Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-07-30
New Parties
Are Split Too
BY Bradford v. Carter
LPA COIumniSt

hind their candidates. Some
people who have no sympathy
for eth e Henry Wallace's s
new Progressive party or the
Dixiecrast h p d that the
founding of these two groups
would somehow simplify the
situation.
But it hasn't worked out
that way. The new parties are
almost as badly divided in
terally as are the Republican
and Democratic parties. And
both of the old parties are 60
ing to remain, for a while at
least, the political homes of
some strange mixtures.
Take the Dixiecrats for ex-
ample. Presidential candidate
Gov. j. Strom Thurmond has
said that he doesn't want the
support of fascist Gerald L. K.
Smith. The issue, he explained
isn't white supremacy" but
states rights.
Thurmond represents one of
several southern political tradl-
tions, the magnolia and white
columned masions traditions.
He's a gentleman. His record
as governor of South Carolina
seems to indicate that he's
sincere in decrying lynching
and racist demagogy - altho
he doesn't pretend to believe
Negroes should be allowed to
exercise the rights the Con-
stitution gives them.
Col. Thurmond, like his
colleagues in the mint julep
set, is also very sincere in his
devotion to states rights. It's
been their stock in trade Tor
years. It explains Whay a lead
ing figure at the Dixiecrats
convention was an oil company
lobbyist. 1t explains why the
Mississippi Light & Power Co.
has contributed $4,000 to the
bloody shirt campaign.
States rights is hte cloak
behind which the oilmen plan
to get control of the tidelands
oil deposits, and the platitude
in which is buried opposition
to a program of federal electro
power development. States
rights is the platform on which
the Thurmonds meet the rep
resentatives Of northern fl
nanced business, behind the
back of an impotent federal
government.
The other southern tradition
embodied in t h e Dixiecrats
party is that typified by Rep
John Rankin of Mississippi.
He's not a gentleman. He's a
sp ke m an of the poor
white" s"-the people whom all
southern politicians have tried
to keep intimidated by the
false fear of Negro dominance
in the south. Lynch mobs don't
really upset Rankin, and far
be it from him to disavow the
hate-mongers. ut he's not OPP
posed to using the federal
power to alleviate the COM
plants of Southern S m ii
farmers.
Back in the early days of the
New Deal Rankin was one OF
the leading advocates of public
power development. And al
tho Rankin and his ilk have
increased the real interests of
their constituents for the past
decade he big business crowd
is never as happy with them
as they are with the Thur
monds.
In Philadelphia last w e G k
Prof. Rexford Tugwell, chair
man of the allace party's plat
form committee revealed the
split in its ranks. "Of course
the time will come he said,
when the Communists will no
longer find it in their interest
to support Henry Wallace"
Note that the duration of the
united front" is left up to
the Communists.
Th e Progressive platform
contains an all-out denuncla-
ton of the ropean re-
coveIy program-which Tug
well didn't want in the new
party's program. 1t demands
the immediate granting of in
dependence to Puerto Rico
which Tugwell said not long
ago would mean starvation
for the Puerto Ricans
The new parties won't long
survive their internal differ
ences the way the Republicans
and Democrats have. For they
have no chance of winning a
national election. And il is
this hope of personal advance
ment and partial enactment OF
program VIII ich h has bound
antagonistic elements together