Evening star., 1940-06-29

lO give Tile people cheaper electfiClCy
and better service More will be
said about the favorable manner in
which some of his subsidiary COM
panies have dealt with their labor,
and about their contracts with
the unions.
The way in which business has
rallied to Mr.. Willkie is plain evi-
dence of the state of mind in which
businessmen have found themselves
after being the whipping post of a
politically minded administration.
And as the candidacy of Mr.. Will
kie has been miraculous in its swift
development, so did the candidacy
OF Thomas E. Dewey, New York's
racket-busting district attorney, 60
down. In few ballots, cast at the
national convention, Mr.. Dewey's
vote was cut from 800 on the first
ballot to 81 on the fifth. There are
reasons for that, too. In the first
place, an effort has been under way
for months to belittle Dewey and
what he has accomplished.
In the second place, there were a
lot of people who supported Willkie
among the businessmen and the
politicians who are more or less
allied with business, who turned
thumbs down on Dewey. He was
to them merely prosecuting at
torney. They were not sure how
he would treat them If he were
elected President-and they felt
reasonably sure that Mr.. Willkie.
understanding their problems, would
give them better deal
In the third place, many of the
political organization leaders in the
States did not cotton to Dewey,
fearing he might be too independ-
ent. or perhaps influenced by some
of their business friends.
Youth Against Dewey.
Dewey went out and showed he
was vote getter in actual primary
elections, in newspaper and other
polls. He showed himself a great
campaigner and speech maker. All
of this. however. was not sufficient
to overcome the factors working
against him, and among them was
his youth. He is 38 years. Had he
been 48, as is Mr.. Willkis, there
might have been a difference.
Delegations pledged to Dewey in
the convention now closed were
pledged because Dewey had won
them in primary elections or in
conventions. They were ready to
desert as soon as they could-and
they did. 1t was a gradual matter
on the first two ballots, but there
after they ran like scared rabbits
either to Senator Taft or to Mr..
Willkie.
The Willkie victory, now that it
is possible to look back on it, mar
rowly missed being a Willkie defeat.
There were times in the convention
hall, when a shift of delegates to
Senator Taft, as for example, so
votes from the Pennsylvania delega-
ton. would have made all the diff
ference in the world. When Dewey
was through, as he was on the third
ballot, there was a move to Taft,
and in the end it was a horse race.
The Taft people had been pledged,
it is said. support of the Pennsyl-
vanians, headed by Joseph N. Pew,
jr, if and when it became apparent
that so votes would send to the
finish winner. But the Pennsyl-
Vania leaders, for one reason or
another, did not recognize that a
big bloc of votes on the fifth ballot
from their delegation might easily
have made the Ohioan winner
or if they did recognize it. they did
not wish to. Also there is some
possibility that many of the Penn
sylvania delegates would have
drifted to Willkie when released
from supporting Gov. James, the
favorite son candidate.