Evening star., 1948-04-06
The Political Mill
Presidential Race Tempo
Becoming Swifter Daily
6. o. P. Chiefs Battle for Delegates,
Democrats Seek to Ditch Truman
By Gould Lincoln

By Gould Lincofs
Presidential politics Is rapidly reaching the
boiling point. With the Republicans fighting
among themselves over q large number Of
presidential possibilities, and with the Demo-
crats-many OF them-seeking to ditch their
obvious candidate, President Truman. the pace
Is becoming faster every day.
The Republicans, in four State conventions
Michigan, Iowa, Kansas and Maine-last week
selected their delegates to the COP national
convention next June The two announced
candidates who may be said to have really
done well in these conventions-although mona
of their delegates are "pledged"-are Gov.
Dewey OF New York and former Gov Stassen r
OF Minnesota. A dark horse candidate who
Is fast becoming anything but dark-Senator
Arthur Vandenberg Of Michigan-was given
the enthusiastic Endorsement of the Republican
convention In his State.
It was with extreme difficulty that the lead .
ers, acting In compliance with the expressed !
wishes OF MIR. Vandenberg, were able to keep
the convention from instructing the delegates
to vote for Vandenberg for President What )
they finally did was to put through q resolu.
ton praising Senator vandenberg to the skies
and pledging the support Of Michigan for VAN
denberg for any office which he wished. Up to
date Senator Vandenberg has repeatedly de-
clared ne was not candidate for President.
He has never, however, shut the door to draft.
Could Pick Candidate.
Michigan has the sixth largest delegation
In the coming Republican convention, with
Il delegates. Not only are these delegates
ready to vote for Senator Vandenberg at the
drop of a hat-and they probably will do SO on !
the first ballot-but they are ready, according
to reports from the State, to turn to the
candidate whom Senator vandenberg picks. ;
Gov. Dewey Of New York is believed, however,
to be second in the affections Of many Of these
Michigan delegates. y
In the Kansas convention the Dewey forces,
LED by Harry Darby, Republican national
committeeman, had the better of it. Mr..
Darby, who was contesting for control with
former Gov ALI M. Landon, will be chairman
OF the delegation unless he assigns this post to
one of his lieutenants Both he and Mr. Lam
don will be delegates at large. Mr.. Landon
was favorable to the nomination of Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, but Gen. Eisenhower
pulled the rug from under the feet of his Re- !
publican supporters last February. good /,
guess Is that as the delegates stand today,
favor Dewey, Taft, Vandenberg, Joe
Martin and Stassen. 1t is possible that the
situation will change as the campaign pro-,
crosses and the various candidates show
strength or lack of strength in the presiden-,
tial primaries.
Although the stassen managers have
claimed nearly everything in Maine and Iowa,
these claims are disputed. In Maine, of the
13 delegates are reported for Stassen, for
Dewey, / leaning to Dewey and leaning to
Taft. Maine was a Stassen State in 1914, and
the majority Of its delegates to the Republican
kfo,,xr u, g.,
Mimesotan on the first ballot, until Senator
Joe Ball of Minnesota, speaking for Mr. Stas-
sen, withdrew his name so that the convention
could center on Gov. Dewey Of New York. !,
Dewey Has Bulge in Iowa. "a
Reports from Iowa, despite the stassen
claims, give Gov. Dewey the edge on delegate
strength. Out Of the 23 in the delegation,
dozen are supposed to favor the New Yorker.
six or seven Mr., Stassen, and two each Sena--
tors vandenberg and Taft.
What this all adds up to, in one respect, In
that Senator Taft of Ohio has very slim pick
ings In these New England and Midwest
States.
On the Democratic side Of the picture, the
revolt against President Truman has moved
Into the Midwest in big way The Midwest
conference OF Democratic leaders in Des
Moines, Iowa, next Sunday will have before
it proposal that Mr.. Truman be ditched and
Associate Justice Douglas of the United States
Supreme Court be put forward as the party'ss
nominee. Members of the Democratic National
Committee from these States will attend thss
lo-State Conference, including Wisconsin
Michigan, North and South Dakota, Montana
Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Minne-
sofa. =
The Democrats supporting this program con-
tend that Justice Douglas would draw back
into the Democratic fold many of the present
supporters Of Henry Wallace - for Justice
Douglas was always q 100 per cent Roose-a
velt New Dealer. They contend too, that since
1t appears impossible to get Gen. Eisenhower
to accept presidential nomination, the wise
thing to do is to begin to build UP Justics
Douglas right away.
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