 It's time for the lawn gene A television journal of the important issues of the art brought to you every Monday Wednesday and Friday Presentation of the lawn gene Wittner watch company Lawn gene the world's most honored watch Wittner distinguished companion to the world Good evening, this is Frank Knight Co-editors for this edition of the lawn gene Chronoscope From the CBS news staff Larry and a sir Bill Chanel our distinguished guest for this evening Lord Strauss chairman of the fair campaign practice A long time ago as far back as that anyway there was hope throughout the country that the campaigns would be conducted on a basis of Play without personal vilification and abuse in fact a committee was formed which are kept They got pledges from the candidates Understand that they would adhere to a Mrs. Strauss, what has happened to those pledges of fair play of honesty Decency I think we had a very percentage sign those pledges considering that this happened and Up till just recently they did very well in living up In other words you think that they haven't Well, if there were any violations, which side do you think they were on? It had been too many because I wouldn't like any violations at all That kind of mud slinging is not wise and I think Come election day that the voters will Well, in other words, you feel that it's possible that these But boomerang on a candidate why do indeed well faith in them in the people in this they like that kind of mud And I think that they show it in their vote well, I think they have in the past I Believe that most people Standards and this is a way of Opportunity of expressing what they want they never And drew them up themselves He's a care this code that our committee has presented I think put a lot of people have wanted and had in mind Is there any way of policing these this cold? No when the committee Make this code available we decided that we could But that we would leave it up to the Video and TV TV and to the people that Leasing and I think that that in the off is is the right way of doing it Mr.. I know that there have been violations of the code See and fair play Now would you pinpoint the blame at the candidates or on the national leadership Well, I don't think that's any one place from I think that many people can contribute to it and Think that it often is a move of desperation. I think that's why there's been more of it at the end of the campaign I think the fact that Some of these things that have been said at the very end when there really was Whether they were so or not and I think that's the kind of thing that the the voters Will learn to recognize if they haven't already and realize that kind of attack is not a justified one and they And on election day, they'll make it now cross when you have a chance to evaluate this campaign At another such campaign Their own fair practices. Well, we hope to we're not discouraged. Oh, we're not discouraged a bit and we hope Editors will help us evaluate. We have a questionnaire We want to find out to the editors asking them what they think about it and asking suggestions How it might be made more effective of the years. Ms. Stars, is it possible that the public themselves are guilty of? violating your pledges by exaggerated bias by Indulting in what have been called whispering campaigns, which is not due to the candidates or the national leadership Well, I think generally that the it was started by somebody who would be involved in a campaign You think there is an initiating force and in any of these campaigns of vilification personal abuse even whispering campaign Oh, I think that there is the original force and then I think that it is often taken up by the people but I don't think very often the people themselves have started it going and I think that the Unfortunately the press and the people and others contribute towards it but again, I think if we call it to their attention and and Show them how it's to their own disadvantage to have that kind of a thing happen that a Large majority of the people will not do it. I think it's an awfully small number Who do the name-calling and who liked that kind of thing? And I think those of us who don't have to get up and say we don't and say it Uncertain in no uncertain terms and that's why I thought this fair campaign practices committee is trying to do Ms. Strauss, would there be any? Would it be practical to try and get some federal legislation or perhaps a resolution passed by the Congress endorsing this code? Yes, actually that was what was originally thought of when the Subcommittee drew up what it was basically the same Code that we are using the subcommittee on privileges and elections But they didn't put it into legislation and so we just a group of citizens picked it up and said Let's do it by the force of public opinion to my mind. I want to like it when public opinion does something and Just speaks up and says we want the best of our candidates and we'll demand it of them Strauss now is the raising of false and misleading issues one of the dynamics of Politics or can politics be conducted on purely intellectual lines? I think it can be done on Intellectual if you want or all the facts of the situation because I think this name-crawling and mud-slinging gets away from the real issues and To my mind you can do a wonderful educational job in politics during a campaign and Give the people a real basis for