Evening star., 1946-08-09
Truman Prestige Hurt
By Slaughter Purge
Missouri Ma chime Politics
Likened to Tennessee's
By Dapid La,crence

~ IhtfU
President Truman may have won q
congressional election contest for his
candidate in Missouri, but at the same
time he lost something more-his pres
tige as an exponent of morality in ma
tional elections.
For when Mr.. Truman associated him
self with the Pendergast machine, he
made an egregious blunder. 1t is we'll
known that the President owes his
original start in politics TO the same
machine. The boss of this machine,
now dead went to the penitentiary a
few years ago in an insurance fraud
case involving misuse Of political power
but the organization has continued to
operate. 1t had been believed rather
widely that Mr.. Truman wanted to be
disassociated as much as possible from
that machine
Now, however, with Mr.. Truman hav-
ing openly asked the Pendergast ma
chine to assist in defeating an inde-
pendent minded, courageous Democrat,
who voted his own convictions conscien-
tiously in the House Rules Committee,
the American people are being told, in
effect, that the President Is not averse
to continued tie-up with a notorious
political machine
Calls Count Astonishing.
The congressional primary was be-
tween three Democratic candidates.
Mr.. Truman's choice won out, but only
after such astonishing results were GER
titled as count of 284 for the Truman
candidate and zero for Representative
Slaughter in one of the districts domi-
mated by the Pendergast machine. In
a similar district the Truman candi-
date received 297 votes, while were
counted for Mr.. Slaughter and were
counted for the third candidate.
This type of election result is what
started a revolution IN Tennessee last
week. Year after year, In Tennessee.
machines turn out the same kind of cleo
tion results in certain areas. The whole
country was shocked by the fact that
former G1s took the law into their own
hands and by physical force tried to
secure a fair election. The American
people do not want in any way to sane
tior or condone violence and Mr.. Tru-
man, as President of the United States.
/ should have been free to condemn Wig
orously what happened in Tennessee.
But he couldn't do so with consistency,
because he had already made an alli-
ance with the same kind of political
machine in Missouri.
When man reaches the high Office
OF President of the United States
the people expect him to become the
leader of the Nation on moral issues af-
fecting the purity of elections. Other
wise confidence in the fairness Of rep
resentative government would be under
mined. Machines have been conspicuous
Tor their corruption in American poll
tics. and there have been wicked Re-
publican machines. too, which for years
controlled voting in major cities. Today
the Democratic party depends on big
city machines for votes but not all of
these resort to the counting out method
or stuflng of ballot boxes or other vote
frauds such as have been proved in the
past against the Missouri machine.
Sees Full Probe Needed.
There really should be a complete in
vestigation of the election in which Rep
resentative Slaughter was defeated But
will it be ordered? The President him
self would have to order it, for he con-
trolls what the United States attorneys
do. incidentally, he never reappointed
certain United States attorney who
successfully prosecuted the Pendergast
machine.
The people of Missouri know the facts,
however, and it seems probable that
about all Mr. Truman has accomplished
is to insure the election of Republican
/ in the 5th congressional district of
Missouri
The purpose of the purge was not
just to punish Representative Slaughter
because he refused to be rubber
stamp" and vote with the administra-
tion in the House Rules Committee but
| to exhibit the episode to all other
Democratic Congressman in other parts
of the country who might consider vot-
ing independently in the House or Sen
ate. Actually, it will not impress upon
| wavering Democratic members of Con-
gress that they had better support Mr..
Truman when he wants anything in the
House. On the contrary, it may encour-
age them to look around and tie I'D with
the most powerful political machines In
their respective localities. For with the
Truman Endorsement of machine poll
tics, why should any prospective candi-
date on the Democratic side hesitate
now to identify himself with a political
organization no matter how corrupt?
Certainly he would not forfeit Mr.. Tru-
mans political help by so doing.
What an opportunity all this opens I'D
to man like Harold Stassen, former
Republican Governor of Minnesota. who
served as naval officer with Admiral
Halsey's fleet and who found out in the
Pacific that democracy is worth fighting
for! Will the Republican machines give
a man like Mr.. Stassen a chance? The
ex-serVicemen have big job on their
hands to clean up American politics.
and they can do it without resorting to
violence.
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