THE AXIS THREATENS GREECE. Not surprisingly, Germany and Italy are shrinking from a possible confrontation with the combined military power of Russia and Turkey. Hitler, who above all likes an unfair fight, is now said by the Associated Press to be pressuring Greece, probably the weakest of the Balkan states militarily. According to the A.P., the Axis has made five demands on the Greeks -- an end to economic ties with Britain, territorial concessions to Italy and Bulgaria, permission for Italy to build a military road, Axis use of certain Greek air bases, and the dissolution of the government led by King George and Premier Metaxas. There’s no word in the A.P. report on any response from the Greek government.
Britain and Turkey have pledged to come to Greece’s aid if she is attacked. But can Britain, so ineffectual in getting help to Norway and the low countries when they were invaded, put troops on the ground in Greece, on the other side of the continent? How many of the Turks' "2,000,000 bayonets" could be safely moved through the narrow corridor of western Thrace in time to help the Greeks resist an invasion? Apparently the Hitler plan is to use Greece as a jumping-off point for a German drive directed at the Near East oilfields and the Suez Canal. Alas, it appears likely that whether by intimidation or invasion, the Nazis will be in Athens very soon.
WAS AN INVASION PLANNED FOR SEPT. 16TH? Robert P. Post passes along the info from London in Saturday’s New York Times --
"Authoritative sources here have indulged in some speculation and come to the conclusion that Chancellor Hitler had set Sept. 16 as the date for his invasion of England and had failed because of the Royal Air Force’s hammering at the invasion ports. According to this speculation there were a full harvest moon and high tides on that date. The air force was in readiness, and a fleet of barges and boats was standing by. It is now reported that troops actually embarked that day, but then were ordered back on shore. This suggests that Sept. 15, the day of one of the heaviest daylight attacks on England, told the tale. That was the day the British shot down 185 German planes. This loss, coupled with R.A.F. attacks on Channel ports, is believed to have caused abandonment of the invasion for the time being."
WILLKIE PICKS UP 85 ELECTORAL VOTES. The newest Gallup survey, run in Friday’s Washington Post, contains some of the best news for the G.O.P. in the entire campaign. Dr. Gallup says that the trend toward President Roosevelt which was noted throughout August and September "has been halted and reversed." In twelve days, the latest poll says, Willkie gained one percent in the overall popular vote and moved five states -- Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Iowa -- into his column. Willkie still trails in the popular vote, 55% to 45%, but Roosevelt’s comfortable lead is "precarious," Gallup says, because 9% of the vote is still undecided and in eight states, with 129 electoral votes, Roosevelt’s lead is less than 4%.
FORMERLY FOR F.D.R., NOW FOR WILLKIE. Just as Gallup tells us that Wendell Willkie has started shooting upward in the polls, it seems like there’s a number of stories in the press about former Roosevelt supporters who’ve come on board the Willkie bandwagon. Okay, well, two stories that I’ve seen. The first is Robert C. Albright’s article in Saturday’s Washington Post about the radio endorsement from Senator Hiram Johnson, the veteran Progressive Republican of California who was once a strong Roosevelt supporter. What’s significant about Senator Johnson’s announcement, according to the Post, is his acid attack on the Third Term -- "Johnson said the third-term bid presents a greater crisis than the war and may involve ‘the preservation of the last fortress of democracy on this earth.’" The Chicago Tribune story by Chesly Manly offers more quotes --
"[President Roosevelt] has contributed a perfect illustration of every danger and evil which Jefferson foresaw so clearly, and against which he warned his countrymen so earnestly. No longer need we consider what may happen -- what is certain to happen is obvious if the President sees fit to destroy this great tradition and custom. If he sees fit to increase his term four years, he can increase it eight, or 16, and finally, as Jefferson once remarked, the whole Presidential office becomes but an inheritance."
The current Time magazine mentions a few choice Democrats who are supporting Willkie -- (1) Mrs. Harold M. Lehman, the niece of New York Governor Lehman, he who made the notorious speech last month claiming the Axis are rooting for Willkie. His niece’s comment -- "I don’t think being a Democrat and not voting for Roosevelt is news this year." (2) Mrs. Isabella Greenway, a former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona and the bridesmaid at Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s wedding 35 years ago. Says she -- "Every instinct of my country tells me we should not risk a third term." (3) The President’s third cousin, 93-year-old Mrs. Deborah Delano, who made the most damning statement of all -- "Even if he is as smart as they say, no man is smart enough to run for three terms."
THE GALLUP POLL "BOX SCORE." Here’s how the states stack in the newest Gallup survey, with the leading candidate’s estimated percentage of the vote in parentheses --
Willkie -- Nebraska (58%), North Dakota (57%), South Dakota (57%), Kansas (55%), Vermont (54%), Maine (53%), Indiana (53%), Illinois (53%), Michigan (53%), Iowa (52%), and Wisconsin (51%).
Roosevelt -- South Carolina (98%), Mississippi (95%), Georgia (85%), Alabama (85%), Texas (85%), Louisiana (84%), Arkansas (79%), Florida (76%), North Carolina (72%), Virginia (71%), Tennessee (69%), Arizona (67%), Maryland (64%), Nevada (63%), West Virginia (62%), Montana (62%), Oklahoma (62%), Delaware (61%), New Mexico (60%), Kentucky (59%), Rhode Island (58%), Connecticut (58%), Utah (58%), Oregon (57%), Washington (57%), California (56%), New Jersey (56%), Pennsylvania (55%), Idaho (55%), Massachusetts (54%), Minnesota (54%), New Hampshire (53%), Missouri (53%), New York (52%), Ohio (52%), Wyoming (52%), Colorado (51%).
Obviously the President has a huge advantage, but it’ll be interesting to see how this picture looks in twelve more days, if the Willkie trend continues. Senator Hiram Johnson is enormously popular in California -- he was recently renominated for office on every party ticket in the state except for the Communists. His ringing endorsement of Willkie will make a big impact there. Also, Gallup points out that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which have 52 electoral votes between them, the numbers of undecided voters are still significantly higher than Roosevelt’s lead.
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