Evening star., 1947-09-21

HENRY A. WALLACE.
-AP Photo.
For along with their COP coun-
terparts, the professional Demo-
cratic politicians are keenly aware
that any sizable breakaway OF or
ganized labor and independent lib
erals from the party banner will
almost certainly assure the election
next year of Republican regime.
They don't think it will happen.
But at the same, time they are too
alert to all possibilities to overlook
entirely the little cloud out of the
sea. like a mans hand"-in this
case the unpredictable hand of
former Vice President Henry A.
Wallace. ...
G: o. P. Was a Third Party.
Perhaps they recall that the Re-
publican Party itself was born as
a third party In 1854. They may
remember, in their knowledge of
political history, that six years after
that, the Republicans achieved their
first triumph over the regular DEM
ocrats when two splinter, groups,
the Secessionist Democrats and
Constitutional Union Party, polled
enough electoral votes in the South
ern and border States to keep the
regular Democrats from reaching
an electoral majority. ..
!; Now, almost a century later, it is
at least possible that history may
repeat. Even II the third-party
movement fails to inaterialize into q
permanent new party, any substan-
tial detection of liberals from the
Democratic ticket could throw the
race to the Republicans in. q close
contest. There are, Of course, other
historical precedents, notably in
1912 when, Theodore Roosevelt,
by his party machine when
he sought = third term, organized
the bull Moose" Party, Although
Roosevelt. polled more votes than
Taft; the splitof1 of votes. from the
Republican ticket gave the election
to woodrow Wilson.
Mr.. Wallace. assuredly, may be
fiexipg imaginary political biceps.
It Is virtually automatic that no
liberal third-party move can sue
ceed without the cohesive support of
labor. But ever since his
attacks on the administrations for
eign policy and his dismissal from
the Truman cabinet, Mr.. Wallace,
with few exceptions. has been cau-
tiously quarantined by labor leaders.
Having see-sawed on the admins
tration fence during the last two
years, labor at the moment is tilted
back toward the White House as a
direct result Of the Presidents s
stinging veto of. the Hartley
bill.
CIO Might Swing Over
The Congress OF Industrial Or
has carried on an in
termittent affair with the former
Iowan and conceivably might one
day walk down the left aisle with
him, for better or for worse. It Is
noteworthy, in this connection, that
At recent Eastern meeting C1O
executives split widely over the ad-
foreign policy, 50
much under attack by Mr.. Wallace.
Mr.. Wallace's rift with the Ameri-
can Federation OF Labor, on the
other hand, appears irremedial. The
Ar, in fact, has never
felt warm toward him, even when
It supported him for Vice President
along with Franklin Roosevelt. Its
attitude now, as we'll as that Of the
powerful railroad brotherhoods, per-
maps was summed up a few days
ago by a labor columnist In pub
Iication of IS railroad labor organ.
HAS any one heard from Henry
Wallace lately? He's of the first
page and his third party Is headed
Tor the junk shop.
"The Reds and their fellow.
travellers were prepared to put a
good deal Of money into the enter
prise. They thought Wallace and
Senator Pepper would make good
team and that they would poll
enough votes to best Truman and
elect the Republicans. After that,
The Wallace people felt the Demo-
cratic Party would turn to them for
leadership In 1852.
But the Taft-Hartley bill pune
tured the balloon. Supporters OF
the third-party idea figured on a lot
of labor support. They thought the
workers would be mad at both Old
parties. However, when Senator
Taft and Little Joe" Ball and Hart
ley got through diagramming what
they hoped to do to American trade
American workers were so
mad that even the Commies
could see that they would not waste
their votes In . presidential election.
Senator Pepper came out Tor
Truman's nomination and predicted
his reelection. . Finally. the
Daily Worker ran up fhs white nag