Evening star., 1948-09-19
By Newbold Noyes, Jr.

What is Henry Wallace trying
to do?
This is a complex question, not tt
be confused with the one as to WhaI
the Progressive Party's presidential
candidate is, in fact, doing. Most
Americans, by now, are pretty clear
in their minds about the answer tc
that one. The evidence has led them
to the conclusion that Mr.. Wallace
though not nimself q Communist, is
fronting for the Kremlin as sort
of glorified barker outside the Marx
ist tent show.
But what of Mr.. Wallace him
self? Does he want to be Com
munist stooge? Did he mean tc
have his third party captured" and
controlled by a Communist minor
ity? Will he ever try to assert his
independence of the men who now
occupy the key positions in his or
ganization? Could he assert it?
Doubts He Has Sold Out
In short, assuming Mr.. Wallace
serves as kind of one-man Com
munist front-which is precisely
what he is doing-What does this
make him? A deliberate traitor
An innocent dupe? A soft-boiled
idealist? What?
1t is an act of temerity to try to
read the mind of a man with whom
one has only slight acquaintance
never met Mr.. Wallace before l
accompanied him on his recent
Southern campaign tour.
But of one answer I am sure, and
on this point there is no real dis
agreement among observers who
have been studying the former Vice
President in action ever since he
kicked over the traces and en-
barked on this strange, new, lonely
phase of his career. The sure answer
is that Mr.. Wallace certainly has
not deliberately sold out in the
sense that he wants to serve as a
Red quisling here when the great
day comes.
Seems to Believe in His Words
He simply is not that kind of man
His mental processes may be devious
but it is not the sort of deviddsness
that grows out of an intent to de-
ceive. If you watch him over
period of time, you are bound tc
come away convinced that he sim
cerely believe the things he says
He apparently thinks of himself, in
all respects, as a good" man. Nc
conscious liar could have been as
deeply shocked as he was when the
rowdies threw eggs at him in Dixie
His consistent manner was that OF
one who loves his fellow man, ano
suffers in learning that a goodly
part of his fellow man does not
love him.
What then? There are some who
hold that Mr.. Wallace is a pure
political innocent; that he just
doesn't know about Communists.
Now it is true the Third Party
candidate apparently has no under
standing Of the basic techniques and
strategems employed by his Com
munist playfellows. 1t is a subject
he has never studied. In discussing
the Communist problem with mer
who want to warn him he is playing
with fire-when confronted with
truths known to any one who has
passed the first grade in the schoo
Of political awareness-he repeated.
ly adopts an attitude of oh,
don't know about that but
don't think So"
Innocence. however, is by NJ
means the whole answer to tne
Wallace riddle. In both senses ol
the word, our man is not that simple
I suspect the real clue to his at.
titude today Is not so much that hs
does not know what is going on a.
that he cannot bring himself tt
face the truth about what is going
on, which he dinly apprehends
His position seems to be tha1 OF the