The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-09-17
Bob Hannegan
(St. Louis Star Times

| There probably will be end to chit-chat sug- gestons of the impending resignation Bob Hannegar as Chairman of the Demoratc National Committee at least until after the November electionsand perhaps just for poitness sake until after the Christmas holidays. Not only has MT. Hannegan himself said that he has intention of quitting, but his tormentors the Solid South have decided to stop their snipng at least for this year. They have no hope of re forming him. they admit but for the time being they putting the tomahawk on the shelf. However they have intention of leaving it there for more than few months.
 Since MT. Hannegan is the hardest working chair to preside the National Committee since Jim Farley went into the soft drink business it would that the Democrats ought to be only too glad to have him around The trouble is that the Southerners are all worked up about his liberal line. They have the notion that the way to beat the Republicans is to be even more conservative than Senator Taft and Governor Bricker As practical politician MT. Han negan does not it that way He feels that unless the Democrats can hold on to the liberal and labor votes which four times elected Franklin D. Roosevelt to the presidency they have chance in 1948or in 1946 MT. Hannegan hasn't turned theological; he's just looking around for the winning and he can't find them any place except where Franklin D. Roose- welt found them.
 Of course it's little difficult for the Southerners to understand this Below the Mason Dixon Line they operate party system which is just about fire that of the Communists in Russia. The Bilbos the Rankns and the Gossetts have worried
 
 if the Republicans win the Presidency and gain control of the Congress. That would them few chair manShpS but in the Harding Coolidge Hoover days they got the postmasershps as usual and they prob ably would again
 But it is different farther North where the demo- cratic tWo-party system really works. In almost all of the primaries held far the Republicans showed definite signs of new strength. In Missouri for example, they boiled about 2500O votes more than they did in the last off-year primary. This means that while Senator Briggs boiled 80000 more votes that the winner in the Republican senatorial race he IS not likely to have WalkaWay. On the basis of his record and his speeches he towers above his opponent yet there is that this will be reflected in the election returns He will need-and should get all the support that the national organization can muster.
 In other States, Democratic hopes are even more precarous. If the Democrats want to win they will have to get down to grass-roots organizing and campaigning. There is getting away from it MT Trumans natty double breasted models simply do not have the kind of coat-tals which good for free ride
 MT. Hannegan to be well aware of this and apparently he has offended his boss by pointing out to him that he can't possibly hope for supporting CongreSS-let alone re-election-by driving away the voters whom his distinguished predecessor counted so heavily It could be that this very gratifying to MT. Trumans ego but he had better not take out his disappointment MT. Hannegan After all the party chairman can't change facts
 And, if one stops to think about it. it is natural enough that the voters should expect the Democrats to offer something other than conservative doctrine If the people really want conservatism they will take accepting Democratic just good' variety, thank