The Wilmington morning star., 1943-11-07
BY WEsTROOK PEGLER

NEW York; am trying to imagine our
situation in the early months, at least, of
1915 if President Roosevelt should not be re-
elected for a fourth term and an opponent
not successor belonging to his own party,
should move into the White House To hear
them tell it, the New Deal people believe this
would be terribly disruptive development
as it certainly would be in the personal lives
and fortunes of most of them. Some of them
also sincerely think the period of change
would be a season OF serious faltering and
would cost casualties on all the fronts and
stretch the war by some immeasurable time.
These arguments, however, would have been
presented in all their fearsomeness in the
campaign and, assuming that an opponent
and not political apostle of the President
is elected, we have to accept the change as
the studied and deliberate decision of the
ma jority Of the accessible voters.
I think we may brush off the possibility
that the successor would be either General
Marshall or General Macarthur. General Mar
shall is an unavailable ideal and Macarthur
would have to pull out of the war at the front
to come home and campaign and that would
kill him off politically.
The two outstanding possibilities are Wen
dell Willkie and Tom Dewey, and if anyone
defeats President Roosevelt or his choice for
the democratic nomination, one of these prob
dDly Will ne ulS IlldlI.
In any case, the new President would be
bound to go on with the war because the
country is so deeply committed that he
couldn't be elected on any platform of nego-
tiation or compromise. Willkie would be pref
ty sure to adopt the Presidents foreign and
peace policy in general terms. Dewey, being
very demure at this stage of the game, has
not had to say what sort of peace he would
stand for, but cooperation in the world would
be obligatory because by then his country
will be so deeply involved that isolated ma
tionalsm will be out Of the question. How
ever think either one would soft pedal.
and allow the world gradually to forget, the
Atlantic Charter and the four freedoms be-
cause they are personal political slogans OF
Mr.. Roosevelt.
At home though, in Washington there
would be great commotion. The new man
would move in with his own Jim Farley to
throw the rascals out and there would then
ensue such an exodus as the country mas
never seen before. Economists ana senless
anonymities and nonentitieS, actuares and
LAWYERS. professors and bleeding hearts, house
pets, press agents and information specialists
would 20 down the road in CROWDS and there
would be a clean sweep at the Treasury, and
in the Department Of Justice, ana hundreds
Of bureaus that most of us never even heard
of where communists and their IKE nave peen
o,1ietlv tucked aWay for all these years. l
can see white smoke coming from the CHM
news along toward the first Of the year as
the Labor Relations Board burns It's old con-
fidental files and trucks bound Tor the pulp
works with the records OF Arthurdale and
other expensive personal folbles OF the be-
nign but mighty and determined.
Soon of course others would move in be-
hind th lem and. in Wilkes case, they would
be just new faces and personalities, not much
different in the economic and social theories
from those whom they olsplaceo, 1or Mr.
Willkie does not differ greatly from Mr.
Roosevelt in such matters. DeWey's people
would be more on the efficient and practical
side. and I can see him making lunge for
the files to make them safe Tor study for
material to he used in future campaigns when
ever old New Dealers might raise their heads
in the elections.
whether it were Willkie or Dewey, the
change would be great and stimulating, for
thousands of barnacles and bitter misanth-
rones grown arrogant over the years as
their feeling of power grew, would be thrown
VIZ .hr,,r+7v II not bodily. This certainly
would cause some dislocation and interrupt
con+;n,,itv in many offices, but that it would
;sa-,ada Tho war effort 1 cannot agree. On the
ao,a+rarv # would eliminate waste and i'm
,,ed;,,, eot and assuming that the people had
p,sata5 ~, onnonent of the New Deal, I be-
~ ,,e,71d have this purpose and pic
n , ~: $3.50 snd would rejoice and pitch
! ~: -. +han ever to win back the United
! States.