Evening star., 1948-09-25
The Political Mill
Wisconsin Race Seems
Odd Without La Toilette
G. o. P. Dominates Political Scene;
Prosressives Turn Democrats
By Gould Lincoln


MADISON, Wis, Sept 25.-This is strange
Wisconsin campaign-there is no La Toilette
in it, for the first time in half century. For
forty years there we're La Toilette Senators
of the United States, and before that q La
Toilette District Attorney and Governor, the
original fighting Bob"-who upset the Repub-
lican regular organization and started the
State on its Progressive course.
Neither former Senator Bob La Toilette nor
his brother, former Governor Phillip La Fol-
lette, are taking part and the Progressive Party
they started In 1884 is as obsolete as the dodo.
This, the regular Republican organization.
which now dominates the political scene, re-
CARDS as the extreme of excellence.
This is where the Democrats come In. The
Democratic Party has always been q minority
party in the State electing only two Governors
in hundred years. younger group in the
party Is now seeking to build up . strong
organization with a large following, recruited
in part from the former La Toilette Pro-
gressivss and independent voters who fol.
lowed Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Meeting Some Success
They are meeting with some degree OF sue
cess, and to some extent with the blessings
of the regular Republicans who seem willing
enough to have the Progressives move into
are the Progressives who proved such thorn
in the side of the Republican Party during the
DAYS of the late Senator La Toilette. Some Of
the Republican leaders believe the Progressives
will do the same for the Democratic Party
When the La Toilette Progressive Party
finally broke up in the spring OF 1946, at
conference in Portage, the then Senator La
Toilette announced he would campaign for
the Republican senatorial nomination The
conference voted to go along with tho Repub-
ican Party rather than the Democratic. al
though the Democrats were making bids for
the Progressives even then. Mr.. La Toilette
lost the senatorial nomination to Joe Mccarthy
and another Progressive who tried for the
Republican gubernatorial nomination, Ralph
M. Immel was also defeated.
This year there has been an increasing move
ment of Progressives into the Democratic Party.
The group of younger Democrats have been
more appreciative of Progressive support than
the Republican organization-for they sue
ceeded In nominating a youthful and attrac-
tive former Progressive, Carl w. Thompson,
q war veteran, for governor. Mr.. Thompson
was backed in his primary fight for the nom
nation against an old line conservative Demo-
crat, William D. Carroll of Prairie Du Chen,
by the Democratic National Committeeman,
Robert E. Tehan. Thompson won, to !.
COP. Is Confident
It all amounts to this-the younger DEM
ocrats are out to make their party the liberal
party of the State in opposition to more con-
servative Republican Party. 1t may work. At
any rate the Democrats have high hopes OF
making 6 better showing in the coming election
of State ticket than they did in either 1914
or 1946. The Republicans continue confident.
however, they will carry the State both for act
ing Governor Oscar Rennebohm-who defeated
Mr.. Immel again a candidate, by some 77,O00
votes in the primary. Their confidence has
been increased by the fact that Gov. Renne-
bohm, successful business man, won in Mill
waukee and Dane County where the Progress
sive following has been strong. And also by
the fact that the Republicans polled in the
primary about 80 percent of the total vote cast
The Republican national ticket-Dewey and
Warren-seems certain Of victory in Wisconsin.
perhaps by $4,000 to 100000 votes Gov. Dewey
carried the State by $4,000 against the late
Franklin D. Roosevelt four years ago when the
going was much harder for Republicans than
today. The presidential preferential primary
last April when Gov, Dewey won no delegates
to the Republican National Convention and
Harold E. Stassen and Gen. Douglas Macarthur
divided the delegation, left some scars when
Gov Dewey won the presidential nomination
in Philadelphia. But Mr.. Stassen's immediate
and strong support of Gov. Dewey as the
Republican nominee has served to lessen the
bitterness against the New Yorker.