Evening star., 1948-03-04
Far|ey:s Book Called
Interesting Revelation
OF American Politics
Could Serve as Textbook
On Sordid Doings; 1t Also
DemoIishes Many Idols
By David Laurence

Fifteen years have passed since
the birth OF the New Deal-the day
when Franklin Roosevelt took the
inaugural oath and ushered in an
era Of political and economic revo-
luton.
Some Of the reforms he advocated
were long overdue. Some had been
held back by belief that the Con-
stitution had to be amended to
grant more power to q centralized,
Federal Government. With true
revolutionary technique, MIR. Roo
sevelt challenged the Supreme
Court as his obstacle, later packed
1t with judges Of his own choosing,
and declared that judicial inter-
probation" was necessary because
the amending process prescribe0 In
the Constitution itself was clumsy
and to his mind unworkable.
To many Americans, Mr.. Roose.
welt takes his place In history as q
great President because they think
Of him as a liberal and the friend
of 'the underprivileged" or a great
leader in war. To other Americans,
Mr.. Roosevelt was just consun-
mate politician who used public
Office and power to advance his own
ambitions.
A Devastating Book.
BY a curious coincidence, there
was released this week a book en-
titled Jim Farley's Story - The
Roosevelt Years" It Is q devastat-
ing book. It reveals MIR. Roosevelt
as a petty politician, full of grudges
and economic prejudices, unfaithful
to his friends who served him. and
o master Of political chicanery.
Few persons who attacked the
Roosevelt regime from an opposite
political standpoint ever wrote more
blisteringly Of the New Deal Presi-
dent than has Jim Farley, the man
who managed two political CAM
paigns for Mr.. Roosevelt and pre-
sided over the Democratic National
Committee as its chairman. TherA
are passages which indicate that
Mr.. Farley didn't have much re-
spect for Mr.. Roosevelt's veracity.
Thus, the Farley story tells of~an
incident at the Democratic National
Convention at Chicago in July, 1910.
1t reads:
About twenty minutes after eight,
as I was preparing to head for the
stadium, Mrs. Duffy came in with
the news the White House was on
the line.
Jim, I've been trying to get
you all afternoon the President be-
gan heartily, and I haven't been
able to catch up with you. What are
you up to out there?'
"As he laughed, I smiled, had
been In the Office all afternoon.
AS matter Of fact, If I had been out
and word had come through that
the President wanted me, everyone
around me would have kept after
me until I was located. Just for the
record, I made check later and
found that there was no White
House call during the afternoon"
Mr.. Farley tells Of meeting the
then Secretary of Labor Frances
Perkins earlier In the day and find
ing her surprised that, although the
convention had been in session for
several days, Mr.. Roosevelt had not
communicated with the Democratic
chairman. It is inferred In the book
that Miss Perkins prodded Mr..
Roosevelt into making the telephone
call.
Demolishes Many Idols.
There are other incidents such as
the strange manner in which Sena-
tor Barley Of Kentucky was elected
by q margin OF one vote to be Sen
ate leader in opposition TO the late
Senator Pat Harrison Of Mississippi.
Mr.. Farley relates how Mr.. Roose-
velt promised to keep hands-off and
then, behind the scenes, got Boss
Kelly of Chicago to swing the vote
of Senator Dietrich Of Illinois to
Senator Barkley.
1t is, on the whole, an interest
ing revelation of American politics.
A Republican chairman could prob
ably tell the same story about some
other Presidents. But the disheart-
ening thing is that the book empha-
sizes how, among so-called big men,
the end justifies the means. They
play for large stakes, convince them
selves that they are indispensable to
the public good, and rationalizei
what other men would call Immoral
and deceitful as being In the public
interest
The Farley book may not have
been intended as a textbook on sor-
did politics as it is practiced by both
parties In America, but is serves that
purpose and demolishes lot of idols
at the same time.
(Reproduction Rights Ressrved.)