Evening star., 1948-11-29
Truman's Trend 10 Left
Held 10 Show Wallace
Influence in Election
Behavior of President
Now Is Seen Indicating
Whether Radicals Won
Bv David Laurence

VHStnSI NuutSoiS Vou
By David Laurence
Did the supporters of Henry Wal
lace win the election for President
Truman? No such question would
even have been asked two weeks
ago, but judging by the way some
Democratic leaders are beginning
to interpret the election as a de-
cided turn to the left" persua-
sive case now can be built for the
thesis that the Wallace campaign
drove Mr.. Truman over to the left
wing" and that the Wallace sup
porters were so pleased with the
position taken by Mr.. Truman on
public issues that they went back to
the Democratic Party and failed to
vote for a third party ticket.
DR.. Gallup and others who studied
political trends in past elections
we're virtually agreed last summer
that if the Wallace ticket were not
in the field the contest would be a
"horse race" The supposition that
the Wallace vote would be large
started in June but gradually the
estimates we're diminished and had
the polls been continued until the
day before election instead of being
stopped two weeks previously, the
almost complete evaporation Of the
third party vote would have been
discerned.
Since the margin was narrow in
many States, the Wallace vote was
still enough to give New York State
to Gov. Dewey but just enough on
the other hand to turn Illinois to
President Truman because no place
was afforded on the Illinois ballot
for a wallace vote. In California
the Wallace vote fell far below ex-
pectationS and was predominately
pro- Truman in the end. Given a
choice as between Mr.. Truman or
Gov. Dewey to Mr.. Wallace, voters
chose Mr.. Truman.
Credit to Wallace.
To interpret the mandate fairly.
therefore, Wallace faction must be
credited with a major part in the
victory-unless, of course, it turns
out that Mr.. Truman did not mean
what he said on the stump. Exam
lining the Wallace campaign from
preconvention days and also the
third-party platform proposals which
were publicized widely among the
radicals, it will be found that resto-
ration of the excess profits tax, the
drive for more subsidies to special
groups and for public ownership of
important industries were demands
which the Wallace campaign en-
phasized. When Mr.. Truman started
in the autumn his campaign against
Wall Street and the ''moneyed in
terests" he soon was making better
"left wing" speeches Of the class
warfare type than Mr.. Wallace was
making.
On the labor issue, the Wallace
supporters wanted the Taft-Hartley
Act destroyed and q one-sided law
depriving management of all its es-
sential rights put on the statute
books. There is every indication
that the Wallace supporters will now
gain their point, including the elimi-
nation Of the anti Communist afi-
davit requirement which had been
aimed at Communist influence In
labor unions.
On international relations, Mr..
Wallace won his major victory. He
cried out during the campaign that
military men were debating Amer
tcan foreign policy and that q con-
ciliatory policy toward Russia had
been abandoned. Then, at a dra-
matte moment in the campaign, Mr..
Truman decided to curry favor with
the critics Of his foreign policy. He
was ready to bypass the United Ma
tions, and, without consulting his
Secretary of State, was arranging to
send Chief Justice Vinson to Rus
sia on q peacemaking mission.
Marshall Protested.
When Secretary Marshall pro-
tested. the plan was dropped tenn
porarily but the President In his
speeches In the latter part of the
campaign indicated that the idea
might be revived at any time. This
was pleasing news to the Wallace
supporters who flocked to the Tru-
man standard in the last few days
Of the campaign. Incidentally, the
general now Is on his way out Of
the Secretaryship Of State.
Mr.. Wallace can console himself
with the thought that while he did
not poll many votes for his ticket
he did what many q third-party
candidate has done before-in-
fluence the course Of one or the
other Of the major party candi-
dates.
To-day many Democrats who were
inclined before election to favor a
middle-of- -the-road policy on eco
nomic issues are talking radical
They talk as If Mr.. Wallace Was
their true leader. They are talk
ing as Phil Murray of the CIO
talks, as If the risk-capital system
must give way now to a govern
ment-regulated economy and that
the profits of industry either must
be taxed away or handed over to
the workers in the form of higher
and higher wages.
II President Truman concludes
that the close election means that
he got a mandate" to restore the
one-sided Wagner Labor Relations
Act and the excess profits tax and
to extend the Governments author
fly over the national economy, the
third d-party radicals will be vindi-
Gated. In all fairness. then, Henry
Wallace-whatever his intentions
really were-should be given credit
for having Influenced not only the
outcome of the election but the
course Of economic history in Amer
lea for years to come.
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