Dewey will reply to Roosevelt
Nation to hear him tonight at 9:45
Charleston, West Virginia (UP) –
Governor Thomas E. Dewey, determined to carry his political fight for the White House directly to President Roosevelt, is prepared to unleash a vigorous attack on the “whole course” of the Democratic national administration and the “means” by which his opponent seeks reelection.
Swinging into West Virginia on a bid for the border state’s eight electoral votes, Mr. Dewey will resume his attack on Mr. Roosevelt’s policies in a nationwide campaign speech tonight from Charleston.
WJAS will broadcast Mr. Dewey’s speech at 9:45 p.m. ET.
“Mr. Roosevelt asked the American people not to look now because somebody is following him,” Mr. Dewey said at a press conference, apparently referring to the President’s disavowal of Communist support.
Since he would like softly to deny the means by which he seeks election to 16 straight years in the White House, I shall be compelled to discuss it quite openly at Charleston on the radio.
The Governor’s speech, which associates predicted would be even stronger than the attack he made on Mr. Roosevelt at Oklahoma City, will also deal with “the whole course of the administration and its competence to convert to peacetime jobs.” His aides said he will “pull no punches.”
Mr. Dewey’s criticism of the Roosevelt policies has been one of the major issues of his campaign. He charged that post-war planning will require “competence never yet shown by the present administration.”
In discussing the President’s declaration that he did not want the support of Communists, Mr. Dewey is expected to concentrate his attack on the activities of Earl Browder.
Recently, Mr. Dewey said Browder, a Communist leader, had been pardoned so that he could participate in Mr. Roosevelt’s fourth-term campaign.
Prior to delivering his ninth major political address at a party rally in municipal auditorium, the New York Governor will confer with state leaders of labor, miners, Negro, agriculture, business and veterans’ groups.
To obtain their views
He will obtain their views of current issues facing the country and attempt to organize them behind his campaign.
The labor groups will include representatives of the West Virginia State Federation of Labor and the Railroad Brotherhood. There was no mention of the CIO, whose Political Action Committee under Sidney Hillman is supporting the Democratic national ticket.
Following his campaign speech, the Governor will board his train for the return trip to New York City. He plans to arrive in New York about 1:00 p.m. tomorrow so that he can review the Pulaski Day parade and deliver a “non-political” radio address over a local station.
Warns of regimentation
Speaking from the rear platform of his train to a crowd at Hinton, West Virginia, Mr. Dewey said the main issue of the campaign is “whether we want to continue slipping down the New Deal road to regimentation or whether there is a much better way to run our government.”
He said:
For 12 long years, it has been the objective of the New Deal to gain greater and greater control of our daily lives.
If they continue, they will be in a position to tell us what to eat for breakfast and what kind of pajamas we shall wear at night.