Evening star., 1944-09-02
Fair PIoyin Campaign
Held NituI to Nation

neI0 NItQI 10 NATION
Discussion of Roosevelt Speech
Is Not Trivial, Says Lawrence
BY David, Laurence
There is one thing the American peo-
pie understand about any contest and
that is the rules Of sportsmanship.
Whether it is an election campaign or
an athletic match, the ingrained Amer
ican spirit of fair play has always been
q factor that contestants could not
ignore. ,
That is why the current discussion
about whether Mr.. Roosevelt's Bremer-
ton speech was political" or "nonpo.
htical" is not to be looked upon as bit
Of trivial campaign combat. 1t recently
occasioned some flippant remarks BY
the President at his press conference
which indicated that Mr.. Roosevelt did
not like the criticism that was visited
upon him for his speech as being "polit-
ical." He discoursed at length to the
press on the subject of his intention 20
indicated that he thought the whole
controversy was rather picayunish.
1t may seem that way to the Presi-
dent, who may never have intended his
remarks at Bremerton to be construed
as political address, but even II he
did not 50 intend it. the fact remains
that in contest that has as much
emotion and strain in it as our presi-
Dental campaigns usually develop. 1t is
much better to consider the point OF
view of the opposition on its merits.
Advantage Over Opponent.
The President, because of his empha-
sis on the words Commander in Chief
has an advantage over his opponent,
Gov. Dewey. Mr. Roosevelt can rice
around in naval vessels and make
speeches from decks of warships and
he can visit naval bases and build up
the impression that he is engaged in
some tremendously important inspection
trip connected with the war, but that
doesn't persuade his political opponents
Of the same thing They look on it as
piece of artificial propaganda deliber-
ately conceived in order to produce
impressions on the voters and not
casual part of the presidential or Com
mander in Chiefs operating functions.
1t is because Mr.. Roosevelt possesses
the advantage in being able to use his
Office of Commander in Chief to create
favorable publicity for himself that dis
interested observers wish he would lean
over backwards so as not to exploit
the advantages he holds. AS a matter
of fact, it is better from a vote-getting
standpoint for him to do so, because
invariably in every political contest the
candidate who errs on the side of
courtesy to his opponent usually wins
more than he loses.
Back in 1912 when there were three
candidates in the field and Theodore
Roosevelt was shot but not seriously
wounded at Milwaukee, Woodrow Will
son promptly Cancelled all further
campaign speeches until his opponent
could resume his campaign This made
a very lasting impression on the peo-
pie, who admired the chivalry and
| inee.
Ridicule VS.. Fair Play:
Mr.. Roosevelts sarcastic comments
about the fact that he intended to
make a speech on Christmas trees did
not make very good impression. What
seems so surprising about MI. Roosevelt
Is that his estimates of the intelligence
OF the opposition are so wide of the
mark. Ridicule and sarcasm have their
place in campaigning but they never
furnish substitute for fair play and
sportsmanship in political contest.
The decision Of the War Department
recently to assign certain space on the
short-wave broadcasts to the leading
candidates is a wise one Each candi-
date Is to, be given a quota and the
time is to be divided equally. This Is
fair way to handle it, but the Re-
publicans already are pointing out that
the Presidents speeches as Commando,
IN Chief should properly be charged tc
the quota. Mr.. Roosevelt should be the
first to insist that this must be done.
The whole episode is important in
the long-range sense. Bitterness be-
tween parties can be made to vanish or
election day, but if there is a tain,
OF unfairness in the contest the residue
OF resentment remains long afterwards
| Mr.. Roosevelt, if reelected for q
fourth term, will face tremendous re-
sponsibilities and he will need more
than ever before in his career the CO.
operation of the minority party in Con-
gress If that party be the Republican. He
will need it even more if the Repub-
hcans should win both houses of Con-
| gress
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