Reading Eagle (August 24, 1944)
GOP studies war’s trend
Defeat of Germany seen big boon to Dewey’s chances
Albany, New York (AP) –
Prospect that the European War may and before American voters choose their next President provided an undisguised lift in the spirits of Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s supporters today, although Democrats were generally inclined to discount the effect on the Nov. 7 election.
The Republican presidential nominee was silent about the political reaction that might come with the defeat of Germany, but some of his friends expressed the belief the New York Governor’s chances would be enhanced by developments that might offset the Democratic plea for retention of President Roosevelt as Commander-in-Chief.
It was evident they considered the announced liberation of Paris a long step toward victory and Dewey himself lost no time in issuing a formal statement yesterday that it means “the beginning of the end of Nazi domination in Europe.” Calling on Germany and Japan to surrender before the consequences to them become more severe, Dewey predicted that the Allied armies would sweep onward to Berlin.
At the same time, he said:
We must not relax for one moment in our all-out war effort until Germany and Japan are so utterly defeated that the people of their countries shall vow “never again.”
Peace problems seen
Many Democrats contend that the cessation of hostilities in Europe will produce peace problems that may be of more lasting importance than the war itself and that President Roosevelt has had the opportunity to become more familiar with these problems than any other American.
Dewey, who has predicted that the next President will serve more of his four-year term in peace than in wartime, has taken occasion recently to identify himself publicly with the consideration of post-war problems.
He sent his foreign affairs deputy, John Foster Dulles of New York, to exchange views on the Dumbarton Oaks diplomatic conference with Secretary of State Hull. Dulles announced last night that progress had been made toward a bipartisan understanding in the talks, which will continue today.
Dewey is expected to devote much of his attention to peace problems, both at home and abroad, in his major campaign speeches.
The supporting cast of his vote-getting organization was rounded out yesterday with the appointment of Godfrey Hammond of Scarsdale, New York, president of the Popular Science Publishing Company, as publicity agent for the campaign. Hammon replaces James P. Selvage, who resigned.