Evening star., 1948-10-17
Crowds Puzzle
Truman Party
Turnouts Good, BIT Nc
One Knows Quite Well
to Make of Them

OIlS NllOWS Vullc w Gil
/ to Make of Them
By Joseph A. Fox
The big, unanswered question a
President Truman enters the fina
l stages of his campaign is the signi'
| ficance of the crowds that gree
him everywhere.
Since early June, when Mr.. Tru.
man took that well-remembered
'nonpolitical" swing, he has Travelled
more than 10000 miles in 81 States
and more are coming up.
He has made more than 27t
speeches at whistle stops" and ir
metropolitan areas, at trainside
from the rear seat of his automo-
bile, on street corners. in audi
toriums and stadiums. Often his
appeal for votes has been to au-
diences predominantly Republican
Outdrawing Dewey
But almost without exception the
story has been the same, crowds
and then some. And along with the
speaking audiences have been the
highway turnouts as Mr.. Truman
moved from place to place. Report
ers who have Travelled with both say
the President Is outdrawing Gov
Dewey.
| The puzzler that naturally pre-
sents itself in this situation Is
whether the great mass of American
citizens come to see the President
because of their interest in what
he has to say-or from curiosity.
And the next question: What effect
viii this have on the vote.
That the visit of a President is
n red-letter day in the life of thou
sands is evident from the number
of children always in sight. Whole
schools turn out under the watchful
eye. of teachers, often travelling miles
by bus to be on hand at some dusty
rural crossing when the Presidents
special train pulls In.
That sort of demonstration can
be put down to the curiosity OF the
young. The adult audiences, how
ever, are something else. Mr.. Tru-
man Is firmly convinced that the
people of more mature years want
to hear what he has to say. They
are interested in the facts" he
believes. Politicians who travel with
him through their own territory
often reach the same conclusion
The Presidents aids are hopeful
that this Is the right answer.
1t is noticeable that there is lot
more "zing" in the Democratic drive
than was apparent when the Presi-
dent started his self styled crusade
against the interests a few weeks
ago.
One Of the ironies of this cam
paign is the likelihood that some
Democrats will win top jobs in
States where Gov. Dewey gets the
electoral vote, unless Thea Repub-
licans fall heir to a landslide.
Good examples of this are in Ohio
and Indiana which Mr.. Truman
criss-crossed on the trip ending yes
terday. Gov. Dewey carried both
against President Roosevelt four
years ago, and is favored to repeat.
But two former Democratic Gov
ernors who are trying for comebacks
Frank j. Lausche, in Ohio, and
Henry F. Schricker, in Indiana, are
considered by observers to have bet
ter than a fighting chance to win.
In Illinois, where only confirmed
IoptimistS talk of a Truman victory,
Adlai Stevenson, Democratic guber-
material candidate, is figured to win
If the Dewey plurality Is under
Silent on Civil Rights
An unusual aspect Of the Truman
campaign has been the silent treat
ment" the candidate has given the
civil rights issue which is threaten
ing to cost him so heavily in the
South. 1t was understandable that
when he skated around that one
when his travels took him below
the Mason-Dixon line, but in the
Middle West and East, where there
is a large Negro voting population
the setting has been ideal for Mr.
Truman to say something, but that
particular question has gotten yer,
little attention.
The President, Of course, has
plenty Of time to deal with that one
as he still plans to beat the bushes
for votes through the Middle Yves,
again, and will be going to New
York and New England also.
In the later stages of his cam.
paign, the President has devoted
most of his effort to prices, housing
and labor-largely bearing out his
own argument that the three things
In which the people are most inter-
ested are peace, prices and q
place to live"
Mr.. Truman also is showing an in.
creasing intention of taunting Gov
Dewey for failure to define his posi-.
ton on various questions confront.
ing the Nation, declaring that "the
Republican caf1didste"-Mr TrrI.