Evening star., 1948-11-07

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lures to Dixiecrats and Wallaceites
is an open question. Having demon.
strated that the followers Of these
two parties don't pull enough weight
to do any harm, Mr.. Truman, as
titular head of the Democratic Par.
ty, may just decide to let them 60
their way.
The start of new term in ONCE
might see some cabinet changes, but
these will not be Of the Presidents
making If they happen. The Presi-
dent is well satisfied with his team"
and while some eyebrows were raised
because most of the cabinet and "lit-
tie cabinet" refrained from active
participation in the election cam.
paigns, there was no suggestion that
their loyalties were other than with
Mr.. Truman.
Secretary of State Marshall and
Defense Secretary Forrestal consist
emily have disassociated themselves
from political affairs. and their nom
appearance in the campaign was to
be expected.
In any discussion of possible resig.
nations, incidentally, these two
names have figured consistently and
it was consequently no surprise
when reports from Paris said that
Secretary Marshall wanted to 60
back to the retirement from which
he was called when President Tru.
man sent him to China as Ambas-
sador before he got the State port.
folio. Mr.. Forrestal also has been
reported as desiring to return to
private life.
More to Pick From
The President has encountered an
unusual amount of trouble in filing
top posts since the war ended and
the shooting stopped" as he has
phrased 1t in discussing this situa-
ton, but now with his own position
strengthened, there perhaps will be
less difficulty and he will have q
wider field from which to draw.
He may depend less on the military
than in the past unless, of course,
he happens to believe that some
member of the armed services Is
the best man for some particular
place to be filled. As a former sol
dier, MIR. Truman has a deep regard
for men who wear the uniform.
In retrospect, the fact that stands
out strongest In Mr.. Truman's
startling upset of Gov. Dewey Is
that publicly, at least, the President
never wavered In his convection that
he would be the victor, despite op-
position of virulence that was like
old-style campaigns.
Mr.. Truman simply believed firmly
that II the people were given the
facts" that they would act accord
ingly.
His campaigning started of under
the most unfavorable auspices. In
that early coast trip, when it was
not certain that he would get the
nomination, he ran into party trou-
bles in several Western States, and.
due to poor arrangements, an i'm
portant farm speech was delivered
to an audience of 1000 in a hall
that seated 10000.
Then some of his party leaders
were pouting because he refused to
let them ride on his special train,
contending that he was on a mon
POLITICAL trip and that their pres
ence would not be proper under thu
circumstance.
Took Obstacles in Stride
Then came the "ganging up" by
such as the Hagues, ODwyers, Ar
veys and Roosevelts to keep him out
Of the nomination, with the argu-
ment that he couldn't win.
Dixiecrats and Wallaceites raised
new complications, and a shortage
Of campaign funds caused head
scratching in the Democratic Ma
tional Committee, with q tagging
start for the campaign as one Of
the byproducts.
But Mr.. Truman took 1t all in
stride.
He made IA and Is speeches on
lots of days, on route approximate
ing 81 500 miles.
His turnouts were not always en-
thusiastic, but they were large, and
the lack of demonstration some
times encouraged the belief that
curiosity rather than interest
brought the people out.
Seeing these crowds, however,
listening attentively at inconvenient
hours-early in the morning and
late at night, Mr.. Truman was
certain that they were interested in
his crusade"
In something like $50 speeches,
reporters with the President never
noticed horseplay among his audi
ences but one and that was group
of young boys skylarking in a tree
at Ogden, Utah, where Mr.. Truman
spoke late at night.
Mr.. Truman got excellent support
from labor in recent weeks, with
well-organized meetings in many
sections.
He also got a surprising farm vote
that the Republicans had counted
on heavily, particularly In Iowa.
And no campaign story would be
complete without reference to the
nor% that MrS Truman and Miss