Evening star., 1946-03-28


cabinet officials Lowell MeIIett.
proposal haven't yet stopped talking
about it. They haven't even begur
to stop. They find new explanations
each day for why it cannot be done
But the reason they gave first is
still their principal standby-'Look
what happened when Roosevelt triec
it."
In 1888, despite all the thought he
was giving to the possibility of war
MIR. Roosevelt's immediate obsessior
was his program for political, eco.
nomic and social justice in the
United States. In attempting tt
achieve this he found himself de-
feated continually by the same forces
that are now hamstringing Presi-
dent Truman. He had learned that
there was a limit to what he per-
sonally could do and had come to be-
lieve there was limit to what any
President could do without solid
party support behind him.
Under No Illusions.
He gave his assent to the at
tempted purge of the obstructionists
He had no illusions concerning his
personal influence. He understood
the resentment that could be in
voked against interference in State
politics. In the case of the South
ern States he knew better than
most how tight a control was exer-
cised by the State machines, how
few citizens were permitted to vote
and the small percentage of them
not tied in with the State organiza-
tions.. He knew that the candidates
who were willing to oppose the in
cumbepts had less political strength
in the- own right than the men
they sought to unseat.
Yet be gave the go-ahead signal
and participated himself to the ex-
tent of few speeches. In the midst
of the campaign, I asked him why,
knowing he could not win, he was
going through with it.
He replied, in effect, that it was a
good fight anyhow, one that had to
be made, if only to educate the
American people in the real mean
ing of politics. So far as the Dem
ocratic party was concerned, he
said, 1t deserved to win and to hold
office only so long as it was able
to serve all the people. He wanted
the party to understand that.
How much further and how much
more effectively Mr.. Roosevelt would
have carried this effort if the war
had not begun to crowd so closely
upon us, presenting new and more
urgent issues, there is no knowing
But there is reason to believe he
was aware of the fact that he had
started something that somebody
else, sooner or later, would have to
finish. So Harry Truman, with
the war over, has not only inherited
Roosevelt's social and economic re-
form program, but Roosevelt's pol
itical reform program.
No Disposition to Duck.
And Mr.. Truman shows no dis
position to duck the all-important
issue left in his hands-the issue
Of whether the Democratic party
shall be the mass party or the class
party. It was he who first started
calling the roll on the party mem
bers in Congress guilty, in his
opinion, of letting the people-and
the party-down. He called some
pretty important names.
1t was his national chairman, not
his Secretary of Commerce, who
was first to follow his lead. Chair
man Hannegan made a speech in
Wilmington, Del, March IA, ham
mering home the damage being
done to party prospects by Demo
Gratis who insist on going their own
way regardless of consequence. The
speech was filled with phrases like
the. following:
by combining forces with small
minority-a minority of dissenting
Democrats-they the Republicans
found a temporary means of OBJ
struction."
Those economic wreckers still
hope to recruit enough dissenting
Democrats to cut the heart out OF
price control"
"J hold sl1ch a coy,ohino tin,, NIL