THE MICHIGAN DAILY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29> 1930
TilE MICHHT~AN hAlEY WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 1936
THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sizing Up The
Official Publication of the Summer Session
Candidate Roosevelt Leads In Platform, Performance And Personality-
_._ .
By FRED WARNER NEAL
(Associate Editor of The Michigan Daily, 1936-37)
AN IMPARTIAL VIEW of the national politica
scene forces me to conclude that both John
w Hamilton, Landon campaign manager, and Jim
Farley, Roosevelt political boss, are more or les
50 per cent wrong and that this election will be a
r very close one.
There seems to be little doubt that Presiden
Roosevelt, althcugh he has lost great blocs of sup-
. ~--port to Landon since the Cleveland convention, i
- still leading. But, also, there seems to be little
doubt that Governor Landon and the forces back-
day-during the ing him are opponents to be reckoned with and
y the Board in that, with the acceptance speech just over, they
|ditorial Associa- have hardly yet begun to fight.
There are two principal reasons, it would appear
PRESS for the wane of Roosevelt popularity. First there
;itled to the use is an apparent shift of the American people back
credited to it or
I the local news to their normal conservatism. The New Deal
ation of special lost favor as its component parts were declared
or, Michigan, as unconstitutional. And the average American, who
tage granted by reveres the Supreme Court whether it takes him
, $1.50, by mail, back to the "horse and buggy days" or not, was
arrier, $4.00; by displeased with the "irreverent" attitude of the
Maynard Street, President toward the constitution.
Second, there is, dating from a time shortly prior
Service Inc., 420 to the Cleveland convention, a trend toward har-
mony in the Republican ranks, together with the
concentration of effort on one cadidate-Landon
-where before there were a half dozen. The Daily
[AS E. GROEHN aptly said in the spring that the Republican party
SAS H. KLEENE nationally was in the same sad state as was the
all D. Shulman Democratic party in Michigan. That is no longer
hn W. Pritchard true. Senator Vandenberg saw the trend in April,
Ralph W. Hurd, when he said that the Roosevelt strength would
Tenander, Jewel
decline as soon as the G.O.P. decided on a candi-
ry Delnay, ME
Vincent Moore, date. He was right.
rothea Staeber, To attempt to decide in July who is going to be
elected President in November is like playing poker
for fun. It is an interesting game but it really
H. ATHERTON doesn't get you anywhere. It is difficult to see at
JOHN R. PARK this time, however, how Governor Landon and all
SCameron Hall the money of the Liberty League can win the day.
Robert Lodge Recall, for instance, the various presidential
primaries in Maryland, in New Jersey, in Illinois,
in New Hampshire, in Maine, in New York, in Ohio,
in Wisconsin and even in conservative Massachu-
setts. President Roosevelt polled in them vast
numbers of votes more than the total votes cast for
the Republican ticket.
il 4, we point- Of course, in these primaries, it is true that the
rous and dis- Republican vote was somewhat divided and that
dgets" or sur- primaries attract notoriously small numbers of
mber of state voters. But. nevertheless, such voting, I think, is
h. "successful" more indicative of the true situation than polls
reasingly un- of newspapers and magazines.
ved off on the In these nation-wide polls, particularly "Amer-
ig shirking of ica Speaks," in the Detroit News and other papers,
Roosevelt, up until three weeks ago, led consistent-
ig a situation ly. In the most recent poll on Roosevelt and Lan-
'preassituationdon, Roosevelt led the popular vote and Landon the
's magazine, electoral vote.
, Washington But there, consider the states that were quoted
1,ahintn-as "doubtful." They were the big ones with the
we ibelievesen heaviest electoral vote-New York with 47 elec-
toral votes, Pennsylvania with 36, Illinois with 29,
Michigan with 19 and Massachusetts with 18.
