DECLINE OF THE ROOSEVELTS
Villard, Oswald Garrison
Decline Of The Roosevelts By OSWALD GARRISON VILLARD IN a recent issue Human Events states that naval officers of high rank, who have recently seen the President after their months at sea, "show...
...Another was the letter written by the President to Secretary Jesse Jones throwing him out of the Department of Commerce with the complete brutality of the lowest type of machine boss—he wanted the office for another pal who had worked so hard during the campaign for his (the President's) personal success...
...Those who cannot compromise should be looked down upon by their neighbors and their constituents...
...To have a graduate of Pendergast's Kansas City machine in the White House, who has no other background and is totally without any personal knowledge of Europe, would be a severe blow even to those, like the writer, who opposes almost all of Mr...
...Roosevelt's foreign policies and many of his domestic ones...
...What an extraordinary, and what a scandalous position that is...
...As for Mrs...
...Thus the decline of the democratic Roosevelts...
...I, as one who has known the President personally for fully 35 years, can never get over my surprise that Franklin Roosevelt has developed into one of the most secretive of men and that he has taken every advantage of the war situation not only to withhold great amounts of information from his countrymen as to the steps he was taking for the successful development of the war and in the field of statesmanship, (in which he has committed us to most far-reaching policies), but even as to his own personal movements when they were of no more importance than his spending a week-end at his country home...
...it may be the perhaps normal development of a politician's nature who largely made his way by his ability to charm others and to be all things to all men...
...Roosevelt has made of late...
...The reports do not, however, comport with the brilliancy of his last appearance before Congress when he gave his one-sided and partisan, but good-natured, exceedingly skillful and adroit, picture of what took place at Yalta—with important reservations as now appears...
...What could be worse for the country than the effort to dragoon everybody into accepting the Rooseveltian proposals whether they'believe in them or not, whether they think that they will endanger the very existence of the Republic or not...
...Truman might succeed to the Presidency...
...It may be due to a flaw in character which is being brought out under pressure...
...Talk about national unity in time of war...
...MacLeish stormed into the White House and demanded that the President tell him what other important facts were being withheld from the public and from the State Department...
...Decline Of The Roosevelts By OSWALD GARRISON VILLARD IN a recent issue Human Events states that naval officers of high rank, who have recently seen the President after their months at sea, "show concern about not only his physical but his mental condition" and report that his mind is "not as keen as formerly," while the New York Times reports from Moscow that "many Soviet figures have expressed interest in President Roosevelt's health" since he is a friend of Russia and "show concern over occasional rumors" that he "is suffering from strain...
...Of course the President's recession from his demand that the United States have 3 votes is merely a confession of his original blundering and misrepresentation through concealment...
...The answer was that it was written on a Sunday when there was no one there to advise the President and to prevent his making such an error 1 But surely the President has deteriorated very far indeed if he must have censors in his immediate vicinity all the time to preserve him from actions which reflect the greatest discredit upon him, upon the Government, and upon our democracy itself...
...And this in the name of democracy, free speech, and free thought...
...In her column recently she attacked what it is now fashionable to call "perfectionism," saying that it would be "well nigh impossible to set up cooperative machinery on which to build peace," unless "the people of this country state in no uncertain terms to their representatives that no one will be forgiven who prevents the setting up of some international machinery because of any specific objection...
...He was described in the press then as looking remarkably well, with well-tanned cheeks, and as interrupting his speech with scintillating asides and every evidence of vigor...
...It is to be hoped that it is true that Mr...
...The next step after ostracizing a man who refuses to stay ostracized will be, I suppose, to lock him up or shoot him...
...Villard Declining Faith In His Word Fortunately the stories of Mr...
...But what can be said about his and Mr...
...It is not his physical condition which is the real cause for worry so much as certain trends in his mental development which cannot but cause uneasiness, for they show a progressive moral deterioration...
...Indeed, in one of the State Department's newly instituted propaganda discussions on the air one of the officials declared in a friendly debate with Mr...
...MacLeish that all the nations, large and small, would rank alike...
...A friend of mine asked a member of the Cabinet the other day how in the world that terrible letter was to be explained...
...This is but one instance of many of the President's similar lapses which betray his weakening leadership...
...This In The Name Of Democracy This is not the only highly disturbing statement that Mrs...
...He did not, however, tell his closest associates and prevent either the printing of the pamphlet or the wholly misleading discussion on the air...
...Roosevelt thus demands that people be ostracized if they dare to refuse to accept any one of the many proposals in regard to the international organization...
...She then added: "Compromise means that everybody gives way a little...
...At any rate, what is happening now is highly disconcerting in view of the gravity of the international situation...
...Thus with the authority, not to say the effrontery, of one long in high position, she calmly ignored the ethical questions involved, whether it is moral and decent to conceal from the Congress of the United States, from your fellow countryrnen, and from the officials who are trying to serve you most essential facts which may do enormous damage to the whole proposal for a new society of nations...
...Roosevelt, when the President's concealment of the voting procedure agreed upon at Yalta was put up to her by the newspaper women at her regular conference, she promptly brushed it aside with a flat statement that you could not tell everybody everything all,the time...
...I have specially in mind the President's deception even of some subordinates in the State Department as to the vital fact that the nations at San Francisco and in the organization to be born there, are not to have equality of standing and voting...
...Stettinius' permitting Assistant Secretary of State MacLeish to have 300,000 pamphlets printed for circulation stating the equality of all the nations...
...If this is the natural result of so unnaturally long a term in the highest and most responsible office, then we need no stronger evidence that incumbency of the Presidency should* be restricted to 8 years at most...
...It is true that he told Congress that he was withholding certain facts...
...This would hardly be surprising in view of the almost incredible burdens the President has borne for 12 years with his usual good cheer and san-guinity of temperament...
...Roosevelt's ill-health, about which he jested so cleverly when addressing Congress, while current ever since he became President, are generally without foundation in fact...
...It is the growing loss of faith in his word and his reliability which is alarming people...
...That he will continue to remain well and strong almost everybody will wish who contemplates the staggering possibility that so ill-equipped a man as Mr...
...Stettinius now admits that he knew the secret...
Vol. 9 • April 1945 • No. 16
