Evening star., 1944-10-22
Presidential Election
In Kentucky Figures
To Be a Horse Race
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chine in control at Frankfort and
determined to clean house. The
same, they contend, was true to an
even greater degree in the Fourth
District election, where Mr.. Carrier
was running against Dan Talbot
who had been in politics for years
and had many enemies. In the
opinion of leading Democrats these
results were not indicative of what
is to be the result in the Presidential
election next month.
The Republicans deny that this
is the case. They insist that what
happened here last year was much
the same as what happened in Mis-
souri, and other States where the
Democrats have been beaten in
special elections since 1912. AS they
put it, the voters in Kentucky were
registering their disapproval of the
Democratic regime, national and
State. These voters, they say, will
continue to oppose the national
Democratic administration when
they go to the polls a couple of
weeks hence.
There is no doubt that many of
the Kentucky farmers are anti
Roosevelt. as they are in other
States like Illinois and Indiana.
Further, the Roosevelt percentage
OF the Negro vote will be cut into,
particularly here in Louisville. Also
thousands of Kentuckians have left
the State to go into war plants in
Indiana, Michigan and other States,
workers and their families who
might have been inclined to be for
Mr.. Roosevelt in the election.
There are the Kentucky miners
members of the United Mine Work
ers. In the past they have been
strongly for Mr.. Roosevelt. How
ever, many of them will follow John
L. Lewis in his opposition to
fourth term. How many of them
will vote Republican is a guess. But
1t looks as though many of the min
ers, who in pre-Roosevelt days were
Republican, and their families, will
go back to their old party allegiance.
Indeed, the Republicans are talk
ing about rolling up $4,000 ma
Jority in the Ninth Congressional
District, district which has been
traditionally Republican.
Democrats Attack Willis.
These are the things that give the
Republicans hope and now and then
cold shiver up and down Demo-
cratic spines.
The Democrats are attacking
Gov. Willis and his administration
They say he has failed to live up
to his campaign promises to elimi-
nate the sales tax and to cut down
expenses of the State Government.
Also they say that his election has
melted the Democrats to get on
their toes for this election.
President Roosevelt carried Ken
lucky in 1910 over Wendell L. Will
kie by l47,000 votes. This is a very
large margin to overcome-for the
In that election ap-
$1,000 votes were cast
This year, due to the hundreds of
thousands of immigrants from Ken
lucky and the absence of men and
women in the armed services. the
vote in all probability will be ma
terlally smaller. Indeed, at Demo-
cratic headquarters it was esti-
mated today the vote might be
down to 650,000 That would be
300, 900 less. With such a reduction
in the vote as compared to 1910 al
most anything could happen.
Democrats insist that the fac
tional troubles which have caused
in their party have been
smoothed out. The point to the
fact that both Senators Chandler
and Barkley are on the stump, and
other leaders of all factions, includ-
ing Ben Kilgore, former executive
secretary of the Kentucky Farm
Bureau Federation, a candidate for
the Democratic gubernatorial nomi-
nation last year.
1t is very doubtful, however, that
this feuding among Kentucky Dem
ocrats is really thing of the past
no matter what appears on the sur
face. The dislike between the
Chandler and Barkley factions is
deep down. Mr.. Chandler took a
licking in 1888 when he sought the
Democratic Senatorial nomination
and President Roosevelt and Sena-
tor Barkley ganged up against him.
Also within the last day or two
Hubert Meredith, attorney gen.
eral in the recent Democratic State
administration, has come out fiat
footedly for Gov. Dewey and against
Mr.. Roosevelt. Mr. Meredith is
widely known and respected. He is a
'Jef1ersonian Democrat" In al
letter dated October IT, Mr.. Mer-
edith said: "As I see it, this is the
issue in the campaign: Shall we
return to a Government of laws.
free enterprise and personal liberty
under the Constitution, or continue
the New Deals headlong march to
ward complete regimentation, de-
of freedom and private
ownership of property, a socialized
state, ruled by bureaucratic die
Il shall not waste my vote on
some party candidates, but, as the
surest way of arresting the march
to communism, I shall vote for Gov.
Dewey and for James Park"
Park is the Republican candi-
date for the Senate against Senator
Barkley. Mr.. Park is a lawyer. a
former widely known Kentucky
athlete.
Mr.. Meredith, although he was
part of the State Democratic ad-
at the time, last year
threw his support to Gov. Willis in
the race for the governorship. Then
he attacked the Democrats because
he charged that corruption had
crept into the State administration
Senator Barkley - great CAM
paigner, is touring the State and
good fight, both for him
self and for the President Ken