Evening star., 1944-07-21
Services Plank Called
Democratic BIunder
Credit for the Army and Navy
Belongs to No Party.
By David Laurence 9

CHICAGO, July 21.-The Democrats
have adopted q platform which has in
1t one Of the most stupid blunders that
q political party could make-a partisan
claim that the greatness Of our Army.
Navy and Air Forces is an achievement
OF the Democratic party.
Back IN 1918. the Democrats made q
similar mistake and took unto them
selves undue credit for the fighting Of
the war and the claim became q political
boomerang. 1t was resented from coast
to coast. Today the Democrats with
similar short-sightedness have ignored
the Republicans in Congress who voted
almost unanimously for the Army and
Navy appropriations. They have ignored
the Republicans who, as workers, or
managers, have contributed to the war
effort and ignored the fact that Amer
lean citizens, irrespective of party, have
contributed their dollars to the upbuild-
ing Of our Army. Navy and Air Forces.
Plank Is Quoted.
The platform plank which for sheer
edrontery surpasses anything Of a par
tisan nature that has arisen in the con-
duct of the war reads as follows:
Before war came the Democratic ad-
ministration awakened the Nation in
time to the dangers that threatened
Its very existence.
1T succeeded in building, in time. the
best trained and equipped Army in the
world, the most powerful Navy in the
world, the greatest Air Force in the
world, and the largest merchant marine
in the world"
Are our Air Forces, Our Navy, our
Army, Our merchant marine merely
instruments Of the Democratic party
achievements of political administra.
ton? Or are these the joint product of
all Americans, inside and outside the
Government, who have sacrificed much
10 carry the American flag to the four
corners of the earth?
The partisanship of the Republican
convention was bad enough. but the
partisanship of the Democratic conven-
ton beats all records 1t would not be
surprising If voters everywhere, both
Democratic and Republican, resented
the palpable attempt to drag the Army,
navy and Air Forces into politics and
to attribute their war record to the
enorts OF a partisan political admins
tratlon. The building up of our mill
tary forces, especially after war broke
out, Is not the achievement of the
Democratic administration, but of all
Americans who came to Washington
not to serve the Democratic party. but
the Government of the United States,
1t would be as illogical for war loan
orlVes hereafter to be recorded as the
achievement of the Democrats and tn
ignore the purchases of bonds by Re-
publicsns.
Claim Called Deliberate.
But convention stepped in partisan
snip which is trying to put the consti-
tutional office of Commander In Chief
lhto politics for the first time in our
history could not possibly have written
carelessly the platform plank quoted
ABOVE. The Democrats had weeks and
weeks in which to write their platform.
Inc attempt to claim credit for the
Army and Navy and Air Force as Demo-
cratic party accomplishments must
| have been deliberate.
The party convention paid little at
tention to the platform when it was
read. 1t was adopted by a voice vote
and an attempt to get roll call on its
provisions was set aside It paid little
| attentlon even to the disafection in
Iexas. incidentally, while the revolt in
the Democratic ranks had no effect on
the selection of President Roosevelt as
standard bearer it carried its scars into
other contests. The cleavages revealed
WILL not soon vanish The South has
learned at last that it can expect no
| help from the Republicans and none
from the Democrats in the North in the
settlement of its own peculiar problems.
SO 1t looks as if an independent DO
htlcal pTty was born in Chicago. It
WILL take some time to emerge, but ulti-
| mately it will use its 100 or more cleo
toral votes as balance of power. It's
the only way it can gain a respectful
hearing for its viewpoint. The days of
the old Democratic party in the South
are numbered. A new independent
Democratic party will come into being
because the 1914 Democratic Convention
made that inevitable.
Reproduction Rshts Reserved)