Evening star., 1947-12-30
Wallace Forces Lack
Machinery for Polling
Any Substantial Vote
Noisy Campaign Is Seen
But Movement Is Due
To Fade Before Election
Bv Dar1d Laurence

By Dapid Laurence
It's one thing to announce a
presidential candidacy on a third
party ticket and It's something else
to get ones name or the new party
name on the ballot in the various
States.
Henry Wallace may make lot
Of noise In the political campaign,
but the practical machinery Of
gathering votes that can be cast
on election day is something that
has deferred many crusading
group in the past.
Thus 1t Is impossible in some
States to get on the ballot because
nominations are required by con-
ventions or by primaries, each un-
der specific regulations as to pro-
cedure.
In some States the signatures Of
millions of voters are required. ac-
companied by hundreds of thou
sands of affidavits that must be
collected by hundreds Of thousands
of workers. All this costs money and
requires considerable. organization.
In Illinois, $4,000 signatures are
required and they must be dis
tributed among so counties. In
California, 1t is necessary for a new
party to have cast 5 per cent of
the entire vote to win place for
q full slate Of State candidates.
Some States require aff1davits from
signers Of petitions that they are
voters, and others insist on aff1-
davits from handlers of the petit
tions that the signers are voters and
that the signatures are accurate.
Can Get On in II States.
It is actually possible for the Wal
lace candidacy to get on the ballot
in 27 States with a full slate, but
the red tape Is substantial. In 81
others the difficulties make it seem
impracticable.
But Henry Wallace isn't so much
interested In how many votes he
will gather as in what psychological
impression his candidacy will make
on the voters so as to cause them
to exercise pressure within the Re-
publican and within the Democratic
Parties for his peace program.
The Republicans in Congress ex-
hibit satisfaction with the Wal
lace move, because they think it will
draw votes away from the Demo-
cratic Party. The Democrats, on
the other hand, think the defections
will be too little to affect the out
come Of the election. If Mr.. Tru-
man Is to be reelected, they reason
1t will be by a substantial margin
sufficient to overcome the losses to
Mr.. Wallace, and if by chance q
landslide is in prospect for the Re-
publicanS, then the defections to the
Wallace camp will not have mate
rally affected the outcome.
In a close election, the third party
could do damage to either the Re
publican or Democratic cause Fol
If the electoral vote of a few States
were in doubt, the balance of power
might be held by the third party
ticket.
Analyzing the situation as it exists
today, it may be said that the Wal
lace action is relatively inconsequen-
tial in a political sense and that Re
publicans who think 1t is going to
draw any large number of Demo-
cratic votes from MI. Truman may
be exulting a bit prematurely.
There may be some "left-wing" or
Communist dominated labor unions
which will get behind the Wallace
candidacy, not because they think
Mr.. Wallace is really allied with the
Communists but because it affords
them an opportunity to add to the
political confusion of presidential
campaign.
May Help Democrats.
One thing that may well happen
Is the organized effort of Democratic
Party leaders against Communism.
This certainly would help the Demo-
Gratis and deprive the Republicans
Of their apparent plan to try to pin
the Communist label on the Demo-
cratic Party.
In the end, the Wallace movement
will help the Democrats more than
1t will hurt them For the Com
munist political strength Is negligi-
BILE in America and unless the peace
program of the former Vice Presi-
dent is developed more clearly than
in his opening address, the move will
be interpreted as merely difference
OF opinion as to how to deal with
Russia-a subject on which, rightly
or wrongly, a vast majority of
Americans have been inclined to
side with the Truman-Marshall
policies.
The Wallace movement will reter
out by the time election rolls around.
1t has neither the money nor the
popular backing to make a sustained
campaign and there is always the
chance that Russia may complicate
Mr.. Wailace's efforts by growing
more instead of less uncooperative
and more instead of less aggressive
in the various parts of the Far East
and Europe where tension already
exists.
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