The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-07-14
.. Workmen
BY w. d. WORKMAN

| AOOus VIC NOuAltA CAuC LlCSC UdyS
in a schizofrenzied effort to per-
suade voters that party platforms
mean everything i and nothing.
1t takes a split personality
to do real job Of selling both
points Of view. for not everyone
can merchandise a product which
has interchangeable assets and
liabilities. Time and space fac
tors, however. make it possible
at least for a time-for party
politicians to vary their pitches
according to their audiences.
Here's sample:
The Democratic party platform
promised organized labor every
thing but the kitchen sink, and
union leaders apparently are TAX
ing those promises at face value.
Consequently. there is much
trumpeting in labor circle+both
by labor leaders and by Demo-
cratic politicians mn over such
planks as those pledging elimi-
nation of right-to-work laws,
picketing restrictions, Taft-Hart-
ley legislation and the like.
But way down South, where
those safeguards against labor
abuses are popular. the word is
that platforms are worthless"
Don't worr y about those
promises. the line runs, "old
Lyndon johnson will look out for
u.s."
Or. to put the shoe on the
other foot, take a look at the
hassle over the civil rights planks
Of the two parties. Southern
Democrats are incensed, among
other things. over their party's
setting a 1863 target date for
beginning desegregation Of all
schools. Southern Republicans
seek to capitalize on this Demo
cratic dissidence by pointing out
that no such target date was
mentioned in their platform.
That is the argument down
South. but what are the Repubh-
cans saying elsewhere? They
are quoting from the part of the
platform which says:
I'VE oppose the pretense Of fix
ing a target date three years
from now for the mere subrnis-
sion Of plans for school desegre-
cation. Slow-moving school dis
tricts would construe it as a
three year moratorium during
which progress would cease,
postponing until 1868 the legal
process to enforce compliance.
We believe that each of the pend
ing court actions should proceed
as the Supreme Court has d.
rected and that in no district
should there be any such delay"
This sort Of double-talk inevi-
tably follows the selective read
ing of platforms. and the citation
Of only those portions which seem
acceptable to a given group at
a given place. The unpalatable
portions are dismissed out of
hand as being worthless"
If that appraisal refers to a
Platforms sincerity. accuracy. or
likelihood of fulfillment. then it
is well chosen. But if it is ap-
piled to a platforms effective
ness as a vote-getting device.
then it is false. A party platform
is a potent instrument of politi-
cal propaganda in these days of
psychological warfare between
parties.
Mid-century politicking in the
United States has come to be
more than a bell-ringing, hand
shaking, back-Slapping process Of
personal solicitation. And in a
presidential contest Of 1860 pro-
portions. the race takes on the
aspects Of . massive battle for
the minds Of men-to use a
phrase Characteristic Of psyche
logical warfare in other fields. n
Is In this context that the party
platform serves a useful, If none
too admirable, purpose.
BY its very name and nature.
a platform lays down the foun-
dation upon which a party builds
its appeal to the voters. Here,
for instance, is how a plat
form" is described realistically
| IN Smith and zurcher's "picuou-