Evening star., 1944-10-07
Roosevelt Talk Seen
indicating Porty Feor
His Appeal to Get Out the Vote
Shows Trend, Writer Says
By Dapid laurence

President Roosevelt's second address
was big improvement over his first.
Restrained in tone, dignified, and with
certain measured emphasis, 1t was
more Of the type that the Nation ex-
poets from President than the speech
OF emotion and invective delivered be-
fore the teamsters' union.
Mr.. Roosevelt's appeal to the citizens
to get out the vote is significant. 1t
indicates fear which Is widespread
among Democrats that the election may
be decided by the same groups that
showed such decided Republican trend
In 1912 and in the various congressional
elections held since.
The fact that Mr.. Roosevelt de-
voted SO much of his address to an ap-
peal to the public to register and go
to the polls Is proof Of the Importance
which the Democratic campaign COM
mand attributes to the need for
bigger registration.
Soldier Vote Implication.
Mr.. Roosevelt is not at all right when
he implies that the opposition party is
responsible for the curtailed vote of the
soldiers. He said:
Il think the people will be able to
fix responsibility for this state of affairs,
for they know that during this past
year there were politicians who quite
openly worked to restrict the use of the
ballot in this election, hoping selfishly
for small vote
But what are the facts? The soldier
vote bill which was passed eliminated
the administrations request for Fed
eral ballot which would have permitted
emphasis on the top of the ticket but
would have Disseminated against con-
gressional candidates.
The politicians" who modified that
bill were Democrats as well as Republi-
cans. The Democrats were to a large
extent from tina South, and they voted
again and again in opposition to Federal
control OF balloting because they felt it
would set precedent as against State
control through poll taxes and other
measures. The Presidents own party
the Southerners who don't want the
negroes to vote-had as much, If not
more, to do with the restrictions on Fed
| eral regulation of soldier voting than the
| Republicans.
Communist" Cries.
| Mr.. Roosevelt took cognizance of the
inroads on the electorate which the
Republicans are probably making by
crying Communist" at the New Deal,
| eSnocial1y beco,1ea of fba e,,ny,ort rriyo,,
by Earl Browder and of the American
Communist Association. The President
was right when he said that labor
baiters and bigots and some politicians
use the term communism loosely, and
apply 1t to every progressive social
measure and to the views of every
foreign-born citizen with whom they
disagree"
The anti Roosevelt campaigners might
well take warning from this sentence
because there are, after all, in America
vast number of citizens of foreign
birth and it can easily prove a BOOM
erang if the Republicans insist on re-
ferring derisively to foreign-born citi-
zens just because they happen to be
active in the labor movement or even
in advocating radical policies.
| What Mr.. Roosevelt tries to gloss
over, however, is the activities of GER
tain persons who are identified with the
Communist movement and who have
been revealed to the public eye by con-
gressional investigations. He denounces
document on this subject circulated
by members of Congress as a form bf
fear propaganda not new among rabble
rousers and fomenters of class hatred
who seek to destroy democracy itself"
| 'Rabble Rousing."
When 1t comes to "rabble rousing, +"
the administration might better not in
vite review of the various speeches
OF some of its cabinet members and OF
Vice President Wallace, who, it will be
recalled, accused American businessmen
of being "fascists"
"Rabble rousing" is a technique of
which the administration has made con-
siderable use in the last IL years, and
the Presidents own speeches have not
been free from phrases that have held
up to ridicule and scorn men who have
made success in business or have been
thrifty in their professions or bust
neSSeS.
Two wrongs, of course, do not make
a single right It's time that both sides
discontinued the demagogic type of ap-
peal and discussed issues and
principles.
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