The Wrangell Sentinel

FDR CRITIC SHARP AT OPPONENTS

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 25—In high good humor and with tone reminiscent of his campaign of 1932, President Roosevelt addressed the nation from Convention Hall here Wednesday night. In his first political speech of the campaign, striking out with typical Roosevelt vigor and drama at his opponent Wendell Willkie without mentioning the latter's name, deliberate falsification of the facts prompted him, the President said, to make reply and set the true picture before the American people.

In direct terms the Chief Executive labeled as outright "misstatement of facts" the charge that he had telephoned the dictators abroad to "sell Czechoslovakia down the river," or had anything to do with the Munich pact. His words bristling with challenge, he hurled the same "misstatement of fact" at the charge that he was leading the nation into war.

Strives For Peace

"The President of the United States and your Secretary of State have strove and are striving only for peace," he declared, in bringing out that in all deliberations peace for America had been the major objective. It is the objective today, he said, in building up the national defense to protect and defend America and the American way of living.

Answering the charge that business was in a constant state of depression under the Democratic regime and that business was fearful, the President quoted figures revealing that business is in a sounder state today than it was in the halcyon days of 1929. Source of the charges that business was in the doldrums due to the Democratic administration came, the President said, from those same Republicans who had talked of a "chicken in every pot" and "two cars in every garage," but when the crash came they were unable to do anything about it, or at least didn't.

Chides GOPers

"We don't promise a chicken in every pot nor two cars in every garage," Mr. Roosevelt remarked. "But we do know that on the tables of the people of America there is better food, more eggs, more cheese, more butter, more of everything today than there was seven years ago, and there is a feeling of security and well being among the people."

Snapping with sarcasm, bubbling with humor and at other times tense with drama, the speech was credited by reporters generally as one of the most brilliant campaign talks the President had ever made.

Warning his listeners with his opening remark, "I'm an old campaigner and I love a good fight," the President left no doubt as he concluded his 30-minutes address that on the political stump he has no peer.