Evening star., 1949-11-05
The New Louisiunu Purchase

1t is clear from his mon political"
speech at st. Paul that President Truman
stands squarely on the side of the angels.
Implicitly lkening himself to Thomas
Jefferson, and singing the praises of the
Fair Deal as KIND of supercolossal Louisi-
ana Purchase, he has come Out strongly
IN favor OF good life for every American.
Further, although more than so per
cent OF the electorate voted against him
IN lS48, the President has stated it as his
hrm conviction that practically nobody
disagrees with the way he is trying to
bring on that good life. Nobody, that is,
except his favorite whipping boys-that
relatively small cabal of blackhearted
people whom he never names by name
but simply castigates as "standpatters,"
"reactionaries" and ''the selfish interests. !"
including presumably newspapers that
print editorials like this one.
From the standpoint of vote-getting
politics, the Presidents speech-making
technique is certainly masterful. Thus,
with Jefferson's mantle draped around him
and with the Louisiana Purchase cited as
small-scale forerunner Of the Fair Deal,
ne is knight in shining armor fighting
only for the good and the beautiful.
Sword in one hand to smite the
greedy few and sugar plums in the other
to spread wealth and happiness through
out the land, he is the champion of some
thing fine for everybody-high prices for
farmers, fat wages for workers, profitable
opportunities for small businesses and
co-operatives, education for youth, special
benefits for the old and disabled, protec-
t1on OF families against the hazards of
existence, cheaper housing for the citi-
zenry at large, equal rights, better health.
more riches and greater security for all
Americans.
In principle, how can anybody object
to these things without looking like the
sort Of wretch who would scott at the
Sermon on the Mount, vote in favor of
sin, or ridicule such superb examples of
foresight as the Louisiana Purchase? OF
course, as practical working matter, the
Fair Deal and the Purchase may well be
two horses of an entirely different color.
IL may well be, too, that if he were alive
to-day, the Sage of Monticello-who be-
neved ardently in balanced budgets
would be one with Senator Byrd in
attacking the Presidents program, not
necessarily because of its philosophy, but
because OF its seeming to be much too
sweeping and costly to be undertaken
when we are piling up huge deficits on
top of a national debt of more than a
quarter OF trillion dollars. Still, be all
this as it may, the fact remains that
people who would challenge the wisdom
of Mr. Truman's lavishness must expect
to be branded as "standpatters," "reac-
tionaries," spokesman of "the special in
terests," and knaves darkly intent on
blocking progress in the field of human
welfare.
At any rate, that is the way the Presi-
dent has drawn the issue at st. Paul.
Nobody can be righteous who is not with
him. To some Americans, the Fair Deal.
far from being analogous to Jefferson's
great real-estate operation, may seem-in
scope at least-to be a reckless under
taking designed largely to purchase votes
In 1850 and 1852. To question it as such,
however, is to invite contumely. The thing
undeniably has considerable popular ap-
peal, and Mr.. Truman-crusader, Santa
Claus and companion of angels all in one
can be counted upon to make the most
effective possible political use of it from
here on out.