Evening star., 1949-02-09
Republieun Dilemma

/, No one in possession of all of his faculties
would envy Governor Dewey in his appear
ance last night as spokesman for the
Republican Party.
He approached his thankless task with
rood humor And good humor was needed,
for the Republican Party has just come
through the bitterest of political expe-
riences-defeat in an election which 1t was
confident of winning. hI%f.,
Governor Dewey made the best$ef bad
business As titular head of the party,
which he aptly described as somewhat
mythical Office, he has the right to speak
for the Republicans. But the New YORK
Governor was under no illusions, for he
conceded that this was theoretical right,
and said there was no guarantee that any
one would listen to him.
There was, perhaps, more truth than
Jest in this observation. For If one may
Judge from the performance of the Re-
publican National Committee at its Omaha
meeting, these professionals are confirmed
believers In the old notion that distance
lends enchantment The farther away
they can get from Governor Dewey the
better they will like him. There Is no
reason to suppose that he speaks for them,
or that they have the slightest intention
Of listening to him.
Presumably, Governor Dewey was speak
ing to the onprofessionals-to the mil
lions of plain people who voted for him in
1914 and again in 1s4s And he did his
best to offer them a solution for what
might be called the great Republican di-
lemma-in O word, how to persuade q
majority of the voters that the Republican
Party not only believes in the good policies
advocated s-by the Democratssasbut is
equipped to do a better Job 81 carrying
them into effect.
To this end he said farewell to those
Republicans cwho 1dq= not, beaisysl Eshplee
heartedly Id Ssuch things as ure enp byHrent
insurance, old-age assistance on an in
creased basis, in broader social security
generally, in slum clearance and public
housing, in public development of our
water power resources, in farm price sup
ports, and in vigorous protection of the
rights of labor Governor Dewey believes
these things are here to stay. and he in
vited any Republicans who will not support
them to leave the party. How many there
are IN this category is hard to say. Cover
nor Dewey puts the figure at per cent,
an estimate which seems on the low side.
But In any event it has become clear
enough that things like these are wanted
by most people, and they are not going to
vote for any party which does not advocate
them and convince the people it really be-
iieves in them
It ought to be possible for the Republi-
scans to accomplish this much But it is
agoing to be harder to make enough people
believe that the COP can do better job
aof running the Government than the Dem
socrats Governor Dewey reduces it to an
issue Of freedom VS.. slavery, suggesting
that the Democrats are Intentionally lead
ing the people into condition of economic
and political bondage It is going to be
hard to sell that one. For while the Demo-
Gratis may be pursuing course which
eventually will lead to nationalized state,
not many people will believe that any sig
nificant number of Democrats are doing
this Intentionally.
The Republicans must do sbetter than
this. Governor Dewey can see the d-
lemma, and 1t may be that he defines it
accurately. But he has not yet found
n,f