Evening star., 1944-10-27

and the pro- @S>''
Roosevelt press Frank r. Kent.
profess to regard him as noble
young man who puts his country's
interests above party consideration.
He Is lauded for courage and his
career expanded to the point where
he seems almost heroic. =.
On the other side, while Gov.
Dewey has made no comment, his
friends in Minnesota and outside
have. They consider Mr.. Ball a
victim of his own conceit. Though
he was not a personal friend of the
late Wendell Willkie, he visualizes
himself as his successor. Actually,
they say, he is a cheap imitation
of Willkie who has permitted him
self to be bamboozled by Mr.. Roose-
velt and his friend, Mr.. Harry Hop
kins, a thing Mr.. Wilkes who
heartily detested them both, never
would have done.
Moreover, the weight of the evi-
dence and the belief of his closest
friends is very strong that Mr.. Will
nit AL tilC Cltd WoOlu ildFC ldACll
exactly the reverse of Mr.. Balls
stand In his own State there are
some who refer to the latter as a
swell-headed double-crosser and in
dignantly deny that he reflects the
feeling of Gov. Stassen, now in the
Navy, who is an extreme interna-
tionalist.
AS to the effect of the Ball stand
In Minnesota, the effort of Gov
Stassen's friends to prove that Mr.
Ball does not speak for them Is
counted on by the Republicans to
more than offset any detection in
that State.
No one claims that Senator Ball
has personal following either in
his own State or in the Nation, but
the fourth termers believe the
psychological effect of his bolt is
very beneficial in driving home the
Presidents own arguments as to
why he should be given another
four years.
Not on Sound Ground.
There is no way of telling about
that. One side contends 1t means
a good many votes; the other side
insists 1t means none at all. Neither
knows. However, it Is difhcult tc
see how any impartial Judge could
believe that Senator Ball has justi.
fed his bolt either by his state
ment of Tuesday or by his speech
In New York Wednesday night.
The truth is that Gov. Dewey, ir
his speech at Minneapolis on Tues.
day night, replying to Mr.. Roose.
velt's Foreign Policy Association
address, practically cut the ground
from under Senator Ball, who wa,
not on very sound ground to start
with. eo
In that speech Mr.. Dewey not
only was again as concrete and
specific as Mr.. Roosevelt ever has
been on his international co-opera-
ton views and plans but devastat-
ingly replied to the holier- than
thou utterances of Mr.. Roosevelt by
asserting that in scuttling the Lon
don Economic Conference in 1894
he had committed an act more
sheerly isolationist than any othe,
American President had ever COM
mitted.
In addition, he cited instances In
1888, 1886 and 1910 when Mr.
Roosevelt denied the League OF
Nations doctrine he now so ardently
espouses. 1t was too bad Gov. Dewey
neglected to cite the two outstand.
Ing Roosevelt betrayals of 1924 anc
1882, but he said enough to max.
the Roosevelt claims to consistenc,
seem shoddy and false.
Add to this the clarity and com.
pleteness with which Gov. Dewey
has reiterated his own position or
postwar foreign policy, which differ.
from that of Mr.. Roosevelt in M
basic principle-in fact, in no i'm.
portant detail-and it is not surpris.
ing that Senator Balls effort Il
= Justify his bolt on the ground tha
the Roosevelt stand Is more salts,
factory to him than the Dewe,
stand, seems weak and uncon.
vincing.
Apparently Senator Ball has fol.
lowed the lead of certain eminen
newspapers and publicists, who seen
willing to sweep aside every domesti,
Issue, consideration and situation, M
matter how vital, in order to SUD.
port Mr.. Roosevelt on some vague
trivial point Of foreign policy.
White House Tea Party.
so strained and panied have beer
the reasons given that the concl,l.
sion is forced that if they had no.
used one excuse for their Roosevelt
advocacy they would have found
some other. Senator Ball seems :,
have been influenced by these ex.
amples-and 1t is too bad.
For. giving him full credit for goof
intentions. he certainly has done ,
foolish thing. In the first place, h
has deserted his party's presidentia
candidate without any adeouat,
reason. In the second place, he ha,
to some extent, again made on
postwar foreign policy a politica
issue. which it should not be an,
which Gov. Dewey has done his bes
70 prevent 1t being In the thir,
place, he is taking himself and hi
international responsibilities to-
seriously.
In other words. he seems to h
signify out of focus. Of course tn
thing that weakens him most,is tha
pe!ore ne made his decision he wa
lnouced by Mr.. Harry Hopkin
secretly to go to the White Hous,