Evening star., 1948-09-05
Stond on Senator Ball
Held Democratic Test
Party Seen Threatened With Domino.
ton by Socialists in Its Ranks
By Gerard d. Reilly

tion by Socialists in Its Ranks
By Gerard d. Reilly
Whether or not the Democratic party s
abandoning its historic role as the liberal party
in the American political system will be largely
determined this month by the attitude which
the Democratic National Committee adopts
with respect to the senatorial campaign In
Minnesota. There are already disturbing signs
OF transformation of the party along socialist
or class lines.
1t is now a foregone conclusion that Senator
Joseph H. Ball will be the Republican nominee
as he faces only minor opposition in the pri-
maries. 1t appears that his principal opponent
win be Mayor Hubert Humphrey Of Minneapolis,
a Farmer -Laborite who will probably also
obtain the nomination of Minnesotas minscue
Democratic Party, as his only competitor in the
primaries is a Wallace man, James Shields,
former Regional Director Of the NLRB. The
wallace group in anticipation of Shields
defeat, is preparing to put third Candidate
in the field for the general elections, former
Gov. Elmer Benson, also Farmer-Laborite,
Harold Stassen.
In 1914 Senator Ball, who had already
distinguished himself as the most eloquent
spokesman of internationalism in the Senate,
bolted the Republican Party at the critical
phase of the campaign to support the Roose-
velt-Truman ticket. AS the election was
ultimately decided by a small margin so far as
popular votes were concerned Balls position
more than any other single event, was the
decisive factor in turning the tide against
Gov. Thomas E. Dewey. Consequently, had 1t
not been for the Senator's timely intervention
is is unlikely that the occupant of the White
House today would be Harry S. Truman.
In 1928, when the late Senator George Norris
of Nebraska repudiated the Republican presi-
dental nominee to support Alfred E. Smith,
the Democratic candidate, in expressing his
gratitude, stated that he hoped Norris would
never have occasion to regret his decision.
Although Smith was beaten. the alliance be-
tween Norris and the liberal Democrats became
permanent one Norris never ran as DEM
ocrat, but he had the backing of President
Roosevelt on each Of his campaigns for re-
election.
Similar cordial relations existed between the
Democratic administration and other inde-
pendent Republican Senators who had come
out for the New Deal candidates The Pres
ident saw to 1t that Senator Robert La Toilette
jr., of Wisconsin was not opposed by oficial
Democratic sources in 1884 and l940 In 1888
Senator Hiram johnson. running for reelection
in California received the nominations Of both
major parties.
There is a close parallel between Balls career
IN the Senate and that of Norris. Norris was
noted for his fearless independence, his freedom
from partisanship his wide knowledge of public
affairs and the simplicity Of his private life
aloof from the distractions of the Washington
social whirl These qualities are also charac-
teristic of Ball
Despite the acrimony between the Eightieth
Congress and the executive branch OF the
Government. no administrative official appear
ing before Senate committees has ever COM
planned OF receiving other than a fair and
courteous hearing so far as Ball was concerned.
AS a result of his open -mindedness and COM
manding position on the Senate Appropriations
Committee, many of the agencies were able to
weather crpping House reductions In their
budget estimates. '0
Both Norris and Ball exhibited a deep dis
trust of the pressures which can be welded
by private organizations If permitted by Gov
ernment to grow too powerful. Norris fought
corporate monopolies at time when any
criticism Of big business was unpopular. Ball
displayed equal courage when labor unions
obtained monopolistic positions by taking the
lead in formulating the basic principles which
Congress wrote into law in the Taft-Hartley
Act
Were 1t not for the inf1ltration Of radicals
and their appeasers into party councils there
would seem to be little doubt that on the basis
of this record the Democratic National Com
mittee would not throw its weight against Ball
in his campaign for reelection. This is par
ticularly true as Humphrey is not a traditiona.
Democrat in any sense of the word but rather
a product of the MARKHAM group which is the
nucleus of Minnesotas Farmer-Labor Party.
At the Philadelphia convention he made him
self not only obnoxious to the South, but also
to experienced leaders who were attempting to
NIL the breach in the party ranks by discredit-
ing the compromise platform to which he him.
self had been party. His chief support at the
convention came from the ADA, with its hard
core Of Socialist trade unionists who at the
instigation Of Reuther Of the United Auto
mobile Workers and Dubinsky of the Interna-
tional Ladies Garment Workers, led the abor-
tive stop Truman" movement.
Such step, however, would be another sign
of trend which has already gone disturbingly
far. The relative stability OF this country in
contrast to European states Is that while one
of our major parties has been liberal and the
other conservative, both have accepted the
framework Of a free economy. The result has
been that no matter which party has won elec-
tions no violent changes In our economic sys-
tenn have followed.
This was true in Great Britain as long as
the allegiance of the great mass OF voters was
divided between the Conservative and Liberal
Parties. When the Liberal Party virtually dis
appeared, however, to be succeeded by the
Labor Party, this ceased to be the case once
the Labor Party gained a clear majority of i.
Parliament. Both the British Empire and the n,
economy of Great Britain underwent ire
trievable changes. -..... :.
An equally fsr-reaching revolution in our In.
stitutions might well occur here If the Demo-
cratic Party were absorbed by Socialists. It
would mean that American society would be
polarized into right and left, . circumstance ;.