Evening star., 1940-10-12
Women's 5 Attitude
On War May Affect
Missouri Vote
Germun-Americuns' View
Also Seen as Factor in
Cutting Democrat Margin
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN,
Star Staff Correspondent.

Democratic natlOnal llC'AeI III IlllS
State. and in this section of the
country" a leading Democrat in the
organization told me today He ad-
mitted the news from the Orient was
disturbing and that the people were
asking questions about just what the
administration was planning.
This same leader predicted that
Missouri would be carried by the
Roosevelt-Wallace ticket with lead
of from 10000 to 100000. This is
his "off the record" estimate If the
prediction is borne out by the elec-
ton returns, the Presidents margin
of victory will have shrunk greatly
since 1886. when he carried Mis-
souri, with a lead of 4l3,000.
There is another factor in this
State which is worrying the Demo-
Gratis. The German-American vote.
1t is a huge vote in st. Louis and
adjoining counties. Before 1928, this
vote was almost all Republican.
Then it swung heavily to Al Smith,
who promised beer. 1t stayed with
Roosevelt in 1882 because he also
promised beer and repeal of the 18th
amendment, and because of the de-
preston. In 1886 the German
Americans were still voting for
Roosevelt, and ST. Louis, once
strongly Republican. appeared to be
permanently lost to the G. o. P.
German American Vote Key.
Today this German American
vote is keeping pretty quiet about
what it is going to do. This does
not mean that the German-Ameri-
cans in this State are pro-Hitler or
pro-Nazi On the contrary, they
are loyal Americans, as they were
in 19l7-18. But this country is not
vet involved in the European war
directly. Many of these people are
of the stock which came to this
country after the revolution of 48
in Germany-they are of the same
stock as Wendell L. Willkie, the Re-
publican presidential nominee.
Both Democrats and Republicans
say that this large bloc of votes may
we'll decide the presidential election
so far as Missouri is concerned. If
it should swing back in great pro-
portion to the Republican party the
jig might be up for the Democrats.
An important Democrat told me.
however, that he had received re-
ports that German-Americans were
moving over into the Republican
ranks-but that the percentage of
change was comparatively small and
not enough to effect the final result
of the election. According to the
last census, the native born of Ger
man parentage in Missouri num-
bered 220.649, and the German born
276-these figures do not include
those of the third generation of
German blood.
The Republicans are taking some
hope in Jackson County, which in
cludes Kansas City, because of the
purge" of the registration rolls
which has gone on in the last three
years. Actually, between $4,000 and
10000 names have been taken off
the rolls. names placed there dur
ing the regime of the Tom Pender-
CAST machine. The Democratic ma
chine in Kansas City riyaled that of
Mayor Hague of Jersey City in its
hold on the political situation. The
purged names were recruited from
grave yards and from the imagina-
ton of the ward leaders They were
voted straight" for the Democratic
ticket.
Machine Still Remains.
AS the Republicans look at it, this
purge means a loss of nearly 10000
votes for the Democratic ticket on
November 5.
In 1886, this county rolled up a
margin of $4,000 votes for the
Roosevelt ticket. The investigation
of election frauds, however, has re-
suited in cleaning up terrible
mess. Tom Pendergast was sent to
jail-not because of the election
frauds directly, but on charges of
having failed to report correctly his
income for tax purposes. The "big
boss" shorn of his political power,
is out again, but with implicit di-
rection that he is not to engage in
years. What is left of the machine
and there is something left-is
headed by Jim Pendergast, Toms
nephew.
Missouri, generally speaking, has
been Democratic State since the
Civil War 1t is tough nut for the
G. o. P. to crack at any time. How
ever, it has been done-as for eX-
ample in 1928, when Herbert Hoover
carried the State over Al Smith, and
Harding in 1920, and Coolidge in
1924. The State has had four Re-
publican Governors, too. It moved
back into the Democratic column in
1882, when Roosevelt had a 10000
lead over Hoover. This margin of
victory was reduced four years ago
to 413,000-but largely because of
the personal popularity of former
Gov ALI NJ Landon, the Republican
presidential nominee.
The Republicans here are work.
ing hard. For the first time in
eight years they have an active
organization.
Democrats Have DissensiOns.
The Democrats have been torn by
internal dissensions, but they are
strongly organized. They have con-
troll of all Federal, State and county
Offices. In ST. Louis Bernard F.
Dickmann has been mayor for eight
years. The charge goes out now
that "the machine" which has
dominated State Democratic politics
from Kansas City has moved to st.
Louis. There it is known as
the Dickmann- -Hannegan machine,
Hannegan being the chairman of
the City Democratic Committee.
Republican leaders say Mr.. Willkie
made a favorable impression when
he was last in the State. They are
counting on his helping himself still
more when he returns next week to
Missouri to speak in st. Louis and
elsewhere.
Conversation with Democratic
State leaders leaves the impression