Evening star., 1948-04-24
New Dealer Charge,
Worst in Taft's Book,
Is Hurled at Stassen
Senator's Distress Shows
Opponent RuffIes Nerves
In Bottle Over Liberalism
By Doris FIeeson

CLEVELAND, April 24-Harold
Stassen has got under Senator Taft's
skin-but definitely.
The Minnesota interloper has
forced Washington's Mr.. Republican
back onto the mashed -potato-with
green-peas circuit and needed him
into defending himself against
charges of being moss-back.
The Senator's yelps of distress
and indignation are honest heart
felt and would be comic if they were
not at the same time little pa
thetic.
The result Of 1t all is the spec
tacle of the two foremost Republican
candidates for President chasing
each other in competition to snatch
the laurel wreaths of liberalism, and,
in effect, crying:
who's a liberal? Whatcha want?
I got it!" And this in Ohio, land Of
Mark Hanna and William Mckinley,
too! It looks now as if Henry WAL
lace can't get on the ballot here,
but maybe they won't miss him.
At the same time that he is vying
with Mr.. Stassen to prove that he
is the repository of true liberalism,
the Senator has hurled at his rival
the worst political epithet he knows
New Dealer. This charge is so
frightful in Senator Taft's eyes that
even at this crisis in his fortunes
he forced himself to give Mr.. Stassen
the benefit of a doubt. IF" Sena-
tor Taft prefaced his remarks, Mr..
Stassen is more liberal than he or
the Republican Congress, he, must be
a New Dealer.
Stassen Smiles.
Clearly well satisfied with the ef-
.fects he is producing, Mr.. Stassen
says mo comment"-with a big
smile.
speak well of Federal programs like
housing, aid to education, health
and such like-matters which the
lay observer has long associated with
the N D.. Regarding these is
sues, 1t would in most respects be
difficult to insert blotting paper be-
tween the rivals.
Mr.. Stassen's parting shots-he
goes home this week end-are cal
culated to produce more Roman
candles. They are attacks upon
Senator Tafts preWar isolation
and his efforts to pare down the
Marshall Plan, plus a challenge to
support:
/. A second year of the plan If
it's successful.
2. A strengthening of U. N.
8. An invitation to other U. N.
members to join us in new, concrete
moves to cope with any aggression
anywhere.
Two Points of Disagreement.
Mr.. Stassen, who as a rule, plays
them close to his chest, makes no
bones of his belief that this speech
is pretty hot stuff.
1t remains to be seen how deeply |
Senator Taft can be coaxed to bite
on it. Retreating from it would
put him again on the defensive.
His acceptance of it would be one
of the most sensational trips to the
mourners' bench ever seen in /
America
Two issues on which the candi-
dates do disagree are:
l. The oleo tax. Senator Taft Is
for the soy bean and Mr.. Stassen
for the cow
2. The Communist Party. Mr..
Stassen says outlaw it. Senator
Taft says that's not practical.
The rivals were both bedded |
down last night under the non
political roof of the Carter Hotel
here-Senator Taft in the honey
moon suite, Mr.. Stassen in the
Governors suite The Carter has
a presidential suite, but says firmly
that it is occupied by Joe zilch,
politics unknown
(Releascd by the Bell Syndicate, Inc)