Evening star., 1947-09-06
The Political Mill
HoIIeck Looms as g. O.P.
Vice Presidential Choice
Hoosier House Leader Would Fit 40
Dewey or Taft Running Mate
Rv G0uId ;ncoIn
By Gould Lincoln

The gentleman from Indiana, Charles A.
Halleck majority leader of the House, may
loom even larger in the public eye next year,
as his party's nominee for Vice President.
Geographically Mr.. Halleck would be quite
correct as running mate for either Gov.
Dewey of New York or Gov. Warren of Cali
fornia-should either of them be the Republic
can nominee for President And while it would
be unusual to pick presidential and vice presi-
Dental candidates from States that border each
other, it still would be within the constitutional
| limits to place the Hoosier Halleck on a ticket
with either Senator Taft of Ohio or Senator
Vandenberg of Michigan. And Mr. Halleck
with Gen. Eisenhower of Kansas and the Army
and finally New York would be perfectly proper
There Is fitting reason for the selection of the
Republican leader of the House for place on
the partys national ticket particularly if the
head OF the ticket should be Governor or a
college president and former Army man. He
would be representative of the Republican-con-
trolied Congress upon whose record in large
part the COP must campaign next year Mr..
Halleck not only is a Republican member of
this Congress, but he has been his party's
leader on the floor of the House in all the
bouts with the Democrats and President
Truman.
Hard-hitting Campaigner.
Mr.. Halleck, who is just At years old, halls
from State which has always been battle
ground between the two major political parties.
He is hard-hitting debater and campaigner.
There Is nothing stodgy about Charlie" Hall
leck With the responsibility placed upon him
as House leader, he has grown Further work.
ing in conjunction with Speaker Martin and
Republican Whip Arends Mr.. Halleck has
delivered the goods. The Republicans of the
House all during the last session of Congress
under Halleck's leadership gave an amazing
demonstration OF party unity when 1t came to
casting their votes on important legislation.
When Mr.. Halleck was running for majority
leader OF the House early last winter against
Ohio's Clarence Brown and Tom jenkins and
Illinois Everett Dirksen, he was labeled
Dewey man. This came about because the
New York Governor, after comforting with
members of the New York House delegation.
came out with a prediction that Mr.. Halleck
would be elected leader. Mr.. Halleck, however,
has never admitted the soft impeachment. Ger
tainly, however, he has never taken pot shots at
the New York Governor-nor the Governor at
him. Mr.. Dewey, up to date, has abstained
from placing his blessing on any potential Re-
publican nominee for Vice President. Not even
his enemies think Mr.. Dewey would be that
stupid.
Hooser Halleck has attained high position
in the House, largely because of his fighting
abilities. He is in line to be Speaker of the
House some day. 1t might seem foolish of him
to jeopardize this position by seeking the vice
presidency-if he really had to ieopardize it.
He might be nominated for the House in his
own district next year, and also be nominated
for Vice President by the Republican National
Convention when it meets the last of June in
Philadelphia. Former Speaker and Vice Presi-
dent Jack Garner of Texas in 1882 was re-
elected member of the House at the time
he was being elected Vice President on the
Democratic ticket with Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Later he resigned from the House and took
over the office of Vice President
Admittedly Ambitious.
Admittedly Mr.. Halleck is ambitious-as are
nearly all men In public life. AS political leaders
go, he is young man. And if he became Vice
President he might be in line for a still higher
office.
At present he is in the West-where he will
join Senator Taft at Santa Cruz, Calf, for Q
debate against two Democrats, Senator Murray
Of Montana and Representative Madden Of
Indiana, before the State Bar Association, on
States Rights and Federal Control" and the
Taft-Hartley labor law. Mr.. Murray Is the
ranking Democrat of the Senate Committee on
Labor, and Mr.. Madden is a member of the
House Labor Committee-both opposed the
Taft-Hartley bill. Mr.. Halleck on the other
hand, as we'll as Senator Taft, had lot to do
with the framing of this legislation. 1t will be
amazing to hear the Republicans uphodng
States rights and the Democrats. Federal con-
troll. OF the two debating teams. the Republi-
cans have the stronger