The Wilmington morning star., 1944-07-21
Fair Enough

/ 4 uSI AHOuSH
Editors Note.-The Star and the News accept no
responsibility for the personal views Mr.. Pugler
and often disagree with them much many Of
MS readers. His articles serve the good of
making people think.
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
CHICAGO, With the presidential nomi-
nation disposed of long before the fall of the
gavel by Mr. Roosevelts grinning acceptance
OF fourth nomination, the homogeneous and
uneasy democrats, at their convention of 1914
present a new spectacle in the politics of the
United States, strange congress of distrust,
resentment, fear and cynicism such as not
even the most sordid old-guard republican ever
had the effrontery to express.
Here is idealism of the most pretentous and
milky sort, the pious nobility of purpose of
the new deal, fermented and soured into a
mash Of underworld politics and Eurepean
continental trickery, all in the course Of -
years since the faithful went forth from the
same hall in 1882, bawling Happy Days are
here again.. Many old faces are missing now.
a few to appear in the following of Tom
Dewey, disilusioned repentant and humbly
eager to atone. Many enthusiasts of the early
new deal have gone to their graves. And Jim
Farley, standing ears above the crowd and
wearing the same smile as of old, but a smile
done with the muscles now, and not by the
impulse of confident heart, has become a
beloved but pathetic has-been trampled. scuf-
fed and confused, while Sidney Hillman, leader
of the CIO-communist coalition holds press
conferences at hotel of his own selection,
the Sherman House, at the other side of the
loop.
To degree it may be said for Jim that
he is standing by his principles for he never
would court or have any political traffic with
Hillman's aggregation of naturalized but I'M
assmilated EuropeanD in New York when they
called themselves the American Labor party
Never yet has be compromised his total Ameri-
can devotion by appearing, under any pretext
OF emergency or wartime unity, any plat
form where he could be photographed under
the hammer and sickle of the communist con-
spiracy. Jim is no longer ambitious for the
presidency. He may hope to become governor
OF New York two years from now but even
that is a remote and highly speculative possibi-
lily and would be dull climax to the career
of man who, four years ago, had an honest,
if naive, hope of going to the White House.
But boy and man, Jim has been democrat,
and that perverse loyalty that spirit of politics
as game, is stronger in Jim and, also, in
many others here this week, than the inner
WhiSperings of patriotic judgment. Many men
and women in this convention long ago lost
their belief in the President as an idealist,
even lost faith in him a party man as he
party, but, in resignation, go along anyway
this once more because they don't know what
else to do. Some feel obligation to their
little folloWings back home. Some are too
proud to make public demonstration of their
private fears for the country after four years
more of the same. Some are SO degraded
they would risk it all for the little pay and
power the politics gives them.
There are men and women here who hateful
lV Hi11rnan and his small but tlreleSS
and clever group of scheming Europeans and
fully understand the superior Importance OF
a few hundred thousand New York votes,
cast under the influence of European tears
and hatreds, compared with several tunes
the same number of votes cast IN their own
homestates. They know the power OF such
people to pull the switches and throw Amerl-
can cities and factories into darkness and
terror for they have seen it demonstrated
They know that, at Hillman's plea, Charles
Poletti, as temporary governor OF New YORK.
secretly released from prison an European
communist bug who held Office IN Hill
mans union and that, nevertheless, II not Tor
This very reason. Poletti was made full
armv colonel and the American military COVER
. nor of Rome All this they know and OF
gangsterisn in Hillman's union in New York,
but President Roosevelt is their chleI ana the
chief favors Hillrnan and Elllman tonlght,
was still insisting that whatever the Americans
: OF the QemOCraUC pdIIy i1iiS'' - NN
his communist associates would demand the
nomination of Henry Wallace for vlce-presl-
dency.
i II was not so much that he and his group
demanded Wallace The humiliation, the start
limo disturbing change lay in the fact that
thev could make any demands on the con-
vention
Whether or not Hillman has his way, he
becomes. nevertheless the most prominent lay
democrat in the party, although not neces-
sari1v the most powerful For Kelly of Chi
caoo and Hague of New Jersey are still in
si1e,+ secret action and these tough old Draw
1ers This time are under no cloud OF outward
disavowa4. Gang politics, the king that thrives
~, nublic contracts and little favors from the
federal courts and the manifold new deal
h,,re.us never was more vigorous never more
respectable, than in the democratic convention
Of 1914. Most of the old-fashioned meetings
nroceed in hotel bought from the govern
ment. itself, with money derived from the
Government. itself by politicians who dug the
[ He1aware acueduct and the Chicago subway.
And this time there is no sanctimonious pre-
tense of purity, no reputation of the sordid
hio city machines in the presence of an alarm
; nc need for muscle and money in the cam
paign