Evening star., 1948-09-05

South" and the Negro vote In the
North and West. Republican labor
and-it is today appreciable-will
stick to the Dewey-Warren ticket.
Democratic labor is dividing between
Truman and Henry A. Wallace.
The Negro vote in the North'and
West, which was cast in large num-
bers for Franklin D. Roosevelt, not
only has shown some signs of getting
back to it's former Republican moor
ings, but the more radical Negro
vote, which always supported Roose-
welt, is lining up for Wallace. The
Democrats of the South, violently
opposed to Truman because of his
insistence upon the elimination OF
segregation Of the whites and Ne
groes in schools, employment and
transportation, threaten to give
the electoral votes of at least
three of these States to Gov.
Thurmond of South Carolina
the Dixiecrat candidate for Presi-
dent. The same resentment con-
ceivably could give States like Ten
nessee, Virginia, Florida, and North
Carolina to the Republicans.
Wallace Jumped the Gun
Wallace jumped the gun on the
other presidential candidates when
he began an invasion of the South
a week ago. In more or less ira
dltional form, President Truman,
Gov. Dewey and Gov. Thurmond
have waited until Labor Day, which
gives two full months for actual
campaigning. All parties, however,
have been doing tremendous
amount of spade and organization
work since their national tickets
we're nominated.
The Wallace bid for support in
the South was in reality a bid for
more Negro votes in the North, a
bid, too, for the role of martyr (be-
cause of the egg and tomato throw
ing and the heckling at his meet
ings), and, as result, the support
of more independents. There is
less support for Wallace among
Southern voters than there is any
State outside the South itself. @
For the first time since 1924, new
national third party threatens to
play a part in the outcome OF a
presidential election. The Dewey
Warren ticket in all probability
could have won had the Wallace
candidacy never arisen. Neverthe-
less, Wallace's vote in a number OF
important States threatens to make
the Truman showing pitifully small
in these States, as compared to the
Republican. New York and Cali
fornia are examples. Roosevelt,
without the American Labor Party
vote would have lost New York in
1914. This year the ALP is support
ing Wallace.
To add to the Truman troubles
is the candidacy of Gov. Thurmond
in the South. The Democrats of
the South feel that Mr.. Truman,
Missourian and almost South
erner himself, has let them down.
In his demands upon Congress for
Legislation dealing with the Negro
problem, he has gone much further
than any Republican Chief Execu-
tive, or Republican presidential can
candidate, of recent years.
Labor Unenthusiastic
Organized labor, whose leaders II
large number have declared for Tru'
man. is apparently hooked up witt
a candidate for whom it has NJ
enthusiasm. 1t will take tremen
dous effort on the part of the polit.
ically minded labor leaders to gel
votes for the Democratic candidate
this year. Many of the labor leaders
especially CIO, did their best at th'
Democratic National Convention o.
1914 to defeat Truman for the vic,
presidential nomination. Their frs
love was Wallace. Some would reall!
have preferred Wallace to Roosevelt
for the presidency. This Is reflected
to some extent today in the vote o
the national executive board of th'
CIO which voted IS to IL as between
Truman and Wallace,
Truman's own hope for election
is based almost entirely on this labo
support. He and his party have n,
standing with the farmers of tn,
great agricultural States of the Mid
west and West-despite the fact tn.
farmers are making more none,
than ever before. The Republican
strength which exists in the rura
areas must, If Truman is to win, bt
more than Offset by Truman
strength in the industrial centers.
The Democratic President Is en-.
tering the campaign with a patched
up Democratic Party back of him al
best. When the Democrats met ir
national convention in Philadelphia
last July, the Democrats did moi
want Truman to run. They did MOI
want him, they said frankly, because
they believed he would be one Of the
worst defeated candidates for the
presidency in history. They could
not get Gen. Eisenhower or Associ-
ate Justice Douglas Of the Supreme
Court to enter the race for the
Democratic nomination. There was
a final desperate suggestion that
Senator Barkley. keynote speaker Of
the convention, be nominated in
place of Truman, but Barkley would
not stand for it. In the end, the
democrats took Truman--largely be-
cause they could not get any one
else of the necessary standing.
The Democratic leaders who were
belittling the President few short
weeks ago now are trying to tell the
| American voters what great man
he Is. It Is . tough assignment for