Evening star., 1946-11-13

more or less Ter 3$$S
rorized both
parties and been Frank R. Kent.
able to Illustrate every Legislative
effort to impose restraints in tn,
public interests.
This reign of terror is now over
Early in the year the CIO-PAC
started out with the declaration
that this campaign was OF vital i'm.
portance and 1t proposed to spare
neither time, money nor work te
drive its enemies out of public life
and reward its friends. Certainly
In both primaries and general elec-
ton, it made for these objectives the
greatest fight of which it was cap
able. And in both its record OF
failure was practically complete
In the primaries it scored not q
single outstanding success and sus-
tanned defeats in many states where
members of House and Senate
whom it had blacklisted were re-
nominated. But, it was in the gen
eral election on November 5 that
the balloon really went up.
Few Get Through.
On that day, with the exception
of Vito Marcantonio, the Commu-
nistic Representative from New
York, and Senator Kilgore, of West
Virginia, who found the CIO-PAC'
support offset by AFL opposition,
extremely few CIC-indorsed candi-
dates anywhere got through-arld
none solely for that reason. On the
contrary, most of them were smoth-
cred under large adverse majori-
ties-Mead and Lehman in New
York; Senator Mitchell and Rep
resentatives De Lacy and Coffey in
Washington; the bumptious Will
Rogers, Jr., in California, who has
little in common with his distin-
guished father except his name
and many others. Almost without
exception they were overwhelmed.
So extraordinarily high was the
mortality among the CIO-PAC-in-
dorsed candidates that the conclu-
sion is inescapable that its support
was fatal liability; its opposition
real asset.
The most striking examples Of
this were in the great States of New
York and Pennsylvania. In the lat
ter Senator Joseph F. Guffey, the
most shameless, servile and sub
servient with the possible excep-
ton OF Senator Claude. Pepper OF
all CIO members Of Congress-the
man who, from the CIO standpoint,
had perfect score"-ran on the
Democratic ticket for a third term.
Invaluable to the CIO on the Sem
ate floor and in the Senate COM
mittees, the organization naturally
put everything it had into the ef-
fort to save Mr.. Guffey. He was
beaten by q majority over 100000.
New York Blow Worse.
However, the blow in New York
was worse. There the CIO-PAC Is
tied in with the Communist-d dom
mated American Labor Party, the
Liberal Party and the Democratic
Party. Long before the campaign
opened it announced that the nrst
essential" was the defeat of Gov
ernor Dewey, whom it branded as
an "enemy of labor" The C1O-PAC
led and managed the fight in New
York.
It left little undone and nothing
unsaid to bring about the Dewey
downfall. On the night before cleo
ton Philip Murray, accompanied by
his two most conspicuous aides
Henry Wallace and Senator Pepper
went to New York. shouldering
the Democratic candidates and
managers out of the spotlight, these
three made the final appeal, de-
nouncing the Republicans as the
party of greedy reaction" picturing
Mr.. Dewey as sinister character
whose success would be a national
and international disaster. Twenty
four hours later the voters re-
elected Gov. Dewey by a majority
of nearly 700, ,000-greater than any
other Republican candidate had
ever gotten In the State, carrying
all the other Republican candidates
in with him and putting himself
clearly in the lead for the Repub-
lican presidential nomination In
1948.
Considering these things, it Is
hard to see how any one not in
curably gullible can now take the
CIO-PAC with anything like the
same degree of seriousness as be-
fore. Its bluff has been exposed;
its power to inspire fear has been
dissipated; its loud-mouthed spokes-
men will hardly be listened to
around the halls Of Congress with
the same tolerance and respect.
Certainly the steady stream of CIO-
PAC press releases will diminish in
importance, and those pontiflcal
announcements on the issues seem
ridiculous.
Clears Atmosphere.
The enthusiastic way In which
the voters all over the country
threw its candidates into the dis
card and elected the men whom it
blacklisted and blackguarded was
one of the most wholesome things
that has happened in American
politics in long time. 1t will clear
the atmosphere around Congress,
tighten the hearts of lot Of brow
beaten men in both parties, make
it easier to legislate in the public
interest.
The screams of defiance. the de-
mands on behalf Of the liberals" |"
the portentous warning about the
future and the breast-beating prop
paganda, of course, will continue.
That Is the business of the profess
sionals who run these organiza-
tions. II it did not continue they
n II