Evening star., 1948-05-01
Nip-and.1u Race
Seen for Stassen and
Taft in.Dayton Area
BY Gould Lincoln
SieF StoH Corrsspondent

LAY 1ON, ONO, May This
heavily industrial district prom
ises a nip-and-tuck race In
Tuesdays primary between Taft
and StaSsen-pledged delegates to
the Republican National Con-
vention.
II is a contest between the Re-
publican organization, backing Sem
ator Taft, and a less experienced
and far more loosely knit stassen
organization which has the support
of organized labor. Both sides
express confidence. The -Stassen
camp Is counting heavily on the
young voters. For them it is a
crusade and they are throwing
everything they have into it. ~ !
talked with labor leader. His
comment was that the labor leader
ship is urging all its people to go
into the primary and vote for the
former Minnesota Governor.
I'VE have stassen literature and
we are passing it out" he said
emphatically.
ANXIOUS 10 hnlte Tart.
A large number of the workers
have in the past voted DemocI attic,
although there has been a fair sized
number OF Republicans among them.
Presumably, when the labor leaders
talk to the rank and file, they are
not distinguishing between Repub-
licans and Democrats. They are
anxious TO stick knife into Senator
Taft, co-author of the Taft-Hart.ey
Act. II their advice is needed, it
may mean a considerable cross-over
OF Democrats into the Republican
primary.
Both Mr.. Stassen and Senator
Taft have been in the district dur
ing the last week, and both had good
meetings. Mr.. Stassen, however,
packed nearly $500 into the audi
torium-an unprecedented number
for political rally in a primary
election. Not all of those present,
however, were Stassen supporters.
Prominent Taft supporters were
among them to see Mr.. StaSsen and
how he made out.
There is good deal of hard feel
ing in the race here. The Taft
camp is not hesitating to picture
Mr.. Stassen as an imitation New
Dealer. Instructions to their work.
ers is to do just that.
Furthermore, this is the home dis
trict Of Mrs. Katherine Kennedy
Brown, Republican national COM
mitteewoman, widely known in Ohio
and in national politics. Mrs.
Brown is here herself, abandoning
temporarily the national campaign
for Senator Taft and putting in long
hours to get the Republican organi-
cation working smoothly.
The situation has been clouded
somewhat by an intra- Republican
organization row, which may cut
Into the effectiveness Of the organi-
cation. How seriously 1t will affect
the Taft drive is an open question.
D. c. Brewer, who had been county
chairman for 80 years, died last
year and his place has been taken
by Judge Harry N Rentzohn. a for
mer member of Congress. An in
surgent group. which had bucked
Mr.. Brewer, agreed to disband. IT.
did not do So however, and the fric-
ton still exists.
The contrast between the slate of
Taft delegates and that for Mr..
StasSen is marked. Both the Taft
delegates are older and more widely
known. Frank Irelan was at one
time city commissioner. The other
TAFT delegate is Peter Rentschler,
successful and highly regarded The
youth angle is emphasized in the
Stassen slate-one Of the delegates
is IS and the other 80 years old.
They are Robert CorWin and Harold
Jones.
Heading the Stassen organization
here is Howard Young. He was in
the Navy during the war and took
his training along with Mr.. Stassen.
His ardent support for Mr.. Stassen
grew out of that association He
has done much to line up war vet
Grams for Mr.. StaSsen.
Young Is Confident.
Mr.. Young. chairman of the Stas-
sen-for-President Club, said he ex-
pected Stassen victory in this, the
3rd Ohio District
We win both delegates. or we
lose both he commented, when he
was asked if he thought it possible
that Senator Taft and Mr.. Stassen
might split even in the district.
NO less confident, however, was
Mrs. Brown in her estimate of the
outcome. She laid particular stress
on the pull which the Taft dele !
gates Will have on the voters be-
cause OF their own personal fol-
lowing.
AS matter of fact. the Taft
camp has an advantage in all the
IL districts that Mr.. StaSsen is con-
testing in the State, because of the |
personal popularity of the Taft |
delegates. One veteran Republican
leader, who is supporting Senator
Taft, made the comment that the
campaign should have been built
particularly around the delegates
themselves on this account-rather
than on the Statewide slogan
win with Taft"
Cannot Win" Handicap.
A handicap for the Taft dele
gates has been the oft-repeated sug-
gestion that Senator Taft cannot
win-that he cannot win the nom
ination, in the first instance, and |
that he cannot win the election, if
he is nominated The Taft camp
holds this is entirely unfair-that
their candidate can win both nom
ination and election. They reluc-
family concede. however. that this
kind of talk has been harmful and
has slowed up organization effort.
More objective observers here say
they are puzzled They hesitate TO
predict the outcome in the Sd Dis
triCt. OF one thing they seem GER
tain-that the race will be extremely
close. with perhaps the edge for
Senator Taft.
Toft Makes Last Speeches