Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-07-20

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah.-k
Conference is = good trick-somet
lightning in = bottle. 1t just doesn'
=. A Governors Conference, such
nonpartisan affair. 1t. never indulg
year it alternates control Of the Exc
licans and four Democrats serve one
year, and reversing. the ratio the
next time. A Republican chairmans
the conference one year and a
Democrat is In the chair the next
year.
Since every Governor is poten-
tial presidential or vice presidential
nominee, 1t, of course, is impossible
to put politics aside at these meet
ings. And, naturally, the Salt Lake
City air was as thick with politics
as the lake is with salt.
The Governors piously refrained
from talking politics in the open and
some of them carefully steered
around the subject in private gath
erings. But everybody else was
talking politics, and the Governors
did a lot Of listening.
Can't Blame Them
With "a presidential campaign
coming up next year, with Cows.
Dewey of New York, Warren OF
California and Green OF Illinois,
all regarded as potential candidates
If not active-for presidential OF
vice presidential nominations Of the
Republican Party. and with Gov
Wallgren Of Washington, reported
in some quarters to be President
Humans personal choice for the
Democratic vice presidential NOM
nation in 1913, 1t was bound to be
so.
No one could blame Mr.. Dewey
or Mr.. Warren, for that matter
for making political hay while the
sun was shining. Neither would
talk politics for publication. They
SHE'D away from commenting ION
the record" on any subject that
verged on national politics. They
were here, they said, to deal with
State affairs, and they intended to
stick to those affairs.
However, this did not prevent Mr..
Dewey from receiving leading Re-
publicans from Utah, Idaho and
one or two other States, nor from
comforting with his Republican gu
bernatorial colleagues whom he
suspected supported him for the
presidential nomination-or hoped
to win over. The same in some
measure might be charged up to
Gov. Warren, although the latter
has maintained all along he is moi
a candidate for either place on the
national ticket next year.
Dewey Wins Poll
Wherever Gov. Dewey went, the
crowds stood up to take a look at
him. The same was true of Gov
Warren, though to q lesser extent
whether it was in the great Taber-
nacle, the State Fairgrounds OF
in a parade Of the streets. That
kind of thing was a bit irking to
the other Governors. Nevertheless,
when the Associated Press took a
presidential preference poll among
the Republican Governors-there
were % out of the rs Republican
Governors in attendance and II OF
them participated in the poll
Dewey was way out in front, with
10 first choices, and Warren was
second with two first choices. No
other potential candidate had more
than one first choice.
Decidedly this was a good break
for the Dewey candidacy, in a
group in which there has been some
jealousy Of the prominence of Mr..
Dewey at conference affairs.
This was the largest attended
Governors Conference since Pres
ident Theodore Roosevelt called the
Governors of all the States to meet
in Washington, May, 1908. Forty
four of the 48 Governors Of States
and three Governors Of Territories
and possessions, Alaska, Hawaii and
Puerto Rico, were present,
The Governors Conference cannot
legislate. 1t has no official place in
the governmental agencies provided
in the Constitution of the United
States. Yet the conference occupies
its own peculiar and important place
In the American scheme Of things
In the first place, it provides the
only forum and the only regular
meeting place for all the Governors.
It's value as q medium for the inter-
change of information, and for the
consideration Of problems which