[der the $300,- These states all went Democratic in 1932, a total
states, counk of 149 electoral votes. How many of them can
C.ongress took Roosevelt count on in 1936?
fth bkill, fx- The winning candidate, as Columnist Paul Mal-
d making spe- lon points out, must probably carry at least three
rowing states of these states. Both sides are making every ef-
J road grants, fort to win them, as they are Maine, which seems
L of the funds to have, in addition to its five electoral votes, its
I and accrued peculiar psychological effect, i.e., the myth that
"as Maine goes, so goes the nation."
It is in those states with the heavy electoral vote
ars before re- that the battle will be fought the hardest, and it
d lobby from is those states that will determine the outcome.
ress, moving But there are other factors.
ly butted the Can Roosevelt, for example, count on the farm
ult, when the states west of thee Mississippi? Two months ago
road aid to they were strongly Democratic, even Kansas. But
wis of Mary- the Republicans are counting heavily on the fact
ot one dollar that Landon is a farm state candidate and that
'relief debts.' he is certain, at least, to vin his own state. (Only
igan and La- one man, Woodrow Wilson, in 1916, ever became
elected President without winning his own state.)
0,000,000 was And the Republicans are going out of their way,
he states, the as evidenced by former Governor Frank Lowden's
the RFC still announcement that he would support Landon, to
g since kissed convince agriculture that they are in favor of a
goodby, to- soil program similar to the one in effect and that
rued interest, the farmer will not be forgotten.
interest that On the other hand, the New Deal farm policy
al repayment seems to be still popular with the western farmers,
and the administration's aid to the drought strick-
en area will do anything but harm the New Deal
in that section.
It is in the West that the so-called third or
Union party, with Inflationist William Lemke as
candidate and Father Coughlin as chief backer,
to wordsnarlscomes in-if at all. If genuine inflation, as ad-
olitical spell- vocated by the Unionites, appeals to intelligent
sness of the persons at all it is to the farmers of the west, and
snems ofy thmany of them are uneducated. It is possible, there-
mightn rany. fore, that the Union party may take some votes
might rer.away from Roosevelt in the Dakotas (particularly
ar of liberty,~
his cancerous North Dakota, Lemke's home state), in Idaho, in
h canoverous Utah, in Oklahoma and the silver states.
n of govern- And because the Republicans are making over-
e hears over tures to the western farmers, it is quite probable
ehr~bcs lover that the Union party will take as many persons
away from the G.O.P. as from the Democrats.
But these will be popular votes and not electoral
votes, and it is hard to see how the third party can
cut enough of a figure even in those states actually
to do anything.
s Certainly there is little chance of getting any
labor vote away from President Roosevelt. Not
only are both William Green and John Lewis, labor
t leaders No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, for him, but
- the Democratic labor plank is sure to be construed
s as being in favor of national as against company
unions, and Governor Landon's acceptance speech
- apparently means that he thinks company unions
1 should not be disturbed. And nearly all union
men, certainly all union leaders, can be counted
on to oppose the Kansan.
It is doubtful, it seems to me, if the so-called
radical element will be more enticed by Mr. Lem-
ke's party. Left wing forces, Mr. Hearst to
the contrary, shy away from inflation. And if
they do not support Roosevelt-they certainly will
not aid Landon-they can vote for Norman Tho-
mas on the Socialist ticket or Earl Browder on the
Communist ticket.
Exceeding both candidates and platform in this
election is the New Deal. That is the issue. Does
the the electorate want it or not?
Of course, President Roosevelt is, more or less,
the New Deal, and his personality, with either a
plus or a minus reaction, will enter the campaign.
But the platforms, especially in face of the way the
Democratic statement of 1932 was forgotten, can-
not be expected to figure much. And indeed, with
the exception of the labor, monetary and relief
administration planks, those documents differ but
little materially.
The Democrats' great talking point will be a flat
question to the average voter: "Are you or are you
not better off than you were in 1932?" As the frank
Mr. Farley admits, the campaign from the Roose-
velt side will be little more than that.
