The Wilmington morning star., 1944-10-26
Foreign Policy

Since this national campaign started the
has been so much violent partisanship, SUI
bitter revilings and prejudiced utterances CO
corning both of the leading presidential ca
didates, it is refreshing 10 find one observ
whose vision of essentials has not been dimm,
by the heat and dust and mud of discussio
It is especially solacing to find writer wi
can see both sides of the street and interpr
what he sees on each without rancor.
Such a writer is Roscoe Drummond. H
subject is foreign policy. The special referens
is to the addresses by President Rooseve
ard Governor Dewey on the subject
Writing in the Christian Science Monte
issue Of last Monday, we find this:
The two speeches on foreign policy by
President Roosevelt and Governor Dewey
last week bring the Nation near to total
unity on the essential issues OF the peace
The exciting truth is that that which
some so greatly feared has not come upon
us; that this wartime Presidential election
would divide America on fundamentals at
the most critical moment would hamper
prosecution of the war, and halt building
of the peace
The apprehensions of those who Wrung
their hands over the necessity of having to
conduct national election at the height OF
the war are proving to be unfounded; the
very process which many thought would
divide the Nation is uniting it, and this is
tribute, incidentally, to the candidates of
both parties, but primarily to the clarity
and maturity and stability of the voters.
Governor Dewey's address before the
Herald Tribune Forum and President
Roosevelt's address before the Foreign
Policy Association are completely at one
in the essentials which underlie Americas
participation in the peace, and their
overwhelmingly full agreement testlfles to
the agreement which the people have them
selvs reached Their agreement could
hardly have been more complete on these
vital ingredients of the peace. 1t reaches
to all these points:
l. Both nominees agreed that the United
States cannot achieve peace by trying to
stay out of war. Mr. Dewey said: IF there
is ever a third world war, America would
be in the front lines in the very first hour"
q Both nominees affirmed that the United
States can keep out of war only by keeping
war from breaking out. Mr.. Roosevelt's
words were: Enduring peace has not
chance unless this nation is willing to CO.
operate in maintaining it.
3. Both nominees spurned isolationist
philosophy and isolationist support. The
President said: II am proud that this ad-
ministration does not have the support of
the isolationist press; and last week the
ISo1 atinpict Chic on TribI1pe AT ockod Mr.
Dewey's foreign policy stand in pain and
tears, and disclosed it was pinning its
faith on the Senate.
4. Both nominees decisively embraced
maximum collaboration and full participa-
ton in the peace.
5. Both nominees said America must take
the lead in establishing world security
organization in which it must play an au-
thoritative role.
6. Both nominees declared that the
United States must be ready to use force
with other countries to cope either with
the threat of aggression or aggression
itself.
7. President Roosevelt announced his
support of the proposal that Congress en-
dow the American representative on the
Security Council with authority to vote
with other nations the use of force to pre-
vent aggression without referring each spe-
clflc case back to Congress. The President
declared: "a policeman would not be
very effective policeman if, when he saw
1elon break into house, he had to go to
the town meeting to issue a warrant be-
lore the felon could be arrested" As au-
thoritatively reported in the Christian Sci
ence Monitor last week, Governor Dewey
favors letting Congress authorize procedure
by simple majority vote,
1t IS this last point-which is the crux
OF any effective world peace organization
which internationalist Republican Sena-
tor Joseph H. Ball in Minnesota said he
was making the test of which Presidential
candidate he would back in this campaign.
1t is because the President. publicly declar-
ed his support of this procedure while
Governor Dewey has not yet put his ap-
proval of it on the record in quotable
statement that Mr.. Roosevelt today re-
ceived Senator Balls party-line-breakng
endorsement
But since Mr. Dewey is definitely known
to share this view, it is entirely concev-
able that he will declare his position be-
fore the campaign is over.
From even this brief recapitulation, it is
apparent that the effect of the campaign
has been to bring to the surface of the
Nations thinking notable, a really unex-
pected unanimity, 1t is significant that both
nominees believe SO profoundly in the same
purposes. 1t is even more significant that
both believe it is politically beneficial to
express their views SO conclusively in the
campaign. for this shows that they are
confident that the voters clearly want to go
in the same direction as they themselves.
This is the final evidence of how war
time campaign has served, not to divide,
but to unite the country on the great de-
cision.