The course of the present elections {in the United States of America is Jexpected to favour the Democratic Party. This is mainly due to the personal prestige enjoyed by Presi-[dent Roosevelt. It. is noteworthy, however, that Reuters New. York correspondent talks of a decline of fadicalisin, This indicates the possible beginning of a more sustained ote of criticism than has hitherto been the Government's fortune to mest. Not that the New Deal has one unscathed. The critics have found themselves generally overborne, partly by the dynamic force of the President's popularity and partly by, the essential elusiveness of the methods of an administration dealing {with a national crisis by the process of "trial and error". Moreover Fecent events have shown that the President la inclined to return to better relations with the banking terests. This is attributed toa change of heart in the controllers "of those interests. It may not be in-JAiscreet to surmise that the change Vis mot all on one side. So far the Prenident's "achievements have Drought shout a remarkable improve-rent. in the national morale. This has necessitated certain definite risk: among them the adoption of pro paganda technique which carries its wu penalties. "As time goes on, and the real task of economic reconstruc tion has to be assessed on practical grounds, there will be greater scope for the voice of the independent critic who is likely to be heard then in. circumstances which give him more encouragement than at the present. moment. The President and his advisers will, in due course, have align. their acute perception of political requirements with the economic realities of some of their impro-Visations. The time is not yet Tipe for that factor to be given its full weight. President Roosevelt has still to reckon primarily with the urgent duty of maintaining his personal ascendancy. When that is established Deyond doubt, and he can see the way clear to consolidating his position for the ultimate verdict of history, it is {possible that the tendency to. swing fo the right will be more sharply defined. It may mean a lose of political comfort, but it may also promise a gain in a reputation for statesmanship of the more enduring kind.
Members of this journal's staff confessed to some feelings of envy as they observed from the "Sixty Years Ago" extract in last issue how spa-lous were the days in which their predecessors tolled. The attractive no-fon of leaving the world's news to take care of itself in order that the racing reporters might have the whole issue of the paper at disposal seems somehow to have been mislald asthe "North-China Dally News" plodded on its way to within reach the Ave-figure circulation. But perhaps the laudator tompons acti will declare that the fault lies with the reader. Where can Shanghai find citizens of such stern stuff that during three days racing they would. readily forego any knowledge of events except those emerging from the performances of the China pony fon the local racecourse? This pique fant disclosure of ancient Shang hai history is really merely a other example of the fine old Bund Yraditions which enabled the famous, "Bob" Little to shut down the paper {or ten days while he and the Manager went on an upcountry shoot, the decision being appropriately made just after the annual subscriptions to the Journal had been collected. Modernity, with its catholic taste for news, has obviously its drawbacks—and its sacrifices.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.