us