Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-07-25
BEHIND K
THE NEWS
BY Paul
MaIlon

WASHINGTON, July 25-lt
w was an interesting crowd OF
Democratic office holders who
trooped back from Chicago.
The look on their faces could
raise smile from any one.
Not that any seemed especially
disgusted-or elated. They Just
persiStently treated their hand
work as matter of course
apparently also as did Mr..
Roosevelt who went off to the
Pacific CoaStO
The normally cruSty Interior
Secretary Ickes, for instance
hid his chagrin over the defeat
of Mr.. Wallace by saying;
I'VE nominated the second
best man"
| have never seen pohticos
less inspired or less enthusiastic.
What they did at Chicago in
the last analysis was 10 form a
purely practical political work.
ing arrangement for the CAM
paign between the city bosses
on the one hand and the left
leaners, even Go, on the other.
Senator Truman will bring
into the campaign background
of support from both of these
elements including the old Pen
dergast machine in Missouri,
National Chairman flanagan
has his own machine in st.
Louis.
Chicago's Mayor Ed Kelly,
who was probably the conven-
tons most important manipu-
lator. now has the most COM
plete machine in the country.
He directs everything there now,
although some insiders say the
apparatus has really become too
big and is showing some signs
of cracking. These. together
with Ed Flynn and Hague from
both sides of the Hudson ran
the convention.
| NOV they did not kick Mr.
~ Wallace out because he is
radical He had just become
personally unpopular and they
wanted to win. If the New
Dealers had a more powerful
candidate than Wallace, do
not believe Truman would have
received the nomination.
The bosses simply got their
political working arrangement
with labor with their own man
instead of taking the Go
choice. Frankly then, they inn
proved their chances of No
vember victory.
With similar machine practi-
calism they put down the en-
barrasSing Negro issue and the
TeXas-South Carolina trouble
with all possible vagueness,
crowding the matter into the
background.
WILL this arrangement win
w the election? do not be-
lieve the average Democratic
leader here is confident. The
battle is yet to be won. A
city-CIO combination for in
stance is actually a small
minority of the country 1t
leaves the opportunity open for
Dewey 10 organize middle
ground majority around the
farmers, right wing labor, mid
die class.
If Roosevelt is 10 win, il must
be accomplished by the force of
war developments. peace nego-
tiations or by his personality.
So while l would say the party
helped its chances by relin-
gushing Mr.. Wallace. none of
the power exhibited at Chicago
was enough 10 win in itself.
THIS year, with the war
Il likely to break before cleo
ton, with the peace unsettled,
it is probable people may take
the election more as a matter
of course.
Extremely light votes have
appeared already in the prl-
maries. In Idaho. at the height
of the European invasion,
candidates got no crowds and
the voters could not be induced
10 come from farms and war
factories and register.
In North Dakota. the vote
was light despite the warm
senatorial contest. In Mary
land. Democratic Senator Tyd-
ings found unusually little APP
plauSe given to Roosevelt
speaker AT Roosevelt pep
rally and candidate Senator
?at McCarran reports people
are not interested in talking
politics.
The country may he in the
same peculiar mood as the
/ Democratic politicians.
/ Distributed by King Features syud Inc.
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