Show Bruc Bru karts charts washington digest politicians believe roosevelt now campaigning for third term bombshell by ickes and blast by secretary early accepted As havins having 0 presidential approval attacks upon i garner are without justification by WILLIAM BRUCKART 1 ltv service national press bide washington D C washington politics long has been described as a game and it is in consequence there are certain rules to be followed they are rules that are born of experience and the participants in the game of politics know full well what will happen when those rules are violated outstanding among these rules none of which are written of course is a thorough understanding by a president of the united states that he must remain silent about his choice of a successor just as long as it is possible to do so otherwise he obviously loses some of the support that he can command from members of his party any pronouncement no that he favors this one or looks with disfavor upon that one immediately produces a split those not blessed with the presidential smile become embittered and assert their enmity another rule is that once a man is elected president he automatically becomes a candidate for a second term this results from the fact that whether he is good bad or indifferent as the head of the political party that sponsored him that party cannot dump him overboard for the sake of the party itself now however there is a new ne v condition developing one for which no apparent or obvious rule exists tradition has set up a rule in this country that no president shall seek a third consecutive term all presidents have followed it heretofore and some indication has been given by them as early as was convenient that they intended retiring the most recent situation of this kind of course was the famous statement by the late calvin coolidge who was the author of 1 I do not choose to run mr air coolidge had served a part of the term to which warren G harding was elected and was elected for one full term he considered he had served two terms and thus stated his plans for return to private life albeit the announcement no had people guessing believe roosevelt Is planning for third term the problem that now confronts the politicians and about which there is no rule concerns president Roosevel ts course according to old precedent mr roosevelt is under no compulsion to suggest whom he favors as a successor indeed he would be borrowing trouble were he to do so at this time but members of his own party and voters generally are wondering more and more whether he intends to seek a third nomination and election and thus climax his record as a breaker of precedents there are many political leaders and students of politics who are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that mr roosevelt is campaigning even now for his third nomination they base their conclusion on countless small indications and the drive for this result that is being carried on by a small group of white house intimates and to make the confusion worse there has come the announcement by secretary ickes of the interior department that mr roosevelt must be and reelected elected re this was like a bombshell in the ranks of the anti roosevelt democrats who read into those lines printed in the magazine look the first publication li of united efforts on the part of the presidents advisers with the consent of mr roosevelt but if the ickes statement was a bombshell a subsequent statement by stephen early one of the secretaries ret aries to mr roosevelt must be regarded as an explosion of an entire powder storehouse to the onlooker mr earlys statement cannot be ignored it must be acce accepted apted as having presidential approval because of 0 the intimate relationship between the two men and if it has presidential approval it is tantamount as tar far as I 1 can see to an announcement of mr Roosevel ts intentions early declares voters will not be confused writing in the saturday eveni evening ng post mr early concluded his discussion of unfair criticisms of mr air roosevelt with a fervent declaration that the voters will not be confused with the gracious consent of mr air wesley winans stout editor in chief of the post I 1 herewith reprint the salient paragraph from mr earlys ea alys article that has served to aprea spread d in new and broader form the feeling that mr roosevelt will seek reelection to a third term certain it is that with the approach P roach of 1940 as has been the case every four years since this democratic form of government was adopted by the people of the united states new rumors new whisperings variations of truth and untruth will come to mix with the old fortunately it is equally true that the vast majority of those who vote ote v in the next presidential election will take salutary pleasure in expressing their contempt of all that the doubled double tongued scandal mongers bongers and their a may do to confuse the real issues I 1 find the general question being asked why is notice being taken now of rumors and half truths truth which have thus far been ignored through six years of the administration unless it is the purpose to dispose of them in advance of another campaign I 1 hear also this question how can the voters express contempt for these false rumors and vilifications unless by a vote for mr roosevelt personally the answers to these questions of course will vary those who are heart and soul with mr roosevelt are saying naturally that he wants to put an end to the unfair and poisonous attacks by answering them openly those who want to stand by the two term tradition are reading into those lines mr roose belts determination to go ahead and seek reelection election re why they ask should the early article and the ickes article be published simultaneously especially since mr roosevelt has remained silent on his future course every reason to wonder what the answer will B be there has been considerable criticism of mr air roosevelt because he has kept his own counsel concerning the scads of favorite son candidates that go shouting about the countryside such criticism is silly the president whatever his thoughts may be about the third term is not called upon at this time to say whether he likes any one or all it accomplishes nothing for those who dislike the president to stir up a stink along that line but the determination of the president or lack of it to run for a third term is quite a different proposition and there is every reason under the rules of the game as it has been played for people to wonder what the answer is is to be the record of history being what it is a tradition of two tivo terms for a president there can be no justification fi of the new deal attacks upon vice president garner whose friends are now openly seeking delegates for him mr garners friends surely have the right to assume that the time has come for them to cultivate votes in the next national convention of the democratic party such attacks as mr ickes made against garner in the ickes statement favoring roosevelt for a third term sounds like spoiled fish to me and you know what a mess that is the vituperations by mr air ickes however are not different than his usual line of thinking As a part of the general picture of confusion resulting from the activity of mr Roosevel ts friends the recent tour of the country by postmaster general parley farley must be examined ambitions of jim parley farley are rather well known the parley farley transcontinental tour however is not impossible of analysis first mr Far parleys leys ambitions are rather well known no man can be blamed for wanting to be elected president of the united states if he were seeking facts about the political situation for use in behalf of mr roosevelt mr farley would have made exactly the same tour that he has made but if the tour were in mr air roose belts behalf it is only natural to suppose that mr roosevelt himself would not find it necessary to make a trip to the pacific coast himself so as the guessing continues and the number of 0 political leaders who suspect mr roosevelt has started out to be a candidate for a third time continues to grow the movement on the republican side is completely overshadowed few persons are heard to talk about the pronouncement by senator of michigan now senator has come forth with a real issue he proposed in replying to an urge by the michigan representatives in congress that he run for the republican nomination that the presidential term be limited that is he says no man should have more than four years at the job it is a new thought it is a hot one at the moment whether senator can smoke out mr roosevelt on the issue is something else again but the michigan senator has taken a position that will provoke debate along with that sideswipe at mr roosevelt however mr air ha has raised a rumpus in his own party many republicans public ans are getting pretty cocky about their own outlook tor for 1940 and the injection of the philosophy into the picture possibly could stir up as much fuss among the republicans as has been stirred up on the democratic side by the general uncertainties of the presidents course I 1 released by western News union |