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In his Oklahoma speech on Thursday Governor Land on accused the President of concealing the facts about New Deal policies from the public, and he demanded that the chief executive tell the people exactly what he intends to do. During the last year the major complaint against President Roosevelt has been his lack of sincerity and honesty. Not only has he failed to live up to his campaign promises, but his entire lack of truthfulness with respect to his ill-considered measures has aroused an indignant public. He has concealed material facts concerning the administration and has attempted to sell himself to the voter by misrepresentation and honeyed words.
His clumsy persistence in trying to formulate stop-gap measures to replace laws ignominiously thrown out by the Supreme Court is typical of his underhand methods. If he had sufficient courage to brave the political blast, he would come out in favor of a constitutional amendment to legalize Hot Oil, Guffey Coal, and A.A.A. The people could then endorse or reject his theories of government and would be able to decide for themselves whether or not they wanted a planned economy and governmental regulation or industry. These fundamental issues, which differ widely from ideals that Americans have hitherto cherished, must not be thrust down the national throat by a slavishly subservient Congress, until the country has changed the Constitution after careful reflexion.
Skillfully playing upon the average voter's lack of accurate knowledge of national finances, the President stated that he had reduced America's tax rate from 58 to 38 cents out of every dollar. In making this statement he chose to ignore the fourteen different New Deal enactments which levy indirect and hidden taxes. These raise the rate to 68 cents to the dollar; a fact just as well over locked in a Democratic speech.
By fireside chats and his personal charm, President Roosevelt has mesmerized the American voter, so that broken promises, personal insincerity and twisted facts have floated by unnoticed amid a deluge of words and millions of dollars wasted on boondoggling. Half-baked projects and hastily thought out measures have given the President ample opportunity to open the money bags and bribe the voter to pocket his conscience.
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