Evening star., 1945-02-12

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lection by the A"A ~ ~
votes of nine Republicans in a BODY
where the Democrats have a clear
majority of "a. 1t requires conslo-
cradle strain to see victory either Tor
the President or for Mr.. Wallace
in that. From a detached angle II
would appear humiliating reouKe
for both.
But the elements behind Mr.. Wal
lace, as is their custom, Will Ignore
the facts that conflict with their
theory. These elements include prl-
marily the CIO leaders, but also
Sidney Hillman's American LABOR
party and the so-called Llberai
party in New York, the Communists
(who are for Mr.. Wallace as they
were for Mr.. Roosevelt), plus the
radical daily and weekly press. This
is the pro-Wallace combination
This is the Wallace following"
upon which his Journalistic friends
dwell, ignoring the fact that all the
Wallace following" is just part
OF the Roosevelt lOIloWllS'
Want Wallace in 194S.
Assuming that Mr.. Roosevelt does
not run again, there Is no secret OF
the purpose of this part OF his fol-
lowing to urge the Wallace nomi-
nation in 1948. 1t has been widely
proclaimed and is generally &C
cepted-certainly accepted by Mr..
wallace. With his confirmation, the
1e48 campaign for him Is expected
really to begin. The concentration
of his following" which is equipped
with great propaganda facilities, Will
be upon the ''buildup."
In this, Mr. Wallace can be count
ed upon fully to cooperate. His
routine Job as Secretary of Com
merce will leave him free to make
speeches and write articles. The
radicals will blow the trumpets and
beat their drums while he promul-
gates the plans" for "cradle-to-
grave" security and great new
governmental spending program. 1t
will be quite a show but that it will
get Mr.. Wallace the next Demo-
cratic presidential nomination is ex-
ceedingly doubtful. For one thing,
without power to act, Mr.. Wallace
can do little save talk in the next
three years. And his kind Of talk
has slight appeal except to his
following"
But there are other things which
loom in the Wallace way. One is the
obvious fact that the Wallace "fol-
lowing" would be powerless to con-
troll the Democratic convention. So
far as the party is concerned it is in
a completely futile minority. To put
Mr.. Wallace over would require, in
addition, all the force Mr.. Roosevelt
has.
Roosevelt Aid Unlikely.
But there are several reasons to
think that in 1948, If Mr.. Roosevelt
himself is not a candidate, he could
not put Mr.. Wallace over. One is
the way he personally turned Mr..
Wallace down as his running mate
because of the assertion of his sup
porting city bosses that Mr.. Wallace
would cost the ticket a million
votes" Since then, the Democratic
Senate, which personally knows
him well, has voiced its profound
distrust and made clear its convic-
ton of his incompetency. This
would seem enough to preclude him
as a candidate, but there is more.
There is great doubt that Mr..
Roosevelt could, even if he wanted,
bring about his nomination. AS an
outgoing President, the Roosevelt
influence inevitably will be vastly
less than now. Besides, there is the
basic political axiom that popular
strength never can be transferred
from one man to another Finally,
there is the surety that Wallace
nomination would create so bitter a
party split as to insure the election
of a Republican. Most Of these
things are so clear that there Is
little room for dispute.
Campaign Is Pushed.
However, they Will not diminish
the ardor of those who direct the
Wallace campaign. One group
dwells loudly upon the likeness of
their hero to Lincoln; another
favorably compares him to Wood
row Wilson. Both join in depicting
him as the champion of the COM
mon man." the symbol of the plain
people" which, incidentally, does
not particularly please the Presi-
dents "close friends" who think
that no one compares to him, either
as champion or symbol. and that all
Mr.. Wallace has and is, politically,
is due to him.
1t is all rather pathetic, because
1t seems to spell a series of head
aches and heartaches for the pros
pective Secretary of Commerce, who
really is sincere and honest man,
crammed with pond irnp,,1Ses HIT