But the administration, with the great mass
of people, is on the defensive nevertheless. The
Republicans charge nefarious and multifarious
misdeeds. Their principal talking point seems to
be the great debt the New Deal has piled up behind
it. They point to the powers centralized in the
President and cry "dictator and Communist"
(sometimes it is socialist. It doesn't matter. The
Republicans mean the same thing by the term.)
They claim that relief has been mixed with pbl-
itics, that the NRA hindered recover.y, and that
the President has violated the constitution with
"a lot of foolish experiments." They also criticize
the AAA's "economy of scarcity," although they
fail to mention, for the most part, the administra-
tion's foolhardy silver policy.
For the Republicans, President Roosevelt is a
"hair-brained experimenter." And for the Dm-
ocrats, Governor Landon is an "unknown oil op-
erator, backed by the forces of evil and reaction,
in a 'typical prairie state.'"
Perhaps both are right, but the impartial ob-
server cannot help but recognize that while there
may be some doubt about the Republican charac-
terization of the President, what the Democrats
say about the Kansas governor appears to be more
or less correct. Certainly neither Governor Lan-
don nor his views are well known. And such or-
ganizations as the Hearst press and the American
Liberty League, backing him, are hardly known for
benevolence or liberalism.
Furthermore, it is true that the problems of an
agricultural state like Kansas are vastly different
from those of a great nation like the United States.
Perhaps Governor Landon is up to the task. But
his record alone, while it has few black marks, does
not guarantee it.
One more word on the Republican campaign.
The Republicans have attempted, starting chiefly
from the time of Mr. Hoover's speech before the
Cleveland convention, to make an issue of what
they term the deprivation of personal liberty under
the New Deal. They stress the fact that our free-
dom is priceless and charge that the Roosevelt
administration has attempted to curtail it, and
have succeeded.
If I may be permitted a personal observation, I
do not agree. I cannot see where liberties, as
priceless as they are, have been curtailed. Mine
have not been. At the other end of the economic
scale, Henry Ford says his have not been. And
outside of Mr. Hearst, Alfred E. Smith and the
Messrs. du Pont, I know of no one who claims
his freedom--those acticns which are not harmful
to others-has been taken away.
A man said to me during Hoover's speech in
Cleveland: "The only right I know of that has been
interfered with is the right to starve to death."
I agree with that, and it strikes me that I would
worry a lot more about my liberties if the nation
were controlled by those gentry who are howling
about them the loudest, than I have been. under
Mr. Roosevelt.
Personal liberty is not the issue-yet. But should
certain forces ever gain control of the nation and
be able to coerce a weak man in the White House,
one may fear that personal liberay may be the
issue. Until that time, the voter should concen-
trate, it seems to me, on the candidates. They are
important, really, whether the electorate in general
believes it or not. For it is the next President of
the United States that will shape the destiny of
America. The election is a critical one, and every
citizen will do well to regard it as such.
ART NOTES
Fine Bindings
ALL WHO ARE sensitive to the
beauty of fine bindings will be in-
terested in a book which will become
"the finest specimen of book binding1
to be possessed by the University"I
according to William C. Hollands.
superintendent-emeritus of painting
and binding.
It is an exquisite specimen of art
binding, in full levanlt morocco, in-
laid, with morocco doublures and gilt
gauffered edges. The book is a copy
of Sarah T. Prideaux' Historical
Sketch of Bookbindin, and it was
done by James Rolands. a New Or-
leans binder who received his train-
ing in Italy.
The book is now in the -possession
of Mr. Hollands, who met Rolands
while in New Orleans. Mr. Hollands
is offering to show the book to any-
one interested in that phase of art;
he is to be found in the bindery, in
the basement of the general library.
Through the generosity of Mr. Hol-
lands, it will become the property of
the rare book room. -M.D.S.
