Evening star., 1949-02-09
DeweySeen Declaring
War on Republican
U|tra-Conservatives
Lincoln Day Dinner Talk
Shows He Is Assuming
Offensive Within Party
By David Laurence

Gov. Dwey has declared war on
the ultra a-conservatives. He urges
that the Republican Party become
q liberal and progressive party"
Whether Mr.. Dewey is or is not
a candidate in 1852. he proposes to
fight within his party to bring into
the ascendancy the young. liberal
elements which he believes he rep
resents.
The speech delivered at the Lin
coin Day dinner by the New York
Governor was no masterpiece of
political philosophy, but it was
blunt and direct.
After criticizing those Republi-
cans who want to turn the clock
back on measures of social prog
ress, Mr.. Dewey issued this chal-
lenee:
Those who disapprove of these
principles and want to fight them
ought to go out and try to get
elected in a typical American COM
runity and see what happens to
them. But they ought not to do
1t as Republicans. They ought not
to get their personal prejudices
confused with the basic aims the
Republican Party has repeatedly
set forth in its platforms"
Slap at s0th Congress.
Ever since the election Mr.
Dewey has smarted under the con-
demnation of Republicans vino
said he was too New Dealish Or
that he didn't make an aggressive
campaign against the Truman rec
ord and proposals. The New York
Governor doesn't say it in so many
words but he places considerable
part Of the blame on the ultra
conservatives. who, he implies,
have been weighing down the Re-
publicans and causing them to lose
elections. What he said can be
taken also as an indirect slap at
the last Republican Congress.
Mr.. Dewey is assuming the Of
fensive now within his party. His
long period Of silence since the
election has given him time to
mediate on the strategy that a
so-called titular leader Of a de-
feated party may use. He treats
In lighter vein the fact that he
Is such a leader
Mr.. Dewey adopts more or less
the same attitude that he did in
his 1914 campaign when he was
running against the late President
Roosevelt. He argued then that
everybody is for the same obiec-
tives but with a different means
Of attaining them. He makes that
point much better now than he
did five years ago. He says:
You know, it is a curious thing
that the same objectiYes of full
employment and social security
are claimed as their purpose by
both political parties in America,
by both the Socialist and nom
Socialist governments of. Europe. D.,
by. the Communist nations of
Eastern Europe. and were claimed |
BY the Hitler government"
,-.,~- Drives Point Home. i
The New York Governor drives :
his point home by an attack on
President Truman's proposal in
his. recent message to Congress
threatening to build Government
plants in competition with the
steel companies if they don't pro-
duce more steel. This causes Mr.. |
Dewey to charge that the Truman
administration has asked Congress
for the right to take steps which
would lead toward the national
ization of various industries. Mr..
Dewey says:
Soviet Russia has nationalized
her industries. So did Nazi Ger
many. Other nations are doing
the same. But should we follow
them down that trail?"
Curiously enough, there are
passages in the Dewey speech
which will not be opposed by the
conservatives, but there are other
passages to which they will take
exception. In any event. Mr.. Dewey
has stirred up q controversy that
will rock the Republican Party as
1t did in 1910 when Theodore
Roosevelt began to build up the
progressive movement. 1t Is q sig
niflcant development in political
history.
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