Evening star., 1944-04-03

vious White House comment OH 'iie
subject.
It easily might have been other
wise. which would have been un-
fortunate for the country. Ger
tainly. a repetition of the tax bill
incident, when an angry Congress,
Including the administrations own
leaders, resenting an ugly and un-,
justified presidential indictment,
presented an unedifying spectacle
not in the least conducive to ma
tional unity in a great war. Mr..
Roosevelt might very we'll have re-
created this situation. He Is to be
congratulated upon restraining him
self, though, of course, there are
two views concerning the reasons
for the moderation of this message
as contrasted with the violence of
the other.
Some will say that, clearly, it
was read more carefully by the
President--if he did not write it
himself; that its dignity and re-
straint enabled him to make his
points with greater force and effect;
that he was advised by wiser coun-
selors; that his judgment is i'm
proved and his sense Of proportion
has been regained. Others will say
that in the tax bill fight Congress,
led by Senator Barkley, convinced
Mr.. Roosevelt the plan Of the
fourth-term strategists, for cam
paign purposes, to cast Congress in
the role of the villain and the Pres
ident as the champion Of the poor
and sole friend of the soldier, begged
down; that the effort to bully the
legislative branch reacted with con-
siderable presidential political dam
age; that, as result, the Roose-
velt belligerency had evaporated
and the message was that of a man
beaten once who has no taste for
3 second fight.
Gaps In Reasoning.
Aside from the tone Of the mes
sage, on its merits it must be said
that, though the President argues
persuasively for his point of view
that the Federal ballot is the real
solution, there are obvious gaps in
his reasoning and, certainly. he has
somewhat retreated from his pre-
vious position that the soldiers will
not be able to vote at all except
under the administration plan. For
example, he started out by assert
ing that the bill which he was per-
mitting to become law without his
signature was wholly inadequate,
but in the next paragraph he says,
In effect. that its adequacy depends
altogether upon the degree to
which the States cooperate, which
Is exactly what the friends Of the
bill have said right along.
The President, pointedly, did not
touch upon the fact that many
States already have "co-operated"::
that practically all of them will
have co-operated in ample time for
those in the service to obtain their
State ballots, vote them and return
them; that under the law they are
required neither to. register, go to
the polls or pay poll taxes; that if
they are otherwise qualified to vote
they can do so with less trouble
than the civilian at home. And, of
course, in his renewed request that
Congress amend the new law so as
to authorize use of the Federal
ballot to all service men and wom-
en- who do not receive their State
ballots by an appropriate date.
whether or not they have formally
applied for them" he rises COM
pletely above the Constitution. not
only OF the country but of a num-
Der Of the States as well. In brief,
he makes no attempt to meet the
arguments made against his pro-
posals but merely renews the pro-
posals In the forms of recommended
tions and requests.
Privilege" Not Right
Likewise, many times in the mes
sage Mr.. Roosevelt stresses the
right" Of the soldiers to vote, de-
spite the fact, as pointed out by Mr..
Charles Warren, distinguished con-
stitutional authority, in his testi-
mony before a Senate committee.
that there Is no inherent right to
vote conferred upon the citizen in
the Constitution. Voting, said Mr..
Warren, is privilege, not a light
and the Constitution merely provides
that the States must lay down the