Evening star., 1944-10-06

says he Is not campaigning In the
usual partisan sense" TO keer
international matters to the front.
For one thing, it enables him
better to justify his fight for fou1
more years, in the White House
For another, the more his opponents
can be forced to discuss foreign af-
fairs the less time they will have
to dwell upon domestic affairs, on
which Mr.. Roosevelt's record is par
ticularly vulnerable and his defense
very feeble.
That is just politics and easy to
understand. What Is not easy to
understand is why man like
Senator Ball of Minnesota, Repub-
lican, should join with the fourth
term publicists and the newspapers
which are preparing to 60 fourth
term, in the curious position that
Mr.. Dewey has not been concrete or
convincing" in his advocacy of an
international organization in the
interests of permanent peace.
So far as the latter are concerned,
obviously, nothing Gov. Dewey could
do or say would satisfy them. They
are inherently against him. II they
cannot establish one reason they will
another. That is clear.
Concerning Senator Ball.
But, concerning Senator Ball, the
explanation that he is Gov. Stas-
sens closest friend, that Gov.
Stassen, now in the Navy, Is the
most advanced internationalist in
public life and an aspirant for the
1948 Republican nomination, as he
was for that Of 1914, is not enough.
For Senator Ball is said to be a
conscientious, though somewhat
fanatical, man. However, If he still
conscientiously thinks Gov. Dewey's
views on foreign affairs need further
"clarification" he is also a confused
man. Either he has showed aside the
record or forgotten it. In either case
it is worth recalling, as on at least
six separate occasions Gov. Dewey
has explicitly and concretely ex-
planned his position.
So clearly has he done this that 1t
would seem no one who could be
satisfied would not be. Here is the
record:
First, in 1912 Gov. Dewey drew the
anti-isolation plank in the New York
State Republican platform.
Second, in 1943 he was chiefly re-
sponsible for the Mackinac declara-
ton Of the Republicans which was
acceptable to Mr.. Willkie and gen.
orally commended by the press
which shared his views.
Third, in April, 1914, in response
to a demand that he clarity" his
views, he made q speech in New
York before the American News
paper Publishers which was highly
praised by the strongest tnterna-
tional cooperation papers in the
country, including the Baltimore
Sun, New York Herald Tribune and
New York Times.
Fourth, at his first press confer
ence following his nomination, again
asked for "clarification," he declared
he interpreted the vague and verbose
platform plank in terms Of the
Msckinac declaration, which was
neither vague nor verbose.
Louisville Speech.
On September in his Louisville
speech, Gov. Dewey again Clarified"
his position by advocating in the
clearest possible language an inter-
national organization. equipped to
preserve the peace through force If
necessary.
And, finally, through his repre-
sentative, Mr.. Dulles, he struck
hands with Secretary Cordel Hull,
committed himself unequivocally to
the basic Hull beliefs on this vital
business, lid all q man could to
raise it to q nonpartisan level and
take 1t out Of the campaign. Ap-
parently this does not suit the
fourth-termers, who are doing their
best to keep 1t in, but 1t does seem
that 1t ought to satisfy almost
everybody else.
Anyhow, 1t is reasonable to ask
what more Senator Ball or any other
conscientious man or paper expects
Mr.. Dewey to say on the subject.
Certainly he has gone as far as
either Mr.. Roosevelt or Mr.. Willkie.
He has been as specific and concrete
as either and it is as unreasonable
to expect him to lay down a blue
print for every postwar problem as