The Wilmington morning star., 1944-06-29
Fair Enough

| Fair Enough
Editors Note.-The Star and the News accent no
responsibility for the personal views of MI. Peger,
and often disagree with them much as many Of
his readers. His articles the good purpose Of
making people think.
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
CH1CAGO.-To the solemn and consecrated
republicans, meeting in a save the-repubic
mood, the credit must 60 for abolition this
year of the old absurdities which previously
have Knocked the peoples citizenship at such
revivals and astonished visitors from other
lands come to see the quaint Americans nom
mate with childish and often drunken rites
their candidates for the highest political of.
flee on earth.
Hitherto the most idiotic and vulgar Of all
our public festivals, excepting not even the
annual debaucheries by which the American
Legion made itself an overbearing nuisance
for 20 years, the national political conventions
have been reproach to the free country OF
which they were a sacred institution and a
time honored indecency. Fools paraded in
sWeaty, stumbling ranks in hotel lobbies and
along the streets of cities which were glad
to endure the disorder for a price receivable
in worthless publicity and the spendings of
the delegates in hotels, 1unchrooms and sa.
looms.
Always there was some ass who looked re-
motely like Theodore Roosevelt Bryan Wilson
or F. D. R. and went about exhibiting his
irnplausible counterfeit and posing for the pho
tographers.
| Curbstone takers peddled carnival remnants
stamped with the names of men of monetary
consequence, circus balloons, elephants and
mules to be hung by stringy ribbons from
lapels, walking sticks and hatbands stamped
with We Want Teddy, Tried and Found True
Taft and He Kept Us Out of War.
There were casualties in the dressing sta
tons from loss of sieep over exertion in the
meaningless parades for mock-modest monenti-
ties placed in complimentary nomination, beer
collie and appalling1y clumsy fist-fights over
the standards of immovable state delegations
From the time of the Republican convention
Of 1912 in the old Chicago Coliseum at which
shapely female in red dress touched off
a mechanical but futile 45-miaute stampede
for T. R., the engineers in charge of most
candidates. clicked the duration of all such
imbecile demonstrations and even in later
| years, apace with science, measured their VOL
ume by the hands Of a huge clock as though
noise, alone were some guage of mans fit
ness for the presidency. Grim though the
| fight might be in the smoke filled room down
town, the circus spirit nevertheless prevailed
among the actors and the idiots chorus in
the halls and this, until now, was the mood
and method Of the national nominating con-
ventionS OF the Republican and Democratic
parties
| That the quality of the men selected was
as good as it was, has been reassuring proof
over the years that these dreadful demonstra-
tt. IS were completely irrelevant and that the
delegates and the cheering sections in the
galleries had no influence in the result New.
| ertheless 1t has often occurred to observers
of the American scene that the first party to
break with custom and run a convention with
a dignity more or less appropriate to the &C.
casion might deserve recognition for a very
| impressive reform.
| To say that the Republicans deliberately
and wisely planned it that way would be to
credit taxman with fine public spirit in
the accidental killing of pedestrian who
CHANGED to be an escaping murderer They
came here with little confidence of victory in
November, and it would be untrue to report
that they are confident even now, although
| they are giving one another transfusions of
optimism through pep-talks started in word
of mouth campaign. So it can be admitted
that they have not been holding themselves in
check but simply have had nothing to shout
about.
But this is not a singing war for either the
fighting men or civilians of any of the nations
and, similarly, it is doubtful that these Amer
leans would have made spectacle of them
selves and their political mission this year,
though victory could be taken for granted
The Roosevelt following may scott and the
dainty hunor of the 1eft-wing may still depict
them as sub-human breed with pot-bellied
minds and no real rights but only few priv
ileges conceded as a generous gesture to ira
dition,- but they do believe the republic will
fall if Mr.. Roosevelt and, perhaps, Henry Wa
lace, are president for four years more. Thus
they also take upon themselves historic mis-
sion to nominate the man to save the nation.
They mean it. They talk it among themselves.
And they are raising themselves from their
early pessimism to self-induced hope, II not
conviction. that it can and might be done.
| OF course there will be perfunctory whoops
and the ovation to Governor Dewey doubtless
will measure up to the opportunity to salute
their hope. But the trashy nonsense which
hitherto has cheapened such proceedings is
missing here for the first time IN my So-odd
years Of attendance at "A national conven-
| lions. Mr.. Brickers wan little concession to
the old, old spirit, brass band trying to
draw trade to a meeting in the Stevens sound
ed like an old-tine Chicago German hungry