Evening star., 1947-03-29
Democrats Can't Find
Running Mate for '48
Washington Officials Considered
for Vice Presidential Race
Bv Doris Flees0u

By Doris Fleeson
In the first blush of the rising Tru-
man fortunes a while back, the Demo-
Gratis began to chirp brightly about
selecting the proper Vice President to
balance their ticket in 1948.
Now they almost wish they hadn't,
as cold statistical glance at their
score among the grass roots tells a story
all the rosy-light beating around the
White House throne can hardly prettify.
A trained politician weighing the 1948
ticket Of the man from Missouri draws
line on the map north of Washington.
another east of Ohio, and points to the
inclosed sector. But in it he now finds
only one Democratic Governor, John
Pastore of little Rhode Island.
Not only are the great pivotal States
OF New York, Pennsylvania and Massa-
chusetts in Republican hands but SO "a.
the others of that elite classification:
Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and
California. Thus no Democrat COM
mands the election machinery in any
pivotal State, with the power to swing
its handsome electoral vote to Mr.. Tru-
man.
OF 48 State Governors, % only are
Democrats, including 13 Southerners.
The remaining 10 Democrats rule COM
paratively small scattered States. The
Republicans put it this way: They
have the governorships of Is States con-
tanning 62 per cent of the population
with 327 electoral votes-61 more than
they need to elect President.
Washington's Great Considered.
The hallowed principle of geographical
balance being thus impossible to follow,
the Democrats suggest that Mr.. Tru-
mans running mate must perhaps come
from among the Washington great, even
his own cabinet.
Three OF the latter are generally sug-
gested, two of them New Yorkers pre-
sumably having some allure because of
the Empire States valued bloc of At
electoral votes. They are Secretary of
the Navy James Forrestal and Secretary
OF Commerce Averell Hartman.
Mr.. Forrestal is widely admired for his
shrewdness and marked abilities. He is.
however, unknown in New York politics;
has a banking connection with Dillon
Read which the Democratic left wing
would frown upon.
Mr.. Hartman is rated candidate by
those who have scanned his extremely
active speaking schedule and his &C
cessibility to all manner Of men. He
too has no powerful New York con-
nections but would be acceptable to
liberals, perhaps, on account of his late
sister, Mrs. Mary Hartman Rumsey, a
close associate of Frances Perkins. He
would not be colorful campaigner.
Friends Mention Krug.
Friends Of Secretary of the Interior
Julius Gap" Krug proclaim their husky
6-foot boss, who is from Wisconsin,
would be ideal Their suggestions fell
on the stony ground of complete political
ignorance of their man.
Conservative Southerners frown upon
any notion of effervescent Ellis Arnall of
Georgia, who would be a fine cam
paigner and pleasing to liberals. They
say they guess the South would be so
glad to get a Southerner recognized it
might swallow him, but he would not
strengthen the ticket.
Capitol Hill suggests Its popular
minority leaders, Senator Alben Bark
ley and Sam Rayburn, both Southerners.
MIR. Rayburn Is viewed as an active
candidate.
And it is cold day when the Demo-
Gratis don't cast their eye on their last
great manpower reservoir in Washington
the Supreme Court. They doubt Chief
Justice Fred Vinson could be per-
suaded to step down for anything but
the presidential nomination they are
sure for that he would jump DOWN,
but they have new theory on Associate
Justice William Douglas of Connecticut.
They think they might make him
President of Columbia University-then
he would be New Yorker and then
he would be splendidly eligible,