Evening star., 1945-10-24

nearly six Frank u. Kent.
months after his accession to the
presidency Is obviously becoming
diluted. Evidences Of this abound
For a while everybody praised the
President, and nearly everything he
did seemed right. Now criticism is
coming freely. He is criticized for
little things and for big things; for
the things he does and the things
he fails to do. He still has good
press" but there Is q lot OF sharp
shooting from the political and
journalistic sidelines.
Some of this Is justified and some
not. Apparently 1t has not disturbed
Mr.. Truman, but his friends-par-
ticularly those who think constantly
about the 1948 campaign-are ap-
prehensivs lest 1t have an unfor-
tunate effect politically in that year.
1t is not that they feel the present
Truman criticism will diminish his
chances OF nomination. No one
seriously doubts that he will be
his party's candidate two years
hence. The reasons are clear. First,
there is the conceded ability OF a
sitting President to renominate
himself; second, there Is the obvious
fact that there is no one else in the
Democratic party who can be de-
veloped into an available candidate
In that time against him.
Concerned About Election.
No. 1t is not the nomination the
Truman adherents are concerned
about; it is the election. What they
fear Is that with the anti-Roosevelt
Democrats dissatisfied for some
reasons and the Roosevelt element
dissatisfied for others he may fall
between, be acceptable to neither
and thus 60 into the 1948 campaign
q very weak candidate, Indeed.
For example, it is pointed out
that the conservatives of his party
are deeply disappointed that he has
not put into his cabinet some men
of real administrative ability instead
of so many second-rate Democratic
politicians who happened to be his
personal friends.
They also would like to see around
him as unofficial advisers a few
sound and disinterested men OF
the Baruch type. Finally. they are
disappointed at his lack Of concern
about a really sound taxation pol
Icy, the absence of any enthusiasm
about reducing the swollen Federal
bureaucy in size and cost and the
evident Truman trend, promoted
by his political agent, Postmaster
General Hannegan, to continue the
Roosevelt political alliance with
the CIO and its Political Action
Committee. The best evidences Of
this are recent unpublicized White
House conferences held with Mr..
Philip Murray and MIR. Sidney
Hillman. 11 ~s-s f-
However, the left-wing element,
including Mr.. Wallace and the C1O
leaders, have no such devotion to
Mr.. Truman 'as they had for Mr..
Roosevelt. Despite his publicly pro-
claimed support Of the Roosevelt
policies" they do not believe ne is
"at heart" for them. which is al,
unconscious tribute to his head but
leaves him well below par with the
emotionally unbalanced gentlemen
who were once close to Mr.. Roose-
welt and some OF whom have been
retained by Mr.. Truman.
Gets 1t From Both Sides.
Every time one of these drops out
there is fresh outburst of resent
ment among the advanced think
ers" who regard Mr.. Truman as the
small business type" insist that he
has no true conception of the lib
eral movement; that he has insuf-
fcient social vision" and falls far
short of being great liberal
leader" Of the Wallace or Roose-
welt character.
For these deficiencies the con-
servatives are prepared-almost-to
forgive him for all the sins he has
committed in the past and most of
those he may commit in the future
The net of all this is that after a
six-month period of pleasing fairly
well both elements of his party Mr.
Truman has reached the stage where
he is not pleasing either very much.
So Mr.. Truman gets it from both
sides-deserves some of it. but not
all. The adverse political effect,
however. seems to the more astute
observers somewhat exaggerated.
Conceding that Democratic con-
servatives and Democratic radicals
are equally displeased with him, that
will not necessarily lose him votes.
For the disappointed conservatives
will never regard Mr.. Truman as a
maleyolent and evil man and most Of
them will prefer him to any Re-
publican.
AS for the radical Democrats, con-