The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1946-02-28
DURELY
/ Official
By BALLOT BOX

y
The Willard Tawes for Governor
bandwagon is not only really roll
ing, but is rapidly becoming land
slide, thus amply confirming the
prediction made in this column on
january "a, that when the chips
were down, Willard Tawes would
be the favorite candidate for the
Democratic nomination.
He has already been endorsed by
Carroll County, Anne Arundel
County, Worcester County, Somer-
set County and five out of the six
Baltimore Districts, and, in addi-
ton, offers of support are literally
pouring in from every section of the
State, with "Tawes for Governor"
clubs springing up like mushrooms.
The recent published statements
that great pressure is being brought
upon Theodore r. McKeldin to run
for Governor of Maryland and that
plans are now afoot to draft him, if
necessary, is, without doubt, the
greatest political joke of the year
and here's the reason why.
Several weeks ago every Repub-
lican political leader in the State
(and that includes Washington
County,, who was known to be at
all friendly towards McKeldin, was
quietly tipped off that McKeldin
was definitely in the race and to
govern themselves accordingly.
So there you have it. The rank
and file of the Republican party in
Maryland are being told, by care
fully planted news releases, obvi-
ously emanating from the State
Central Committee, that McKeldin
is still undecided as to whether or
not he will file for Governor, but the
chosen few are quietly let in on "the
secret" that he is definitely in the
race.
Contrast this double talk with the
action of Governor O'Conor, titular
head of the State Democratic Party,
who has come out into the open re-
garding his plans, thus permitting
his party-the whole Party and not
just a chosen few - to make their
plans for the various state elective
offices to be filled.
It seems to me that Mr.. McKeldin
should take note of the fact that,
back in 1912, it was these same tao
tics that cost him the goVernorship.
In that race, had Mr.. McKeldin, the
chairman of the Republican State
Central Committee and the Republ-
lican National Committeeman, chos-
en- to have taken the whole Repub-
lican Party in their confidence, Mr..
Mckeldin would now be Governor.
But, instead of doing that, they con-
centrated all their efforts in Balti-
more City and paid perfunctory, if
any, attention to the counties. The
outcome Of this ill-advised strategy
was, that the county Republicans
throughout the State, unaware of
Mckeldin'S strength in Baltimore
City, figured that he couldn't beat
OConor and so concentrated all
their efforts on electing their own
county tickets, with the result that
the big McKeldin vote in Baltimore
City was wasted. And remember
that McKeldin didn't carry Wash
ington County!
And while l am on the subject of
letting the rank and file Republican
voters know what is going on,
isn't it about time that Congressman
J. Glenn Beall took his constituents
in the Sixth Congressional District
into his confidence regarding his
plans for the coming election. What
Republican voters in the Sixth Con-
gresslonal District would like to
know, is whether Congressman
Beall is going to file for renomina-
ton for the House, or whether he is
still playing with the idea of taking
a shot at the us. Senate seat.
The deadline for filing is only six
weeks away, but, as this is written,
neither McKeldin nor Beall have
made public statement of any kind
as to their intentions.
This attitude as I see it, particu-
larly on the part of Mr.. McKeldin,
IS not only palpably unfair to the
rank and file Republicans through
out the State (and while a Party
Machine may be able to put over a
candidate in primary, it is the
! the rank and file voters that count
in a general election), but is also
just as unfair to those gentlemen
who have already filed for the Re-
publican nomination for Governor.
NJ