Evening star., 1948-10-31

sAAAA ASbAS - WY s63S" w S1iS Hd4 w
treasury, it is not surprising that
political forecasters view Mr.. Tru-
man as longshot in the presi-
Dental sweepstakes, particularly
when they can pick up almost any
poll and find support for their
beliefs.
But the candidate, it may be said.
is not selling himself short,
After a dawn-to- midnight drive
that has covered around 10000 miles
in So States since June, Mr.. Tru-
man outwardly processes supreme
confidence in the outcome of his
crusade and if he has a sneaking
suspicion that the voters may return
him to private life, it has never been
communicated to those with whom
he is in daily contact.
Sees Votes in Crowds
He has been met by crowds which
in the closing days of the campaign
were causing veteran political re-
porters to compare them not un-
favorably with turnouts in which
Franklin D. Roosevelt reveled. To
Mr.. Truman they mean votes. An
important factor in his favor is the
support he is getting from labor.
The Missourian hasn't hesitated
to do some demagoging as the say
ing goes; he has turned to invective
whenever it suited his purpose, and
he has appealed to every group that
might advance his cause, but at the
same time, he has never failed to
speak his mind.
Should Mr.. Truman awaken
Wednesday morning facing four
more years in the White House, the
men and women who will make upI
the Eighty-first Congress may ex-
pect to be put on notice early in the
next session that the President Is /
convinced he has a mandate from
the people and wants action on the
New Dealish legislative recommen-
dations he has been advancing ,un-
successfully since taking Office, as
well as on such other items as price
control housing, which are designed
to meet immediate needs.
Taft-Hartley Act repeal logically
would come close to the top of the
program he would present to Capitol
Hill also. II there is one piece of
legislation passed by the Eightieth
Congress which is seemingly anathe-
ma to the President, it is the self
same slave labor" law, as he terms
it. The President wants to see the
LABOR Department built up again,
too. And as the President made
clear in his Harlem speech Friday,
he is not quitting on the explosive
civil rights issue, Southern Demo-
Gratis Notwithstanding.
Would Be in Better Position
His long-range program includes
also extension Of the Social Security
Act and a boost in old age pen
sions; increase in the statutory
minimum wage, health insurance
and Federal aid to education to
provide more facilities in areas
suffering from lack Of funds, for
teachers and schools.
Mr.. Truman's drive for re-elec-
ton has been so much of q one
man affair that the Chief Executive
has not felt called on to make any
commitments beyond those prom
ises given to the millions Of little
people" in the hundreds of speeches
that have constituted his bid for
election. These he would carry
out to the fullest extent that Con-
gress permitted.
A Truman victory in all likeH-
hood would return both House and
Senate to Democratic control, al
though the Senate lineup is so
close that anything could happen.
Granting the Presidents re-elec-
ton with his party ruling on Capitol
Hill, he would be in a far better
position than he heretofore has
known, to push through desired
legislation. To begin with, he would
have the added prestige that comes
from holding the Office by election
rather than the accident of death.
Then, too, a Democratic Congress
would contain quite a few new
comers whose virtues have been
extolled by the President as he
went into their territory with his
familiar plea to send so-and-so to
Congress "and then we won't have
more trouble"
Won't Dodge Responsibilities
A severe handicap under which
MIR. Truman would labor in any at
tempt at "whip-cracking" would be
the little patronage at his disposal.
The power of an administration
wanes, as the President well knows,
when the jobs begin to give out,
and after 16 years of Democratic
rule, the pickings are slim.
Along with his efforts at domestic
reform, the President, it can be said
with assurance, would continue to
work for peace. 1t is something of
paradox to hear the Chief Execu-
tive tell an Oregon trainside crowd
thatHI like old Joe," and then blast
the Communists with the same
give 'em hell" technique that he
applies to Gov. Dewey and "the i
reactionary Republicans" but he
still is convinced that with time
the Russians-for whose intransi-
geance he blames the Politburo-will
come around.
And 1t might be said right here.
that even If he loses Tuesday, the
President will overlook no oppor-
tunity that might advance the
lcsysn nf neore hefore he f,1rr,c oyor