HOOVER CLEARS THE AIR

Running through his speech at Ft. Wayne with increasing vigor, Mr. Hoover showed on Saturday that much of the power of the Republican Party still depends on him. Although the latest salve against the New Deal contains nothing different from the usual offerings of sound money, economy, and freedom form government interference, his newly-found eloquence and his position as titular head of the party combine to make him the man from whom, until June at least, the Democrats have most to fear. If the stigma of responsibility for the depression did not disqualify him as a candidate, the former president would now be well in the lead in the pre-convention regatta.

Despite his personal limitations, Mr. Hoover's periodic cracks at the Administration supply a valuable part of the campaign strategy. By directing public attention to the gyrations of "the Magician" and his band of "white rabbits", Mr. Hoover puts his finger on the issues on which the campaign will be fought. Though the Supreme court has relieved the Democrats of the hopeless task of defending the NRA and AAA, there still remain unemployment, agriculture, an unbalanced budget, a rising bureaucracy, and "the black magic of a managed currency" to account for. The Hoover speeches have repeatedly raised issues which the New Deal can answer only by "the smoke screen of personalities" and the "squirt gun of propaganda".

The Democratic strategy of the moment, as dictated by Emil Hurja and his statistical organization, is to create the illusion of victory, saying that no matter what the opposition does, it cannot win. If the opposition can be thus persuaded to lie down and die, so much the better for the Democratic, party. But while the leading candidates are bickering over the nomination, Mr. Hoover has kept the spotlight on the real problem of showing up the basic fallacies of the New Deal. His recent bursts of oratory have done much to guide the party's policy and to set the Republicans on their feet for a successful campaign.