Evening star., 1948-04-22
Bio Shots Hold Dim View
On Stussen Candidacy
Top Politicians Say Two Victories
Hurt ~ Much as Helped Him
The Political Mil
By Gould Lincoln


Professional Republican politicians -includ-
ing some Of the "big-shot" ofdceholders-stil
maintain they are not taking the Stassen can
didacy for the presidential nomination too seri-
oasly The victories Of the former Minnesota
Governor In the Wisconsin and Nebraska
primaries, they contend, may have hurt him
IS much As helped him-on the theory that
the Stassen opposition Is now sohdifying. AZ
one of them put 1t . bit cynically: "The Wis
consin primary killed OF three candidates
two because they lost and the third because
he won."
That. however, Is largely just talk. Mr..
stassen has shown he has an appeal to lot
of the run-of-th mine voters; he has taken
on Gov. Dewey. Senator Taft and Gen. Mac
Arthur and distanced them all, in these pri-
mary elections. Further, he has shown that
the Stassen organization has been developed
to q high degree and is hitting on all cylinders.
The campaign he is waging throughout the
country is costing money! lot Of money The
former Governor is pretty canny-he is not
spending money without having 1t. All Of
which shows that he has the backing OF some
Of the wealthy ones-some Of the same
wealthy ones that put the late Wendell L.
Willhs across in 1s40
Favorite Question.
A favorite question of the anti-Stassen Re-
publican politician today is Where is Stassen
going to get the 54s delegate votes In the
Republican National Convention necessary to
nominate him for President?" They still do
not believe he can do 1t. They say he got lS
delegates in Wisconsin and the frst-ballot vote,
probably of Is delegates from Nebraska. He
already had IS delegates from Minnesota and
2 from New Hampshire-and is claiming dele
gates in Maine and Iowa. This is 81 plus. They
say, too, that Gov. Dewey and Senator Taft
will divide the delegations from the Southern
States-and Stassen can hope only for few
from Florida. In addition, Gov. Warren will
hold the big California delegation, Senator
Vandenberg the big Michigan delegation, Gov.
Green will have the Illinois delegation, and
Senator Martin the Pennsylvania delegates.
Massachusetts delegates will 60 for Senator
Saltonstall, with Speaker Joe" Martin as their
real choice If and when the Speaker gets
ride. House Majority Leader Halleck will have
Indiana.
Until Mr. Stassen makes q dent in one OF
these big State delegations they are unwilling
to give the Minnesotan look-in for first place
on the Republican ticket.
Nevertheless, Mr.. Stassen, by his victories at
the polls-plus his very evident money support
has shaken the professionals. They admit
that he has made the path OF Senator Taft
of Ohio very difficult. that he has set Gov.
Dewey OF New York back on his heels. The
one thing they seem most sure Of, however, Is
that Mr.. Stassen himself cannot make the
grade
Ohio, Oregon Vote Waited.
They may have to revise their estimates
still further after the Ohio and Oregon pri-
maries, If Mr. Stassen shows well in them.
too He has chance Of taking considerable
number of delegates in Ohio and If he does,
Mr.. Taft will be vastly weakened. Gov. Dewey
thinks so seriously of his race with Mi. Stassen
in Oregon-the race there is confined to him
and Mr.. Stassen-that he Is spending 10 days
in the State for intensive campaigning before
the primary May 2l. .. 's-.-
OF course, If Gov. Dewey defeats Stassen in
the Oregon primary and Senator Taft allows
Mr.. Stassen no more than one or two delegates.
or even four, In Ohio, Mr.. stassen's size will be
trimmed down greatly. Indeed. he would bs
back to just about where he was when he
came in There remain, however, lot of "ifs"
in that supposition.
The professionals agree that the Republican
race has become more than ever a free-for-aH
in which anything might happen, except
Mr. Stassen,