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Show Bruckart's Washington Digest Tumult and Shouting Are Over; So Now What Does It All Mean? For Months to Come the Results Will Be Suhjected to Measurement; More Thinking and Less Emotion Seems the Rule; 'Middle Class' in Revolt. By WILLIAM BRUCKART WNU Service, National Press BIdg., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. The period of distorted claims by the winners and the equally distorted alibis of the losers seems to be about over. We have heard all of the tumult and the shouting of an election time. The total vote has been tabulated, and it shows a greater number 83 new ones of Republicans in the house of representatives and eight new Republican Re-publican senators. Some 14 more states have Republican governors ready to take over from the Democrats Demo-crats they have displaced. There were what may be called important numerical gains for the Republican parly label. But while the total vote has been tabulated and served as the basis for the claims of the winners and the alibis of the losers, those figures fig-ures will be forgotten soon. The thing that is important is the result. We will be measuring the results for months to come. It is quite unimportant, in my mind, to appraise what the swing of a few votes may have meant. It is, however, mighty important to note that there were hard and close fights for scores of candidates, in this 1938 election. There were hard and close fights in the whole of New England; there were bitter struggles strug-gles in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and elsewhere. else-where. They were fought out largely on major issues because, generally speaking, local questions did not provide the fundamental issue in the states that are so important politically politi-cally as those mentioned. What does it mean? What is the portent? Other writers and analysts have given and are giving their views. I guess there is no prohibition prohibi-tion against mine. I firmly believe the votes cast in the 1938 election were the expression expres-sion of an opposition to further experimentation ex-perimentation by government in the field of unsound theories; the expression ex-pression was against further use of the American people as guinea pigs, and it was definitely for a middle-of-the-road, national policy. It was, therefore, a showing, a proof, of the necessity for our traditional two-party two-party system of government, and surely, to that extent, the nation and national life benefited by the poll taken on November 8, 1938. More Thinking and Less Emotion Seems to Be Rule Looking over the whole picture, as the colors and the outlines now exhibit themselves, one who favors good government of a sound and lasting character cannot help having hav-ing his faith renewed. Of course, the political pendulum swings back and forth. That is to be expected. But, to me, there has appeared on the horizon a new level of political thought Perhaps, I should not say that it is entirely new; I should say that it has been restored to its place in American life. And that observation observa-tion should be amplified with the further statement that more thinking think-ing and less emotion appears to be the rule throughout the land. Absence Ab-sence of hysteria, or reduction of the scope of hysteria, always makes for sounder and more constructive conclusions. That is why there is so little use for an analysis of minute mi-nute returns this year. The aspect is too broad to hinge upon such detail. de-tail. . Probably, it can be said that the vote was an expression against waste and extravagance, against corruption of the electorate by use of public moneys, such as went on among relief workers and for which we ought always to be ashamed; it probably can be said that it was a vote against blank check appropriations, appropria-tions, or against government messing mess-ing into every phase of human endeavor, en-deavor, or against many another item of policy in the New Deal, and if it were so said, it would be true to a degree, everywhere. But we are concerned with the sum into which these several things have been added. Vote Discloses Revolt by So-Called 'Middle Class' The United States has been governed gov-erned by an expression of the will of the majority. It is sound. It is the basis of a republic. Theretras been much criticism of President Roosevelt on the basis of his domination dom-ination of government. It has been said that he is the government because be-cause he has had such complete control that even congress moved this way or that at his drection, in the manner of puppets. If those characterizations be true, then it appears to me logical to conclude that tke late election was something of a vote for government Ly law and not by an individual or Kroup of individuals. By the same reasoning, it is a logical assumption that the vote disclosed a revolt by the great middle class of the American Ameri-can people the group which lives neither by the power of organization end the strike threat, nor by the power which Mr. Roosevelt so often attributed to a few whom he has called the "economic royalists." The New Dealers completely capitulated capitu-lated to organized labor of the C. I. O. type, and used the numbers of votes there to bulwark its assault on business. The middle classes which embrace the backbone and the salt of the earth of any nation haven't had much consideration from the New Deal thinkers. They have been the "forgotten men" (and women) about which Mr. Roosevelt spoke when campaigning in 1932. It is quite clear that the middle classes have grown tired of government playing into the hands of a single class. They are tired, as they were in 1932, when the Republicans had played too much into the hands of big business. Suspicious Middle Class Is Good for a Democracy The sum total of the situation, as regards the middle classes, is that they have become critical again. They followed Mr. Roosevelt unswervingly un-swervingly (speaking, now, of the majority) and they accepted his statements that "we have planned it that way." But when the depression depres-sion of 1937 came on them and it hit as hard as that of 1930, they found doubt in their minds. He could not have planned it that way, they reasoned. So there followed the natural sequence of criticism, and the country began to think that criticism was legitimate despite the New Dealers' barrage of propaganda propagan-da that the criticism, itself, was propaganda. With the middle classes back in the suspicious mood that is good for a democracy, they are again occupying their rightful role in government. There are many times more of them than any other group; they are the majority, and they showed it again this year by the sharp division of votes. The New Deal, with the aid of old line Jeffersonian Democrats, will control the congress for the next two years.. But their control is not of such a character as to permit denial of rights to any individual representative or senator or any group of them. There can be no mailed fist or "must" orders. Instead, In-stead, if Majority Leader Barkley in the senate and Majority Leader Rayburn in the house want to get their programs through, there must be moderation. Extremes will spell defeat and revolt, and it is conceivable conceiv-able that policies of a too radical type could send the old line Democrats Demo-crats over to the aid of the Republicans Repub-licans and into a coalition to destroy de-stroy the New Deal utterly and effectively. ef-fectively. There can be no more rubber stamp business. New Deal tactics must change, and the sooner the bunch of so-called intellectuals, the high brows, learn this lesson, the better it will be for Mr. Roosevelt, politically. I am told by a number of politically politi-cally important personages that the election already has increased the courage of some of the conservative Democrats who were not outspoken heretofore. It is predicted that these will feel free now to tell the President when they disagree. None can foretell how far that situation will develop. It is a part, however, how-ever, of the thought that moderation modera-tion must be the rule. Must Become Statesmen, Quit Their Demagoguery And, next, if the Republican leadership lead-ership has good sense, it will display dis-play its best brand. It will tell its followers to become statesmen and quit their demagoguery. The opportunity op-portunity awaits them to be constructive con-structive and if they fail to put forward for-ward sound proposals, they will have justified the country in refusing refus-ing to give them control as was done in 1936. It is proper to say, of course, that the Republicans will not be in control of either the senate or the house. That means, they can have no management of legislative machinery. ma-chinery. That machinery, which is all-important in carrying forward political party policies, remains in the hands of the New Deal. But the absence of control for the Republicans Re-publicans can not destroy the responsibility re-sponsibility which they have assumed as-sumed in electing as many members mem-bers of the congress as is recorded. They dare not dodge that responsibility. responsi-bility. Just ahead, therefore, lies the necessity ne-cessity for Mr. Roosevelt to realize that there is a new public temper which does not like extremes, and for Chairman John Hamilton of tha Republican national committee, and Republican Leader McNary in the senate, and Republican Leader Martin Mar-tin in the house, there is the opportunity oppor-tunity to fight for reasonable legislation legis-lation all of the way. These three Republican leaders must have something to offer besides criticism of the New Deal. Western Ncwspupcr Unioa- |