Evening star., 1944-10-30

which has become second nature
to him, is spurious and absurd.
That has been apparent for a
long time to many people. Ger
tainly, their number has increased
in recent months and it is illu-
minating that while the series of
indictments made by Gov. Dewey
have been met with shrill cries of
Misrepresentation" Justification"
and distortion" not one has been
disproved or adequately answered.
1t is equally Illuminating that the
President himself has been con-
victed of exactly the kind of mis-
representation and disingenuous-
ness of which he has accused his
opponent. Take for example the
character of his campaign.
Started Out Nobly.
He started out by nobly pro-
claiming that because of his posi-
tion as Commander, in Chief and
his absorption in the war problems,
he would not campaign in the
usual partisan sense" He now
attempts to reconcile his recent and
present tours and speeches with
that promise on the ground that he
had said he would feel free to cor
rect Misrepresentation"
Aside from the fact that every
candidate in every campaign fees
that every criticism or charge is a
icro 70 tiny, ha DrnciIorf
with his White House facilities for
reaching the whole people at any
time through press and radio, GER
tainly could have corrected any
Misrepresentation" he wanted
without moving step.
On these automobile tours of the
great cities, Of which he has several
more scheduled, he isn't correcting
Misrepresentation is clearly
campaigning in the usual partisan
sense.
The thing he is trying to correct
isn't a Misrepresentation is a
suspected swing of the voters toward
his opponent. 1t is an inexcusable
Misrepresentation to pretend other
wise. Yet, he continues to make
the pretension. Nor is this the only
Roosevelt pretension that has been
proven without substance in this
campaign.
BY the pretension that he is the
one consistent, competent and sin
cere champion of American partici-
patton in an international organiza-
ton for permanent peace, he has
gained support from various undis-
cerning persons and the main STRAIT
egy of the fourth-term drive has
been, despite Gov. Deweys repeated
clear-cut pronouncements, to hook
him up with the isolationists.
Mr. Roosevelt, personally, has led
in this effort to smear his opponent
with isolationism. And he has been
ably seconded by the vituperative
Mr.. Ickes, by the Orson Welles type
of radical, by the CIO and Com
munistic publicity and by his left
wing press support. 1t is the string
upon which they daily harp.
The result. naturally, has been
to recall Mr. Roosevelt's own isola-
ton record starting with his ac-
quiescence in the rejection of the
League of Nations idea by the DEM
ocratic party in it's 1924 convention,
of which he was member, and
followed by his personal reputation
of the League on February and
again In May, 1882, when he was
seeking his first nomination and Mr..
Hearst conditioned his support on
a public statement from the candi-
date.
There followed. after his election,
the scuttling of the London Eco
nomic Conference, which Mr.. Dewey
has characterized as the greatest act
Of isolation ever committed by an
American President.
Record Since 1888.
But that isn't all. The record
shows that at no time from 1888 to
1899 did Mr.. Roosevelt ever urge
American participation in any COL
lective security organization. On
the contrary, he specifically repu-
dated the league number of
times.
On December %, 1888, he said,
1--WE are not members and we do
not contemplate membership"
On January 8. 1884, he said, Il have
made it clear that we cannot take
part in the political arrangements
of Europe"
On october 2, 1885, he said, De
spite what happens to continents
overseas, we shall and must remain
unentangled and free"
That would seem enough to JUS
tify Representative Luce's assertion
that from 1892 to 1899 Mr.. Roose-
velt was the worlds leading isola-
ZIONIST. 1t would seem enough, too,
to stamp as unworthy and ridicu-