Evening star., 1944-10-28
Liberals Seen Victims
Of Political Muneuver

VI ViutIS0b fVtOIICQVSt
Writer Questions Opposition To
Dewey's Foreign Policies
By David Laurence
Where are the liberals" of yesterday
that Is the liberals" In the realm Of
foreign affairs7 o. ~-
Back In 1910 these liberals" were
wrong when they thought Wendell Will
kie was not sufficiently whole-hearted
In his support Of the Allied cause and
that probably after election he would
not help Britain. They derisively called
him the barefoot boy Of Wall Street."
and supported Mr.. Roosevelt. Yet, after
the 1910 election they found Wendell
Willkie the only courageous voice in
America to speak out against power
politics" in Europe.
Today some of these liberals" are
opposing Gov. Dewey on the theory
that he is not whole e-hearted in his
support Of the new League or that he
Is too solicitous for the Poles, or the
Italians, or the De Gaullists. Yet, since
Mr.. Dewey began campaigning, the
Roosevelt administration has really re-
versed itself in its policies toward the
French and italian provisional govern
ments. 1t wasn't "hyphenated" Amer.
icanism for the liberals" to attack Sec
retary Hull on the De Gaulle policy. but
1t evidently is "meddling" when Gov.
Dewey speaks up for the exiled Poles.
Ball Victim Of Maneuver.
Even Senator Ball of Minnesota has
fallen victim to the maneuyer of those
Roosevelt supporters who skillfully cre-
ate issues out of the American dele
gates part in the new League while ig-
noring or CLOSING over the really vital
issues that are coming up every day in
our relations with our Allies. These is
sues can do more to bring on wars in
the future than the legalistic questions
involved in connection with our vote
in the Security Council
Already Gov. Dewey has been the
only one to speak up in this campaign
to question the tragic blunder whereby
the Roosevelt administration has closed
its eyes to piece of high-handedness
by Russia in Romania in connection
with the armistice agreement there.
Gov. Dewey wisely disregarded the sug-
gestion that he must not discuss such
things. 1t is this same "hush-hush"
policy in Britain which appears to
forecast acquiescence in Russias be-
havior in the Balkans
Let Churchill and Stain divide up
Europe into spheres of influence" is the
comment believed to reflect British
policy. You Americans, of course, are
not interested in European affairs You
are naturally interested in Latin Amer
lea and the Western Hemisphere
But, unhappily, in the past while
America has not been interested In
what makes quarrels and frictions in
Europe, we have found out that in
the end American boys pay with their
blood and their lives because the Gov
ernment at Washington doesn't inquire
minutely or early enough into the
ramifications of world politics that
bring on world wars and threaten our
own safety.
Balance Of Power Issue.
The heart Of any future peace ar
rangement is not some clause governing
procedure for the American delegate.
The real issue is the possible return to
a balance of power set-up. 1t means
that the nations which are the victims
OF such cliques will form their own
groups and endeavor to make new
alliances to counteract the forces of
the usurper states. Already, the United
States Government apparently has
agreed to division of territorial spoil,
In the Balkans-somethine which Ia
denounced under the Atlantic Charter.
1t Is an amazing thing that so-called
liberals can sit by and say nothing
when an armistice agreement which
actually came into force before the
fnal text was received by the State
Department committed the United
states Government to a responsibility
for territorial ALLEGATIONS in the Bal
kans. The members of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee were no.
consulted, and yet the treaty-makinp
power OF the Senate must ultimately
be a factor in ratifying these agree
ments.
These are the things that ought to
be talked about in national political
campaign, but evidently the so-called
liberals are falling in with the
totalitarian idea that the people cannot
be trusted to talk about vital issues.
Evidently 1t is intended to wait until
definite commitments have been made
and 1t is too late to reverse them
Evidently also it is intended to wait
to see If Mr.. Roosevelt gets a fourth
term and, if he does, then these
liberals" will belatedly begin in vain
their effort to change by public discus
sion the ultraconservative Churchill
and the totalitarian- minded Stain:
Reproduction rivhts r.x.~..xN