Evening star., 1944-11-19

a. r. PnOt0
franchise barriers. I don't mean Just
abolition of poll taxes. In many States
there are still many technicalities sur
rounding registration that keep hun
dreds of thousands from voting. BY
1948 more than 10000, 900 citizens will
be eligible voters If there are no arbi-
trary restrictions. Our goal will be
total vote of 75.O00000 in 194s, big
increase over the nearly 50,0OO,0OO in
1910 and this years estimate of 47O0O,-
900 or 100000"
The PAC successes of this campaign
were not won so easily as Baldwin in
dicated, nor will the tasks ahead be so
simple
The CIO-PAC and the NC-PAC were
big-time operations, directed by such
political realists as Sidney Hillman.
Philip Murray, Baldwin and small
group Of regional directors who CO.
ordinated the work of State and local
committees.
The CIO-PAC. according TO- Baldwin,
collected about $500, 900 for the election
and spent more; how much more Bald
win prefers not to say. The Citizens
Committee, which had separate national
headquarters, collected and spent about
100000.
S230.000 Nest Egg.
Most OF the CIO funds were raised by
" voluntary contributions on lone buck
each" drive from the union member
ship. During the campaign the Repub-
licans repeatedly charged that union
members were being assessed for contri-
buttons. This Baldwin vehemently de-
nies. He asserts that when, in few
isolated instances, assessments we're
made by locals, the contributions were
rstuTneti. As nest egg for the future,
the national headquarters has about
$230,000 frozen" from the $670 900 con-
tributions made by the big CIO unions
last year.
With these sums-relatively small for
a national political campaign - the
PACS turned in remarkable results. 1t
is impossible to calculate even approxi-
mately what weight the PACS had in
Vic lAdlAOAAdA dAlQ 1OCdl ClCIUlOIlc, SACSpt
in New York, where the American La
Dor party's vote was segregated from
the Democratic and Liberal party bal
lots, but these new groups had a great
deal to do with the election of the
Roosevelt Truman ticket and contrib
uted to the victories of Senators Wag-
ner in New York, Lucas in Illinois,
Barkley in Kentucky, Downey in Cali
fornia, Elmer Thomas in Oklahoma,
Elbert D. Thomas in Utah, and in the
election of Brien Mcmahon to the SEN
atorship in Connecticut, and in the ap-
parent victory of Representative Francis
j. Myers over Senator James j. Davis
In Pennsylvania.
Is To keep the effort nominallv non-
partisan and to assure themselves of
friends in the Republican camp, the
PAC helped to elect Gov. Saltonstall
to the Senate from Massachusetts,
Wayne Morse the Senator from Ore
gon and to return Senator Aiken OF
Vermont. In congressional contests the
PAC supported Representative Frances
p. Bolton in Cleveland and Representa-
tive George H. Bender, Congressman
at-large from Ohio, both Republicans.
Where CIO-indorsed senatorial candi-
dates lost, the margins were small In
Ohio Senator Taft barely nosed out
William g. Pickrel; in Indiana, Homer
E. Capehart, Republican, had small
margin over Gov. Henry F. Schricker;
in New Jersey. H. Alexander Smith,
Republican, had close race with Rep
resentative Elmer H. Wene. And in
Missouri an oficial recount may be
necessary to determine whether Gov.