Picnic Planned
For Southern
Students Todax
t Summer Session students from the
Southern States will be guests at a
picnic supper to be given at 6 p.m.
today in the Garden of the League.
The menu, of which Dr. T. Luther,
Purdom, director of the Bureau of
Appointments and Occupational In-
formation, is in charge, will include'
country sausage, corn bread, corn on
the cob, beans cooked in true South-
ern style, and watermelon. Last year
Dr. Purdom himself did the cooking
for the picnic, which over 80 south-
erners attended. This year he will
direct the cooking of the meal in the
- League kitchen.
Members of the League Under-
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Cash in advance 11c per reading line
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ing; line for three or moure insertions.
Minimum three lines per insertion.
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three lines per insertion.
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Tie above rates are for 7% point type.
FOR SALE
SCOTTISH TERRIER PUPS: A.K.C.
6 weeks old, healthy, sturdy, splen-
did breeding. One female, 7 months
old, all reasonably priced to sell.
1313 S State.
graduate Council are assisting il
making plans for the picnic. In case
of rain, the dinner will be held in
.the ballroom. Tickets for the supper
are on sale at the main desk of the
League. They are priced at 35 cents.
All reservations must be made not
later than noon today.
I-
FOR SALE: 31 Chrysler coupe.
Rumble seat. Splendid condition.
Phone 2-1070 Mrs. Leaf. 20
LAUNDRY
LAUNDRY WANTED: Student Co-
ed. Men's shirts 10c. Silks, wools,
our specialty. All bundles done sep-
arately. No markings. Personal sat-
isfaction guaranteed. Call for and
deliver. Phone 5594 any time until
7 o'clock. Silver Laundry, 607 E.
Hoover. 3x
LAUNDRY 2-1044. Sox darned,
Careful work at low price. Ix
LOST AND FOUND
LOST: Phi Delta Kappa fraternity
pin. Reward for return. William
A. Mann, 621 Forest, Phone 5607.
--
LAST TIMES TODAY
It's Shirley's Best!
SH IRLEY TEMPLE
"THE POOR LITTLE
RICH GIRL"
- STARTING THURSDAY -
Francis Lederer
"ONE RAINY
AFTERNOON"
ROLAND
YOUNG
With
HUGH
HERBERT
YOUNG HERBERT
[II
STARTING TODAY
AN UNUSUAL DOUBLE-
FEATURE PROGRAM
PAT O'BRI EN
JOSEPHINE HUTCHINSON
"I MARRIED
A DOCTOR"
-- and
Richard Arlen
"3 LIVE GHOSTS"
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RELII
NE S
I s
wittingly may demand the abolition of bureaus,
regardless of their worth, merely because they come
under the.term "bureaucracy" and because they
do spend the taxpayers' money.
Sensible -people everywhere are in favor of any
bureau that is cast in a Civil Service mold and
which can demonstrate value commensurate with
its cost. Such, for example, is the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, composed of "G-Men" (what
storms of indignation would Dr. Maurer have
aroused had he denounced the "G-Men.")
A report of this bureau, issued recently by J.
Edgar Hoover, tells us that during the year just
concluded it spent about $5,000,000, in return for
which it collected $34,708,915-"Good business," in
mediable loss. It is possible to go even further. It
is possible to say that the dependence of the
U.S. farmer upon the U. S. Government is and
long has been so complete that without govern-
ment aid the U. S. farmer would resoundingly col-
lapse."
With the inestimable value of these bureaus thus
in mind, we shudder, not at the thought of "bu-
reaucracy," but at the thought of what the restora-
tion of "a free competitive system-a system under
which, and only under which, can there be inde-
pendence, equality of opportunity, and work for
all," as advocated by the Kansas economizer, would
mean to the farmers or to all sections of our so-
ciety.
WRITENBY EN
OF M1,YF&TS
Unprejudiced /
F Shk WE
ld I m, i 1 WV