Evening star., 1944-10-22
Mrs. Murray Given
Little Chance 10 Beat
Representative Smith
BY JAMES BIRCHFIELD.

Mrs. Elizabeth Chiffon Murray's
! campaign as an independent Demo-
crat for the House seat of Repre-
sentative Smith, will cause scarcely
ripple on the political waters of
the 9Th Virginia District, it was
predicted yesterday by Republican
and Democratic party leaders in
Fairfax and Arlington Counties.
These observers believed that Mrs
Murray, despite an active campaign,
may count on only those votes
against Mr.. Smith," largely among
labor groups and few ardent New
Dealers" Many Democrats who
will vote for Gov. Thomas E. Dewey
for President still will vote for Mr..
Smith, it was said.
COP Vote Is Small.
Observers further said that the
Republican vote in the 9th Dis
trict is normally very small except
in Arlington County. and that Law
renee Michael, the Republican can
didate, has not been well advertised
among the voters. While Mr..
Michael may be expected to poll
most of the Republican vote in
Arlington, observers doubted that
his following would be large
throughout the rest of the district.
Speculation that Mrs. Murray's
campaign might result in a split in
the Democratic party, giving the
election to the Republican candi-
date, were discredited by observers
who have watched election trends
over the last 80 years AS a critic
of the New Deal, it was said, Mr.,
Smith has had the backing of the
majority in the district.
Challenged to Debate.
In her campaign, which next
week will feature wagon race"
from Rosslyn to Culpeper, Mrs.
Murray has repeatedly challenged
Mr.. Smith to debate issues" She
has charged her opponent with dis
loyalty to the Democratic party in
his failure to support President
Roosevelts policies.
In his only reply to these charges,
Mr.. Smith last week charged that
Mrs. Murray has bolted her party,
and that in announcing as an inde-
pendent Democrat she had broken
a pledge to support the party's
nominees made at the State Demo-
cratic convention at Roanoke.
Mrs. Murray yesterday replied
that she did bolt the Byrd-Smith
machine which you would have the
voters believe is the Democratic
party of Virginia"
Hits Smiths Record.
Referring to a statement by Mr..
Smith in 1941 in which he is quoted
as saying he had reluctantly
reached the parting of the ways"
Mrs. Murray charged that her op-
ponent, having parted with the
President and the Democratic party,
then came before the voters "as a
Republican"
Mrs. Murray stated that Mr..
Smith, who represents himself as
a Democratic member of Congress,
has not voted as one.
AS far back as the fight on the
Neutrality Act-three weeks before
Pearl Harbor-you broke with the
Democratic party and joined the
Republican isolationists who at
tempted to force the President to
surrender on foreign policy" she
said.
Charging her opponent with being
disloyal to Virginia voters, Mrs.
Murray said that he voted with
Republicans against WPA appro-
priationS, against public works.
against jobs and training for the
Nations youth, against the food
stamp plan for the distribution
OF surplus commodities, against the
public power bill, against IVA.
against limitations of huge salaries.
against incentive payments to
farmers against the Home Owners
Loan Corp, against price and rent
control, against the unrestricted
soldier vote and against the anti
poll-tax bill.
Calls Him Republican.
You are Republican masouer-
aiding as a Democrat. You vote
Republican" Mrs. Murray asserted.
Mrs. Murray charged that Mr..
Smith does not have the conf
dence" of the 9Th district voters.
In the two presidential election
years, 1896 and 1910, Mr.. Smith re-
ceived 28,o52 and 30,031 votes, re-
spectively, she said, while the
highest number of votes received
by him in nonpresidential election
year was 1880 in 1942.
She said that in the 1886 and
1910 elections Mr.. Smith rode into
Congress on the coattails of the
President" while in other elections
the voters stayed away from the
polls because there was no candi-