Evening star., 1949-11-10
Election Shows COP,
Certainly Has Made
No Gains in Year
Results in New York
Indicate New Trend in
Making for Democrats
By Dapid Laurence

New York State election alone had
national significance. The issues
were national in the sense that
when q United States Senator Is
elected. the people are well aware
that they are passing judgment on
national policies.
What the election means Is that
the Democratic Party is as strong
as, II not stronger than q year
ago, and the Republican Party
certainly has not made any gains.
Last year the Democratic Party
in the Nation showed by its votes
for individual members Of Con-
gress that it was stronger than
President Truman. This years
result in New York confirms the
trend Of . year ago and indicates
that perhaps q new trend toward
an even higher level Is in the
making for the Democrats. It is
important to note. however. that
heavy majorities in New York City
help In q Statewide contest. but
do not necessarily mean more
Democrats In the New York State
delegation to Congress, especially
from rural counties which again
were heavily Republican this year.
Voters Not Dissatisfied.
When times are good and the
personalities of the candidates are
about even, the voters will follow
party lines. The Democrats, plus
the Wallace following, were the
majority party a year ago. This
week. the Lehman totals included
the kind Of vote that went to Mr..
Wallace in 1948. For Gov. Dewey
carried New York's electoral vote
by a minority showing. If the Wal
lace and Truman votes were added
together.
To say that the welfare state"
has been Endorsed is tantamount
to saying that deficit spending and
q Federal budget unbalanced by
billions Of dollars have also been
indorsed. If so, an imitation of
unprecedented proportions lies
ahead-and then q bust.
The truth is the Democratic
voters are not dissatisfied with the
national administration and, in
deed. many former Republicans
have been added to the Demo-
cratic side by the pressures ex-
erted In labor unions.
New light on how the labor
unions operate in American poll
tics is revealed in a biography Of
John L. Lewis just published by
Putnam's under the authorship Of
Saul Alinsky. Mr.. Lewis, as head
OF the CIO, says with amazing
frankneSs that the CIO bought
every piece of labor legislation it
got by contributions in the 1896
campaign and that it also financed
the 1888 anti-New Deal purge" in
the South. He is quoted as saying:
'The United Mine Workers and
the CIO have paid cash on the
barrel for every piece Of. legisla-
tion that we have gotten. We
have the Wagner Act. The Wag-
ner Act cost us many dollars in
contributions which the United
Mine Workers have made to the
Roosevelt administration with the
explicit understanding Of . quid
pro quo for labor. These contri-
buttons far exceed the notions
held by the general public or the
press. Is any one fool enough to
believe for one instant that we
gave this money to Roosevelt be-
cause we were spellbound by his
voice?
"4s Hours to Get Money"
"It is common knowledge that we
spent apISaX aXimately three quar-
ters Of a million dollars in the
1885 campaign. And you might
be interested to know that the
$780, 900 direct contribution wasn't
my price but was the figure named
by the White House. and was
given approximately forty-eight
hours to get that money. Ger
tainly there was a quid pro QUO
the right for labor to organize.
But there was more than that.
The sums we spent in 1896 were
not only cash contributions that
were made to the Democratic
Party, but also were money ex-
pended In terms of salaries for
organizers and other personnel
who worked full time organizing
and electioneering for Roosevelt.
Radio time purchased, billboards,
handbills, literature, and all the
other paraphernalia that are part
and parcel Of the process of being
elected President Of the United
States did not come gratis"
The foregoing is but small
part Of the revelations by Mr..
Lewis Of how the CIO operated in
his day. The CIO now is as active.
II not more 30, inside the Demo-
cratic Party. It helped In. New
York State and in the New York
mayoralty election, too.
Labor unions today are far more
powerful with the use Of money
than all the contributions of the
corporations in the old days when
the corporation funds helped Re-
publicans.
Besides the financial help of the
labor unions, the party in power
today spends $4,000, 900, 900 a
year Of Federal money. This
means a huge Federal payroll and
contracts running into billions.
The party In power should nat
urally win more and more elec-
tions-until the unorganized ma
jority really departs from party
lines and aligns itself In a nom
partisan drive against such q
dangerous trend in our democracy,
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