Evening star., 1944-07-05

SaulC WILL pc largely along Two 1incS.
First, there Is the platform. This,
they say. is terrible" 1t is declared
to be full Of contradictions and in
consistencies; to open the door for
imitation: to revive isolationism; to
mislead the farmer; to trend toward
chaos; to talk two ways about the
tariff, etc, etc.
OF course, the platform isn't any
thing like that bad. 1t couldn't be.
But the idea is that by screeching
about it in chorus at this time. the
general impression can be made
upon a large number of voters, who
do not know-and never will know
what really is in the platform, that
1t is pretty awful. Effectively to
further an idea like that, naturally,
certain facts have to be ignored.
In this case, however, so many
facts would have to be showed aside
that the exaggerated and partisan
nature of the platform assault would
seem apparent to almost any one
capable Of reasoning and reading.
There Is, first, the fact that no one
oontended the platform was perfect
Gov. Dewey very frankly admitted
that 1t contained number Of in
consistencies, pointing out that
these are inevitable in any Embossed
convention where the platform is
drafted by a score Of men and not
dictated by one.
Under such circumstances, 1t Is
the Interpretation Of the platform
by the candidate that counts, not
the verbiage of the platform itself
The platform is what the candidate
says it is.
Facts Brushed Aside.
This well-known fact is brushed
aside by the fourth termers, but
even more brazenly they ignore
the fact that Gov. Dewey already
has interpreted the two main plat
form planks-the foreign policy
plank and the tariff plank. In his
acceptance speech, he declared his
conviction that the foreign-policy
plank was based on the Mackinac
declaration which was in accord
with his own New York speech last
April.
Both these were As far away from
isolationism as either Mr.. Roosevelt
or Mr.. Willkie have gotten and
eminently satisfactory to the inter-
national co-operationists. BY thus
clarifying the foreign-policy plank,
Gov. Dewey seems to have elimi-
mated postwar foreign policy as an
issue from the campaign, just as in
his strong words about Gen. Mar
shall and Admiral King he has
eliminated the conduct Of the war
as an issue.
Perhaps this amounts to a quail
ned indorsement Of the Presidents s
war conduct, because certainly he
did select Gen. Marshall. But the
big thing about 1.-THE thing that
ought to please everybody-s that 1t
makes certain no possible aid or
comfort can come to the enemy as
. result Of this election.
Win or lose, Gov. Dewey has made
that clear and 1t is pretty small to
ignore 1t for the sake OF smearing
the platform. And. at his Chicago
press conference, the Governor, in
discussing the tariff plank also made
1t clear that he is in accord with the
Hull policy of reciprocal trade
treaties and in no way sympathetic
to suggestion for erecting again the
high-tarif1 barriers-quite the re-
verse.
One might think that before de.
nouncing the platform as the worst
ever. fairness would compel not
only public recognition by the
opposition OF the facts given above
put also of Mr.. Dewey's declaration
that in his campaign speeches hi
would "amplify and clarity" othe,
platform planks.
Political Pretense.
But that isn't the way the game
Is being played. That isn't politics
The pretense Is that the words in
the platform are inflexibly bindins
and that what Mr.. Dewey SAYS does
not matter; that he is caught in