Evening star., 1948-07-18

| AlduC Wy blAC DClliOCAdtAC Z al w w
by the new Republican Party. It
aimed, so the Southerners figure
and they appear to be correct, at tn
/ social and economic structure o
that section of the country-just a
the Republican thrust was.
The challenge in 1860 was fol
lowed by an attempt on the part o
the South to secede and a blood,
civil war. The challenge this yea
may bring political rebellion il
some Of these Southern States-re
bellion in which some of them ma,
go Republican or in which nearl,
all of them may give their elec
toral votes for President to a South
ern Democrat. To many of tn,
Southerners, the second course Il
preferable. They still cling to th'
Democratic Party and hope to re-
gain q dominant position in 1t aftel
the coming election.
The probabilities are that Presi
dent Truman will be denied tn,
electoral votes Of a number O.
Southern States - either through
the victory Of the Republican ticket
or through the deliverance Of thes.
votes to a Southern candidate
Alabamas electors have been in.
structed not to vote for President
Truman. Mississippi, South Carolina
and Virginia are other States ir
which the electoral vote may take
the same course.
How far the rebellion of the South
will 60 depends upon whether the
anti-Truman Democrats are pre-.
pared to go to the mat or whether
they will take the challenge made
by President Truman and the
Democrats of the North and West
lying down. Some of their leaders
are qcautioning against too drastic
methods-they prefer, they say, Il
settle their differences with Mr.
Truman and the North and WesI
within the Democratic Party" Thi.
is the kind OF advice given by Fed.
eral office holders and some of the
Democratic members of Congress.
from the South. They are more
cautious than the rank and file oi
Southern Democrats and Demo
cratic State officers. If they are in.
fluenced by the Federal pie counter
that Is only human. They have
ofices at stake themselves-if they
buck the administration, or If they
are members of Congress, they may
lose the right to designate ap.
pointees to Federal ONCE in theil
States and districts.
Politics Suspected
The activating motive which haI
driven President Truman into thi
gamble with Southern electora
votes Is declared by his friends t,
be one Of principle. The genera
suspicion Is that he and his ad
visers were motivated entirely b,
politics. 1t Is asserted that Presi
dent Truman came to the conclu
sion that, If he is to check tn
inroads which Henry A. Wallac,
and his third party are maxim,
into Democratic strength in tn
great industrial States - amoni
them New York, PENNSYLVANIA, II
linois, California and Michigan, h
would have to forget about th'
South and its race prejudices. H,
cannot win with the South alone
His only hope is to stop the Re
publican Dewey Warren ticket
and the Wallace Taylor ticket, with
an appeal to the masses. That ap'
peal must 60 also to the thou
sands Of Negro veters who hold tht
balance of power in some of tn,
Northern and Western States.
Even so, the Democratic Nations
Convention went further than the
Truman managers had planned
For days they labored in the Reso.
lutions Committee of the conven.
ton to draft a civil rights plank
to which many Democrats might
subscribe, even if they held theii
noses while doing so. They came
up finally with a plank which went
a mite further in the cause of civil
rights than did the Democratic civil
rights plank in the 1914 platform
They heaved sigh of relief. They
felt they could beat OF any attack
made by the Southern delegations
on the floor of the convention-as
they ultimately did. They hoped
that the Democratic delegations
from the North and West would be
satisfied sufficiently to support the
Resolutions Committee plank. II
was an idle hope.
Humphrey Spilled the Beans
Democratic Mayor Hubert Hum
phrey Of Minneapolis, a member Of
the Resolutions Committee with as
pirations to be Senator from Mime
sofa In place Of Republican Sena-
tor "Joe" Ball, spilled the beans. He
announced that a minority report
would be submitted to the conven-
ton, calling for q plank going the
whole route for the Truman civil
rights program. As submitted to
Congress. including antilynch. anti
poll tax, antisegregation and FEPC
legislation.
When the showdown came in the
convention itself Mayor Humphrey
shouted to the delegates: ITS time
the Democratic Party gave up It's