Evening star., 1940-05-03
D'AIesundro Victory
Forecast by Bets
Of 20 to I
Star STAFF Photo.
BY JAMES E. CHINN,
Star Stan Correspondent.

BALTIMORE, May 3.-The
so-called wise men" of Baltimore
those who sit around the .taprooms
at night, sip beer and gamble on any,
thing but the weather-are betting
20 to l today that Representative
d dAlesandro will strike a knockout
blow in his first round for reelection
in the Maryland primary Monday.
Mr.. d'Alesandro is in a political
battle even more intense than the
one two years ago when he unseated
former Representative Vincent l..
Palmisano, who for IL consecutive
years represented Baltimore's East
Side" in the House.
Mr.. Palmisano, who made a big
jump in life from a beer Taper in a
barroom to Congress, where he be-
came the Mayor of Washington
because Of the fact he served as
chairman Of the House District
Committee, is, incidentally, Mr..
dAlesandro's chief opponent in the
primary fight, striving for come
back"
Five Others in Race.
Mr.. d'Alesandro, however, has five
other opponents to fight off in the
primary in order to be eligible to run
to hold his present seat in the House
in the general election in November.
And two Of them-excluding his
principal rival. Mr.. Palmisano-are
members OF the Maryland State Leg
islature.
Mr.. DAlesandro is not overlooking
the fact that he took Mr.. Palmi-
sano's l2-year seat by the narrow
margin Of So votes. But he doesn't
seem to be the least bit concerned
about the five other men who want
to replace him, even though their
names don't indicate any foreign
extraction.
Mr.. d'Alesandro is proud Of the fact
his parents were Italian. So is Mr.
Palmisano. But here in Baltimore's
Sd congressional district there
~ ~AA oAANCA SoAACAI VI protest
against continued representation in
the House by men whose parents
were not born in the United States
Indicate Change Wanted.
The Sd Maryland congressional
district. which has some $4,000 quail
fled voters, is made up largely of men
and women of Polish, Irish, Lith.
uanlan, Czecho-Slovakian and Jew
lsh extraction. For nearly IA years
| they have selected as their Repre-.
sentative in the House men with
Italian blood in their veins-Palmi.
sano and D'Alesandro. But now
there appears to be a mild revolt
Banners stretched across the win.
doWs OF a number of homes and
grocery stores demand election O,
"full-blooded Americans"
Mr.. D'Alesandro, in the whirlwind
windup OF his primary campaign, is
making on the average of IL speeches
night. He campaigns very much
like former Gov. Nice of Maryland
who, perhaps, never had an equal In
such tactics. The former Governor
in his Inflated campaign fo1 re-elec-
ton nearly two years ago, stopped at
gasoline stations and roadside stands
to shake a hand and solicit a vote
Mr.. D'Alesandro goes him one better
he appears at private parties in
the Easements of the poorer homes
drinks beer and eats crab soup with
the men and women and then takes
about two minutes, to attack his
leading political rival, Mr.. Palmisano
| Occasionally, however, he makes
mention of his service on the District
Committee and argues that in less
that two years in Congress he &C.
complished more than former Rep
resentative Palmisano did in ~.