Evening star., 1944-11-04

tney 1eel InaJ III I""e" "os''
is too much bother? Do they feel
that they are not prepared to accept
this responsibility OF citizenship?
Or have they been disillusioned by
the present campaign?
You would like to think the reason
Is reluctance to accept response
bility. That would indicate the stu
dents do regard voting as respon-
sibility and serious one. This could
be the fact. Boys and girls IN their
late teens are tremendously inter-
ested In the war and they naturally
see a connection between the seri-
ous business overseas and our poll
tics here at home. With all the
native confidence of youth, they still
don't pretend to take world affairs
in their stride. They feel that this
is a subject which requires bit OF
knowing
The campaign now closing cannot
be said to have contributed much
toward the understanding they de-
sire.
AttaCker HAS AONdnbASC.
This results from the very nature
OF a political campaign. The party
out I6f power has the privilege, to
a considerable extent, OF naming the
issues on which 1t demands to be
given power. 1t has the advantage
of the attack. The party IN power
must, perforce. defend. The attack
er can select the topic.
The attacking party this year has
seemed shrewd in its selections. 1t
has picked little issues and lodged
big ones. The two big issues, OF
course. are the conduct Of the war
and the conduct Of foreign affairs.
The present administration having
been notably successful in the con-
duct of the war and having devel-
oped a foreign program that appeals
to the pesce-hungry people of the
United States, those subjects have
been avoided as far as possible by
the attacking party.
True, the party's candidate has
made an occasional move in their
direction, but he has been COM
PEELED in most instances to retire in
embarrassment. For example, he
undertook to promote distrust of the
conduct of the war in the Pacific on
the ground that sufficient men and
fighting machinery had not been
massed in that area, only to learn
a little later of the overwhelming
power in the hands of Macarthur
and Nimitz-a military secret kept
from the enemy as well as the can
didate, up to the time this power
was unloaded on the Japanese in
and around the Philippines,
Little Issues Emphasized.
With little political nourisnment
to be found in the truly big issues,
the attacking party has sought, OF
course, to make big ones out OF
little ones. 1t has put its emphasis
on the irritations that go with q war
At a time when nearly everybody
has money, shoppers can't buy
everything they'd like, merchants
can't charge as much as they'd like
farmers can't take advantage Of the
food market, workers can't take ad-
vantage of the labor market and
nobody can have all the gasoline he
wants. This in the effort, thus
far successful, to prevent serious in
flation on the one hand. and to as
sure all needed supplies to the
armed services, on the other.
Our shoppers and merchants and
farmers and workers and all the rest
of us are enjoying the kind of life
that people in other countries are
able only to dream about. But, by
isolating the campaign from the war
and world affairs, the attacking party
has hoped to keep attention focused
on personal annoyances. Coupon
books. Forms to fill out. Tax re-
turns. Lack of nylon stockings. It's
good strategy, if it works.
Take ISSUES" like these. turn at