Evening star., 1944-11-08
Churchill ToIk Called
Best Of Campaign
Stain Speech Too Late to Affect
Race, Writer Says
BY DaDid Laurence

NuCS, VTNeT Gays
BY DaDid Laurence
What were the best speeches Of the
presidential campaign?
The word best" might well be defined
not as a comparison between the parties
or the candidates, but wholly from the
standpoint of the particular side on
which the speech happened to be de-
hvered. Thus, the question might really
be asked In another form: What were
the most effective speeches on each side
Of the campaign?'
First prize undoubtedly should 20 to
Prime Minister Churchill, who, without
mentioning President Roosevelt, made
a speech in the House of Commons
against changing horses in midstream.
He was talking about q bill in .Parlia-
ment which would defer the elections
there. but the arguments he used against
any change in government now are pre-
cise1y those which supporters Of Presi-
dent Roosevelt were using during the
campaign in the United States-only he
expressed them much better.
Mr.. Churchills speech, of course,
might have been purely a coincidence,
and it probably will be considered as
an accident that it happened to be
delivered at time when it would do
Mr.. Roosevelt the most good. The
fact remains, however, that the content
OF the speech was most effective.
Stain Talk too Late.
Marshal Stain would have qualified
for first prize except that his address
on the occasion of the anniversary of
the Red revolution came a bit too late
to have an effect in the American politi-
cal campaign. 1t was published In the
evening papers on the day before elec-
tion and in the morning papers of
election day.
But the speech was so well written
IL was American in style despite the
dimculty OF translating Russian-and
contained SO many interesting argu-
ments In support of Mr.. Rooseyelt's
candidacy that, had 1t been delivered
TWO weeks ago. 1t would have been even
more effective than that of Prime
Minister Churchill.
| lhls is because quite a lot of debate
has been going on inside the United
states about the Communists and the
RUSSIAN government, and the speech of
Marshal Stain was intended to give
the impression that nobody in the United
states had anything to fear from Russia
or Communism.
On the contrary, Marshal Stain
painted picture of a Russia with plans
10 Cooperate with the United States in
every way. He spoke warmly of the
new League of Nations and went 50 far
as to call Japan an aggressor. All Of
this raised hopes that Mr.. Rooseyelt's
policy of cultivating Marshal Stain
might yield dividends some day in the
form OF Russian participation in the
Amerlcan-Japanese War.
Entirely apart from the speeches
made abroad, perhaps the best address
delivered during the campaign on the
Roosevelt side was that of War Mobi-
hzation Director James F. Byrnes
closely followed by that of Avereu Har-
riman, American Ambassador to Russia.
The Presidents speech at Chicago
was easily his =. best, whereas Gov
Dewey's best speech was the one he
delivered At Seattle early in the cam.
paign.
| Most Of the campaign speeches were
not in themselves informative. with the
possible exception of that which was
delivered by Representative Glare
Boothe Luce, Republican, of Connecti-
cut before the New York Herald Tribune
forum.
1t was one of the most interesting and
objective addresses of the whole cam.
paign, because it had in it no partisan
ship and was an informative analysis OF
international organizations that have
attempted in the last few centuries to
preserve peace.
Hollywood Phase" Questioned.
Now that the campaign is over, one
may ask few questions about the
reasoning that prompted the type oI
campaigning that was done for ths
most part on both sides. The introduc.
tion of Hollywood stars, for whom in
most instances the ghost writer's pre-.
pared speeches, was something that i.
hard to explain.
Both parties indulged themselves or
this point, believing perhaps that there
are millions of voters who will follow
the political comments of motion-pic.
ture celebrities just because they like
their faces or their acting on the screen
There Is one illusion about the cam.
paign that prevails rather widely, anc
that is the impression that this cam.
paign was the "dirtiest" in political his.
tory. Without In any way condemn,
some of the mudslinging that went on
it must be said that the lowest point ir
campaigning had been reached Ions
before 1914. $50
Perhaps the worst of them all wa.
one Of the Cleveland campaigns, ir
which personal attacks on the candidate
were about as despicable As ever hav,
been recorded. Most people alive today
never heard of that campaign, and
those who remember 1t probably prefer
to have it forgotten. 1t is to be hoped
that in another decade or so, If not
sooner, the 1914 campaign will be for
gotten, too.
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