making honest decisions It's a practical politician. Can you appeal to the people through their minds or through their emotions? Isn't it necessary to go to their emotions in order to get them to vote? Yes, but we have good emotions as well as bad night appeal to the good emotions when when you're making the emotional appeal I think it's a combination of intellectual and emotional, but Let's have it on the the higher emotional appeal and not the baser ones. In other words, you think you can make intellectual or mental issues Into emotional ones by good. Is that good politics? I think we've got to make it good politics and I think it is increasingly good politics We've just stated before that that some of the candidates were guilty of introducing issues It could not be proved against their opponents at the very tail end of the of the campaign Well, isn't that good politics if if they go into the election day without being the other side being able to Disprove the charges that are made against them. No, I hope it's going to be Be shown that it's very bad politics because I hope that the people will recognize But it is name-crawling and that if those were Will suspicions they should have been brought out earlier. Does your committee have any plans for trying to evaluate a candidate losing because of unfair practices? Well, we shall do it for our own satisfaction to see the effectiveness of it But we as a committee are not doing any evaluating that We would make public as to whether a candidate had lived up to it or not That would put us on the spot. It'd be a pretty good lesson though, wouldn't it for some politician? Yes, it would. We hope that the the people themselves the voters on election day I got to do that type of evaluation for us and that's much better to give the Majority that opportunity instead of just a small committee when the straw speaking evaluation Do you think this should be a limit on how far back an opponent goes in? Using facts which are not or issues which are not related to the issues of the moment to a smear an opponent Well, I think there should there be a time limit No, I think that pertinent Facts should be brought out but I Don't think there's a time limit on pertinent ones, but I think that the the crux of the situation is what is permanent pertinent? Well, why haven't if I may ask Mrs. Strauss, Mr. Strauss, why haven't women done more to clean up politics? After all that was one of the reasons they gave For getting the franchise when they first got women's suffrage since there are more women than men Why haven't they done more to to wipe out by the force of their vote these candidates who? Who violate the pledges of fair play and decency? That's one of the reasons that was given for giving women the vote Actually, I'll go back to my own great-grandmother who was one of the first people to work for the vote and Her basis. She was a very strong Anti-slavery person was that women have a contribution to make and the vote is the crux of being able to make it and I will say that I do think that women do have somewhat higher moral standards That can be applied But after all, you know the old story of women were All angels the men would have a very dull life And I think that that the people that thought that the whole political scene was going to be made over just because women were given the vote Were being rather unrealistic at that point. Do you feel that our campaigns have cleaned up been cleaned up in the last 20 years? Oh, I do. I think that they are On a better plane, but not as good as they should be Well, Mr. Oste, you think actually you've seen a few campaigns, I suppose Campaigns are Getting better or worse. I think they're getting better with the present campaign that has taken place in The past few days. No, but I'm saying is I think that there is more honesty in campaigns now than they used to be and I'm not pleased until they're entirely cleaned up until This code affair campaign practices and is entirely lived up to but I think this is just another step That will help improve them. In other words, you think the force of public opinion as harnessed by the women in the League of Voters and this this committee of Affair play is gaining more and more power in the in the actual elections Yes, I think it is I think that Well, we know that there's a very considerable number of independent voters and Even within the party independence and that's a whole subject in itself how strict how much you should Vote as a party matter, but I think this degree of independence means that people are thinking on their own and making their own decisions And I think that kind of Decisions Will mean that the party will have to work with higher standards just as I think the League of Women Voters Trains people to go into their party and be more than yes men to really make a contribution of higher standards To both political parties. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to have a one of your high principles come before our cameras The opinions expressed on the launch in Chronoscope were those of the speakers The editorial board for this edition of the launch in Chronoscope was Larry Lesser and Bill Shadell Our distinguished guest was Anna Lord Strauss chairman of the Fair Campaign Practices Committee How many of the things that you own will be serving you 10 years from today? 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