Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-10-15
Says History
Has Proved
Voting Pattern
TUCKER
By Ray Tucker

BOSTON, Oct. 10 - The SIX
small states of New England,
which normally parallel the ma
tion-wide pattern of voting in
presidential years, will cast their
ballots for the Dewey-Warren
ticket with the possible except
ion of Rhode Island, which has
only four electoral votes. And
there is bare possibility that
Democratic National Chairman
]. Howard McGrath's bailiwick
may fall into the Republican col
urnn.
Franklin D. Roosevelt destroy
ed the Republican-inspired myth
that las Maine goes, so goes the
nation" One of the classics of
modern political wisecracking
was James A. Farley's comment
after the Landon debacle in 1888
that "as Maine goes, SO goes
Vermont.
But the historical fact is that
New England, whose sturdy son
and daughters streamed across
the country to settle cities and
organize states beyond the Miss
issippi River and the Rockies,
still provides the voting pattern
for the United States.
Yankeeland has almost the
same proportion of manufactur-
ing and farming as the nation
has. 1t is blessed with the
same percentage of immigrant
children who, landing at Boston
or Ellis Island, tredded west
ward.
New England, in short, Is
most excellent laboratory test
in any presidential election.
REMARKS: With the except
ion of Maine, where the ALI Lam
don political syrup still flows
from the maple trees, New En-
land swore by Franklin D.
Roosevelt. His all-things-to-all-
men sermons won him every
important voting element from
Bangor to Boston. He even help
ed to elect a Congressman from
Maine in the early New Deal
years.
But the Democrats political
shine has worn thin. The great
Roman Catholic vote - the Irish
the French-C Canadians and the
Poles has been shocked by
Truman's pro-Stalin deals at
Potsdam and by F.D.R.'s con-
cessions to Moscow at Yalta.
Two offhand and ill-consider-
ed remarks by President Tru-
man will cost him thousands of
votes in this country - enough
to lose all New England, with
its sizable ELECTORAL total.
The presidential statements
hurting him up here are his Off
the-cuff remark at the editors
dinner last spring that Il like
Uncle joe" The other press
conference offgiving that will
lose him votes is his characteri-
zation Of the Congressional COM
ernmental Communists as a
"red herring"
Mr.. Truman may win Rhode
Islands four electoral votes. Not,
however. because of his popu-
1arity in Little Rhody." Only
because Mr.. McGrath and Sena-
tor Green, a multi millionaire,
will spend big money to main
tain their national prestige.
EFFICIENT: As related in
an earlier column from Albany,
the Democrats have no funds,
are not ringing doorbells and are
concentrating on their local rath-
er than on the Truman-Barkley
ticket.
But at Albany and Boston
the writer ran into the most eff
cient public and political relation
organizations, on the Republican
side, he has seen in almost thirty
years of doing national politics.
AT Albany the Dewey gather
ing OF stories or material approx
mates newspaperman's dream
AT the New York Capital or on
tour, speeches and biographical
stuff are prepared at least one
day ahead. A newspaper re
porter (and they are the most
important men on a campaign
traln), a columnist, a radio COM
mentator or a magazine writer
gets his material far ahead of
his deadline.
SOUR: F.D.R. had this same
deadly efficiency, politically and
Journalistically, in 1882, 1886,
1910 and 1914. 1t was a pleasure
to travel with him, even for
newspapermen and politicians
who did not agree or sympath-
lie with him.
But here is the comment
about the Truman train and the
White House atmosphere Sc
hvered by one of the writer's
fellow-columnists who crossed
the country with President Tru-
man:
We never got Truman's
speeches on time to make our
early odifiopc Af%,r 80 cot