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Show lilMmgfim. - " --"-'' 1 1 i ivy, j Washington, D. C. SPHINX ROOSEVELT Franklin Roosevelt will go down in history as the greatest keeper oi a secret in American politics. For more than two years scores of friends, Democratic leaders, newsmen news-men and others tried their hand at worming from him some hint on the third term question. None succeeded succeed-ed until the Democratic convention was only a week away and this one, Jim Farley, in turn sealed his own lips. Except for Farley, there wasn't a person on earth who could say he had heard from Roosevelt himself what he planned to do. There were many to whom he said that he did not want to run. There were some to whom he voiced a preference for Secretary of State Cordell Hull as his successor. But there was no one, including members mem-bers of his family, to whom the President gave the slightest clue whether he would run again. Illustrative of the complete mystery mys-tery even within the inner council was the fact that Secretary Morgen-thau Morgen-thau did not believe the President would be a candidate, while Secre- Unnl.in. ....... AnnAnnt tVl ho would. Both had to admit that Roosevelt had said nothing and that their opinions were based wholly on "deductions." Last week Sen. Sherman Minton, New Deal whip, and State Chairman Chair-man Bays of Indiana, tried to penetrate pene-trate the silence. Both are members mem-bers of the Hoosier convention delegation dele-gation and strong third-termers. As they were leaving after a White House call they said: "We hope we'll have the privilege, Mr. President, Presi-dent, of voting for you at Chicago." Roosevelt smiled broadly and replied, re-plied, "I'm sure we'll have a ticket that will win." Possibly the secret of how Roosevelt Roose-velt kept his secret so well and so long was that he didn't know himself him-self what he was going to do. Significant was a remark he made to a Midwesterner following the nomination of Wendell Willkie. The visitor expressed the view that Will-kie's Will-kie's candidacy made it necessary for the President to run again. "There isn't anyone who can lick him but you, Mr. President," the caller said. "I think what happened in Philadelphia makes it imperative that you run. I am sure you don't want to; no man who has undergone the ordeal you have for eight years would want any more of it. But it's not a case any more of your preference. pref-erence. In my opinion, the choice is no longer yours." The President paused as if thinking, think-ing, then said quietly, as if to himself, him-self, "This decision will be the most momentous in my life." FOREIGN AFFAIRS PLANK For the Democratic platform makers, like the Republicans, the biggest headache was the foreign affairs af-fairs plank. The same bellicose forces, isolationist isola-tionist and anti, which made life miserable for the Philadelphia platform plat-form writers, gave the deep blues to the Democrats. In fact, the rival camps among the Democrats were even more troublesome. The Republicans, while they squabbled hotly among themselves behind closed doors, were too conscious con-scious of party interest to kick up an open ruckus. On the final showdown, show-down, the boys worked out a compromise com-promise that gave each side a sop. The result was rather ambiguous, but it left the door open for the Republican Re-publican candidate to move whichever which-ever way he wanted. But the prima donna Democratic factions were insisting on the whole hog or nothing. Senator Burt Wheeler, Wheel-er, backed by the glowering John L. Lewis, is demanding an unequivocal, unequiv-ocal, isolationist, no-war declaration; declara-tion; and threatens to head a third-party third-party ticket if he doesn't get his way. Anti-isolationists, foremost among them Roosevelt himself, are flatly against such a plank. At the same time, they were acutely aware of the powerful "peace" sentiment in the country and they know they've got to watch' their step. CONVENTION NOTES The Chicago convention literally dripped with vice presidential candidates. can-didates. With more than a score already in the field, Iowa's genial, bald-domed Senator Herring tossed his hat in the ring . . . One Washington Washing-ton correspondent at Chicago attended at-tended the convention in a dual capacity. ca-pacity. Tall, mellow-tempered Bas-com Bas-com Timmons covered the convention conven-tion as a newsman and also acted as the national committeeman proxy of his close friend and fellow Texan. Vice President Jack Garner. MERRY-GO-ROUND The post office department and census bureau will handle the details de-tails of registering the estimated 3,600,000 aliens in the U. S., to begin September 1. The justice department, depart-ment, which now has control of alien regulation, plans an extensive educational edu-cational program in Americanism for resident foreigners. In line for G. O. P. floor leader should Sen. Charles McNary become be-come vice president is Vermont's tble Warren Ausiin, present assistant assist-ant floor chief. |