Evening star., 1945-04-15
Task Truman Now Faces
Beset by Many Difficulties
New President First Must Weld Discordant
Elements Into Solid Party-Changes
Among His Aides Likely
Bv Gould Lincoln

of the Democratic party. 1t had peen
generally supposed that President
Roosevelt would not seek fifth term
of office, and that the race in the next
Democratic National Convention would
be between men like Wallace and Sem
ator Harry Byrd of Virginia represen-
tatives of the different factions.
Upon whom will the mantle of Roose-
welt fall in the Democratic party? For
the immediate future, of course, 1t will
rest on the shoulders of President Tru-
man. Upon the record he makes will
depend, however, how long it will re-
main there.
President Roosevelt had a tremendous
following among two groups Of the
people-labor and the Negro voters. 1t
was upon these groups that the engl-
neerS of Roosevelt campaigns relied par
ticularly Another large group, eSpe-
Jewish blood who followed the political
leadership of the late President Labor
in the past has been inclined to the
Democratic party, but never to the de-
gree it showed in Roosevelt campaigns.
The Negro voters shifted in huge num-
berS from the Republican to the Demo-
cratic party-because they were for
Roosevelt not because they had any par
tiCular reason to love the Democratic
party. What are these voters going to
do in the future-when the personal
Roosevelt element has been eliminated?
Gloomy Over Democrats Chances.
A far-seeng and realistic member of
the Democratic party gives a gloomy
picture of Democratic chances in the
congressional elections next year, and
in the presidential race in l948. In his
opinion the ultra liberals, Sidney Hill
man and the rest, will call upon Presi-
dent Truman to 60 to the left and ac-
quieSce in their demands. If he refuses
to do So-then these liberals will fight
him. and will seek Mr.. Wallace as
leader IT, on the other hand, the new
President goes along with the radicals,
then the conservative Democrats Will
break off from him, and his case will
be equally bad.
Only the war and the great personal
popularity of Roosevelt made Demo-
cratic victory in 1914 possible. this DEM
ocrat asserts With both removed from
the picture and with domestic problems
reaSserting themselves. the outlook from
a party point of view is distinctly bad.
Mr. Truman has in the past been near
the middle of the road-neither as lib
eral as Wallace nor as conservative as
Byrd, for example. It will be impossible
Ior him. however. to continue in the
middle of the road And once he shifts
to one side or the other, the fireworks
will begin
The Roosevelt administration in re-
cent months has lost some of its out
standing fgures-on the conservative
side. First, Secretary of State Cordeli
Hull was knocked out by i'll health.
Then Jesse H. Jones was discarded to
make Mr. Wallace Secretary Of Com
merce. Third, James F. Byrnes, former
Senator. associate justice of the Su-
preme Court and war mobilization di-
rector, retired for reasons of his own.
These were strong men, in whom much
confidence was felt. There have been
others whose services might have been
used during the war effort.
Hope for Unity.
Whether President Truman will seek
to recruit again these lost leaders and
make use of them no one knows. Mr,
Byrnes was one of his closest friends in
official life Mr. Truman went to Chi
cago last July intent upon nominating
Mr. ByrneS for Vice President. But
Sidney Hlllman and some Of the North
ern city bosses turned thumbs down on
Mr.. Byrnes-Mr. Hillman because Or
ganized labor was not friendly to ByrneS
and the others because they feared the
South Carolinian might lose to the
ticket some of the Negro votes upon
which. they counted heavily. One of the
first to offer his services to the new
President has been Mr.. Byrnes. If the
President takes Mr.. Byrnes again into
the aGministration-as now seems like
ly-it may be an indication of other
appointments to follow.
There have been ever-increasing
grumblings and lumblings under the
surface of the Democratic party since
the last election. This discomfort is
likely to come to head, unless Presi-
dent Truman is able, as many Demo-
Gratis hope he will be, to bring greater
unity to the party than it has had in
recent days.