Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-11
Prevailing Confusion
A Problem for Voters
Writer Says Electorate Cannot
Trust Partisan Opinions

Trust Partisan Opinions
By Fronk R. Kent
There are so many great national
and international issues in the country
today, and they are so complicated and
confused, that it is exceedingly difficult
for the average citizen to know enough
about any of them to really Judge for
himself. In fact, 1t isn't easy for a
Congressman, candidate, a journalist
or any one else whose business it Is to
be fully informed to become so on more
than one or two issues.
This is an unhappy state of affairs.
1t means that in the coming campaign
the ordinary voter must be at loss
to gather accurate and uncolored facts
He does not know where to look. And
who can tell him? Certainly, he can
get no unbiased information from the
politicians of either party. These
naturally are intent only upon the sue
cess of their own side. Every partisan
will magnify his own virtues and pic
ture those Of the opposition as vices.
Certainly, he will not get purely OBJ
vision news commentatorS-nor from
the columnists. who are all biased one
way or another. Some of the better
newspapers honestly try to be i'm
partial in the presentation Of the facts.
but not all succeed. The great bulk OF
the press, of course. Is editorially
slanted by the prediction and pre-
ference Of the owners.
X
This is natural. human and right
and there isn't anything to do about
it. Some papers are controlled by high
minded, intelligent men who stamp
their character on them. But these
are by no means in the majority and
it would be misleading to hold that
the newspapers, our most important
channel of information, are infallible
guides on the so-called tissues Of the
hour" They are the best channels we
have but by no means perfect. And
all of the weeklies are openly biased.
Conceding the formidable nature Of
these barriers to an informed cleo
torate. the most depressing part Of the
story has not yet been told. AS one
looks forward to this campaign, in
which 435 members Of the House Of
Representatives, IS Senators and "a
Governors, in addition to many judges
and other local officers, are to be
chosen. 1t seems safe to predict that all
records for bunk, bilge. bombast and
demagoguery will be broken.
The Nation will be flooded with prop
uganda not only from the high-powered
publicity departments of the two po-
litical parties and from the expensive
and elaborate bureaus of the great
labor unions-the CLIO and AFL-also
from many of the 200-odd pressure
groups" which Herbert Hoover is Con-
WINGED are the chief reason the saving
of between SIS and 81 billions of dol
lars in Government expenditures cam
not be made. But that is not all In
every district and State candidates for
Office will be on the air. Vast. sums
of money will be spent and the raul
cous voices of the congressional office
holders and ofice-Seekers. will drown
out most everything else. From Vice
President Nixon and Jimmie" Roose-
welt in the West to Gov. Dewey
and Franklin Roosevelt in the East,
hundreds of nominees for one thing
OF another. and their partisans, will be
telling us what to think and how to
vote.
If any one believes he can get the I'M
vanished truth about any issue from
these sources, he is. indeed. an optimist.
Where. then, is the independent voter
seeking the facts and wanting reliable
guide to look? There seems no adequate
answer. There seems, in fact, nothing
for that type of voter to do except
choose the leadership he prefers and
follow that. For example, if he wants
to break the Eisenhower administra-
ton down, restore Democratic control
Of Congress and elect in 1856 a Demo-
cratic President, he will follow the
leadership of Adlai Stevenson, Harry
Truman, Walter Reuther of the CLIO.
the Americans for Democratic Action
and other advocates of the New and
Fair Deal spending policies.
On the other hand, if he has conf
dence in President Eisenhower and his
program. if he is convinced of the Presi-
dents personal sincerity, truthfulness
and competence, likes the character of
feels that, in these critical times, he is
the safest man to have at the head Of
the Nation-if this is the way he feels.
then he will follow the Eisenhower lead
ership, vote in November for candidates
who will support his policies and hope
for his denomination in 1856. In brief,
no matter how intelligent the voter
may be. there is no use pretending that
he can himself get at the merits of
all the issues involved in both foreign
and domestic policies. Furthermore,
there is no use deluding himself that
any editor. columnist, radio or tele-
vision commentator knows all the an
swers and is wholly without prejudice.
The sensible thing for the voter to do
seems to be to choose his leadership
and follow it.