Evening star., 1948-02-23
Three-Way Party Spill
Seen Forcing Truman
To Appease Wallace
President Feels Sure
South Will Not Bolt,
But Needs Leftist Vote
By Davfd Laurence

-
The Democratic Party is being
split three ways.
First, there are the followers of
Mr.. Wallace, who want the party
to adopt radical course of domestic
affairs and a less belligerent policy
toward Russia. They want also to
get legislation on the Negro ques-
tion so that poll taxes will be
abolished and the Federal Govern
ment will enforce civil rights.
Second, there are the so-called
liberals" who declare they are
anti-Communist, that they support
the administrations policy toward
Russia, that they favor a liberal
course on domestic affairs and sup
port of the civil-rights program with
protection of the Negro voters, anti
lynching laws and nondiscrimina-
tion for all minority groups.
Third, there are the Southern
Conservatives who oppose the civil
rights program and interference
with States rights in the matter
Of Negro voting. On foreign af-
fairs, they support the administra-
tion's policy toward Russia and
much of its domestic program, but
they tend to favor measures re-
strictive of labor unions and pro-
poSalS to bring taxes down.
There is no support here for any
radical program of the administra-
ton.
Truman Feels Sure Of South.
Now President Truman feels he
can hold the South in line because
he thinks their revolt will peter
out and their electoral votes will
go Democratic anyway. He isn't
afraid of the third group.
Mr.. Truman has the enthusiastic
support of the second group.
His problem therefore lies in the
first group-the Wallace followers.
The votes of the first group could
be dangerous. The polls already
show that enough of a detection in
the Democratic vote could develope
as to give the Republicans several
important States with big cleo
toral votes.
The Southern leaders are calling
for a reorganization of the party
along the lines Of their traditional
thinking. President Roosevelt faced
the same kind of schism, but he
chose to battle it out with the
Southerners and he was able to
muster the Negro vote in the big
cities in the North which helped
swing many of the States with
large electoral votes.
Appeasement Adopted.
Mr.. Truman must make up his
mind how far he will 90 to ap-
pease the Wallace group. He has
already embarked on such course.
The civil rights message was q di-
rect effort to take the Negro vote
away from the Wallace group and
keep it intact for the Democrats in
the face of threats that it might
go Republican or to Mr.. Wallace
Until Mr.. Truman stepped in with
his challenging message, it looked as
II part of the Negro vote would go
to Mr.. Wallace and part to the Re-
publicans and very little would stay
in the Democratic column.
The more fuss the SouthernerS
kick up, the better the dramatiza-
tion Of the political heroism of Mr..
Truman in defving his own party
in the South and taking a bold
stand in behalf of the Negroes.
But in the end Mr. Truman may
fnd that his civil rights message
isn't enough. If he is to reduce the
Wallace strength, he must begin a
change in his policy toward Russia.
Maybe after the Marshall plan is
approved by Congress something of
that sort may develop.
Also Mr.. Truman isn't sufficiently
radical to please the Wallace fol-
lowers. He must come out for legis-
lation to conf1scate incomes and
wealth. He must reverse himself on
universal military training Above
all he must find way to bring Mr..
Wallace himself into camp. Mr.
Wallace is bitter against the po-
litical machines Of the big cities
which connived to deprive him of
the vice presidential nomina ton in
Chicago in 1914. The President can
not make up with Mr.. Wallace
without losing some of the enthu-
siasm Of the big city machines. But
they, too, need a Truman election
So they will go along. It's in the
cards for Mr.. Truman to make
peace with Mr.. Wallace and many a
liberal labor union leader is losing
sleep trying to figure out how to ef-
feet such reconciliation.