Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-11-13
NEWS
BEHIND
The News
BY Paul
Mallon

WASHINGTON. Nov. IL
w Most interesting and per-
haps most significant change in
the last election did not show
itself until the detailed final re-
turns came in.
The Democrats not only failed
to get their usual strong labor
maiorities, but their city Negro
majorities as well.
Symptoms of a change-over
i'm the country were suggested IN
the scattered sample voting of
these two class groups 10 which
the national administration has
appealed so conspicuously with
special leadership.
In Harlem, the Republicans
won a plurality in the DIST as
sembly district Call Negro),
where the count showed Hanley
(R) 5,942, Haskell Cd 5,752,
Haskell, American Labor party.
1850. In lower West Harlem
18th districD, which is also
Negro, the Democratic poll was
only 700 votes more than the
Republican, out of $500 cast.
GONE attribute this almost
- even split in Harlem TO the
fact that a Negro Republican
candidate was running 10 be a
city court justice. Gle won)
But the same symptoms were
evident in Philadelphia where
there is no counterpart of the
Tammany Democratic machine
which has run Harlem. There,
the Republicans won the Negro
Both ward by 100 (during the
New Deal il has been Demo-
cratic by 1,500). the Seventh
ward by $500 usually Demo-
cratic by $1,000, also the 44th.
goth, 22nd and 47th wardS-and
this was against Bill Bullitt the
president friend.
In the Brooklyn 20th and DIST
and Queens second, the same
thing happened.
In Kentucky, the Republican
leaders claim that 90 per cent
of the Negro vote went Republi-
can.
In Detroit's supposedly non
partisan election, the official
UAW-CIO Negro groups candi-
date was defeated by candidite
who had the backing of Repub-
licans.
TH1S change-over in the Negro
Il vote was suggested in adj
vance by some Negro educators
and leaders and some Negro
newspapers taking the position
that further support of the
administration was not war
ranted.
Labor leaders, on the other
hand, just could not hold their
people Democratic. With Go
support, the AF'L official, who
ran for governor unsuccesSfully
IN New Jersey was able to pull
the full labor vote only in Cam
den County (Shipyards, CIO).
Elsewhere in union strong
holds through the industrial
strong sections of the state, Re
publican Walter Edge got the
majorities (eXcepting only Boss
Hague'S district. Thus the
change-over showed even in the
case of a candidate who had
Go, AFL, the administration
and the Jersey City machine.
Such evidence, on top of the
already noticed decline in power
Of the American Labor Party in
n. Y, the San Francisco mayor
atty result, Detroit and Ken
lucky, obviously confirm a
national labor split-vote.
If the administration cannot
hold labor and Negro group
votes, there is no other large
class group vote in the country
which il can be said TO control.
MIR. ROOSEVELT will not de-
w eide whether he will seek a
fourth term until next May l,
according TO news passed around
10 Democratic senators by his
political managers. Byrnes,
Hopkins, Niles and Frank
Walker. They want TO delay
the convention until August for
a short campaign.
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