The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-09-25

ard of political morals this is not considered being dishonest. It Is merely considered being politically smart.
 For instance 1t Is politically hon. est to say that U. s. national in- come Is higher today than 1t has ever been in American history. Farm income is greater wages of labor are higher, profltS before taxes arc bigger. But to imply from these statements that the country is now more prosperous and on Q Sounder financial basis than 1t has ever been, with the living standard higher than ever before, 1t politically dis- honest. Higher national income is being attained only by greater gov- ernment borrowing, by increasing the national debt, by increasing gov ernment spending for materials of war. The higher national income argument therefore falls of It's own weight if it be raised as Q reason for continuing the Democratic party in office.
 DEWEY DOES IT, TOO
 No one party or no one candidate, however, has any monopoly on poli- tical dishonesty. For years, the critics of President Roosevelt have writhed at what they considered the political dishonesty of many of the New Deal ohjectiveS, the Four Freedoms, the Atlantic Charter, the present emphasis upon the Presi- dents perfectly constitutional posi- ton aS Commander-in. .Chief, the disavowal of there being political significance to SO many of his activ. ities. And evidence is piling up that Gov. Thomas D. Dewey Is puSt as much of an old master at this sort of thing as anybody else.
 When the governor busted into the Dumbarton Oaks postwar secur. ity planning by attacking rumored proposals as domination of smaller nations by the Big Four powers he was being entirely politically honest. At the time, however, he gave no indication he knew-if he did know that Secretary of sttae Cordell Hull had insisted agreement among the Big Four was first requisite to later corporation with smaller countries. Hull, If he had wanted to, might have shown the governor up aS being not too well informed oii what he was trying to talk about. To save the conference from being dragged into politics, Hull refrained from this, and instead invited Dewey to send his foreign policy adviser Foster Dulles to get Q fill- in on what went on. Dewey in ef- feet thus became Q partner in post. war planning and he can claim part credit for any Dumbarton aceofn' piiShments. This B mart politics, but not what you would call hun. dred per cent cross your heart and hope to die honest.
 DON'T LET THEM FOOL YOU
 You can reduce to similar abSur. dlties the charges by Dewey that Roosevelt did nothing to prepare the American people for war; and that War Mobilization Director James Y, ByrneS plans for de- mobilization are six months too late. Memory seems to whisper with c shout that four years ago the Re. pubiicafs were iambaSting this fel' low Roosevelt for being Q war niori- ger, for wanting to build b0,000 air' planes Q year, for wanting to drag this country Into another unholy European war. And If, six months ago, you had asked Dewey or the Republicans for their blueprint Of demobilization, oil you would have drawn D c vacant stare.
 There isn't anything morally wrong with this kind Of political dishonesty. Roosevelt has been charged with dishing out the same line for years. The intelligent voter, however, won't lot either of these big boys fool him for c minute.