Evening star., 1948-07-26
Wallace 'RadicaIism'
In Speech, Platform
Held Poor CHALLENGE
New Porty Proposals Seen
Little Different From Ideas
Of Truman Democrats
By David Laurence

speech and platform are big disap-
pointment. Most every one was ex-
pecttng something really radical,
something really progressive, some
thing really anticapitalistic and
approximating the new socialism of
Europe.
But instead the speech and plat
form are just overworked New Deal
isms. Just why every one of the
New Party's leaders and their fol-
lowing isn't supporting President
Truman becomes a mystery of mod
ern politics.
For most Of the domestic part
Of the Wallace program already is
Endorsed by the Truman admins
tration. AS for foreign policy, it
is safe bet that if the Republi-
cans had been in power these last
few months making the record in
international affairs which the
present administration has made,
the Trumanites would this year
be saying almost word for word
what the Wallace Party is saying
There are some exceptions, of
course.
Certainly nobody is going to be-
1ieve the charge, for instance, that
President Truman has no interest
in promoting the United Nations
or that he is governed by Wall
Street or international bankers or
any of that rubbish.
Something Different Expected.
One would have expected from
the New Party something construc-
tive and different on the subject of
monopoly and business regulation.
One would have thought that at
least the socialiStic trends of Europe
would be given an intellectual work.
ing over and that the product would
be worth reading from an academic
standpoint If no other. An opposi-
ton viewpoint in politics has always
been interesting reading and
whether one agrees or not there
sometimes is point worth ponder
ing.
Back in the '20s the British Labor
Party stimulated the thinking of
the whole world by its intelli-
gently worded and explicitly out
lined proposals.
But the New Partys platform is
singularly lacking in any positives.
1t is full Of the usual negatives and
the customary whining of those out
Of power seeking to get power.
The platform is particularly dis
appointing because Rexford Guy
Tugwell, former Undersecretary of
Agriculture in the New Deal, is an
Intellectual who certainly can write
a better platform than was pro-
claimed. But possibly internal pres
sure and the effort to satisfy fac
tional whims-the curse also of the
major parties-cramped his style.
Russia Is Factor.
All in all there Is not a good
reason either in the platform or the
acceptance speech why the New
Party should not turn around and
embrace President Truman and the
Democratic platform.
There is, of course, the little
matter of Russia. Too many fol-
lowers inside the New Party believe
the Russian Communists can do no
wrong.
If peace comes with Russia
through negotiation-as it newt
ably must-the New Party will really
have nothing left to emphasize.
Its foreign-policy planks will evap-
crate and as for the domestic plat
form, 1t will not stand up from q
radical standpoint.
That is because 1t is vague and
does not hit hard> enough at the
weaknesses in the capitalistic setup.
Huey Long had a much more pow
erful argument.
One takes risks in making long
range predictions. but the New
Party is not for long in this era.
1t either will be swallowed up by
the Democratic Party of the North
or will muscle in and get measure
Of control in the Democratic Party.
Its future is not good largely be-
cause it is intellectually and morally |
weak despite the clever phrases and
epigrams and all the singing fervor.
1t is Intellectually weak because
1t has not come out with any really
persuasive evidence that it is any
different from the affinity of other
parties for capitalism. 1t is morally
weak because it is built around the
sad and frustrated career of an
honest but misguided leader
Henry Wallace. He might have
been the Democratic presidential
nominee in 1948 If he had only
learned, as did Theodore Roosevelt,
Woodrow Wilson and Franklin
Roosevelt, that politics requires
flexibility and practically and that
stubbornness and excessive personal
pride never won anybody anything
in politics.
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