Evening star., 1944-11-17

as gratifying to Frank R. Kent.
themselves.
There was an unusual number O.
these deeply panied gentlemen IL
the last campaign-and nearly al
of them on the Democratic side. TIL,
most conspicuous one among tn,
Republicans, of course, was the lat.
Wendell Willkie. Eventually, hov
he would have solved his problem n,
one is entitled to state. There wa.
also Senator Ball of Minnesota whit
went the whole distance by boltin,
his party ticket. But most of then
were Democrats of pronounced per.
sonal and political hostility to Mr.
Roosevelt.
Some of them trimmed, tried te
carry water on both shoulders anc
measurably succeeded. Others rose
lightly above their principles anc
pretended to like it. One or two
like Senator Walsh Of Massachu-
setts announced that they would
vote the party ticket, thus preserv-
ing their regularity, but declined tc
60 farther than that. Others who
wanted to keep silent yielded to
pressure and, with their personal
political future in mind, came out
with supporting statements.
Carter Glass Statement.
The most surprising was that from
Senator Carter Glass, who Is too old
and sick to have q political future
1t was difficult to believe that Sena-
tor Glass, who from the start had
abhorred the whole New Deal phi
losophy and had strongly opposed a
third term, should come out for a
fourth term.
The Senator's son, Mr.. Powell
Glass, promptly said he had reason
to disbelieve the statement and de-
clared his fathers health was such
as to preclude any one from talking
business with him. Senator Glass
who has not been in his Senate seat
Tor two years, never did personally
confirm the statement, and the only
source which gave 1t out was the
White House.
Many Of Mr.. Glass friends de-
plored this secondhand publicity
Some refused to believe 1t on the
ground that 1t was totally out OF
character. Others explained it on
the ground that he was a sick man
ihere stu Is considerable mystery
about the whole incident.
However, there was no msytery
about the position of Mr.. Glass
colleague, Senator Harry F. Byrd
Here was one anti-New Deal, anti
fourth-term Democrat who neither
trimmed, traded nor straddled in
this campaign. He is one who came
out Of the campaign with his self
respect unimpaired.
No one knowing the Virginia pri-
mary law, knowing Senator Byrd's
position as the head of the Demo-
cratic organization in Virginia and
knowing Senator Byrd personally,
expected him to come out in favor
OF the Republican candidate or to
cast his vote for him. His situation
In Virginia as the party leader, the
party regulations and his party re-
sponsibility all precluded that.
On the contrary, it was eoually
unthinkable that Senator Byrd,
whose personal and political opin-
ion of Mr.. Roosevelt's policies, prom
ises, philosophy, performances and
friends has never been disguised
should stultify himself by even the
appearance Of a fourth-term in
dorsement.
Under Editorial Fire.
Under heavy fire from the New
Dealish Richmond Times-Dispatch
with editorials headed "Is Senator
Byrd a Democrat?" Senator Byrd
never yielded an inch. Bombarded
with trick invitations from fourth
term organizations to address them
on the issues of the campaign. vio-
lently denounced by Mr.. Hillman's
PAC and the radical Roosevelt press
IN New York, Senator Byrd firmly
declined.
From start to finish he refused
to make any statement favoring Mr..
Roosevelt or to give even qualified
Endorsement to his fourth-term ef-
fort or to say to any one how he
intended to vote. This was eouiva-
lent to saying that he would not
vote at all-because the Democratic
leader in Virginia cannot vote the
Republican ticket and this Demo-
cratic leader would not vote the
Democratic ticket.
Concerning the attacks on Sena-
tor Byrd, the Northern Virginia
Daily declared the real purpose was
to split the Democratic party in
Virginia by uniting and organizing
disgruntled factions within the party
with others which have recently ac-
quired party afflliation in the hope
OF selling control of the organiza-
ton, "just as the national Demo-
cratic party has been captured by
the New Deal National Socialists"
And the Charlotte Observer,
speaking of the example of Senator
Byrd in declining to be bullied or
cajoled into hypocritical and in
sincere position, said: "He shines
out like a bright star set in the
heavens of a black night when sill
houetted against the oficeholders
and Office seekers in other States.
who loudly proclaim their faith in
an administration whose policies