Evening star., 1951-08-02
The Political Mill
Taft Supporters Pushing
Candidacy Out in Open
Seek to Prove to Senator
Republicans Won't Him
By Gould Lincoln

senator Robert A. Taft Of Ohio has
now announced he will become q candi-
date for the Republican presidential
nomination. the Republicans want
him. Taft supporters are today busily
engaged in trying to demonstrate to the
Senator that the Republicans really do
want him to run. They are collecting
large amount Of mail from party men,
bers and leaders throughout the country
favoring the nomination of Senator Taft.
Senator Brewster of Maine, in Taft's
corner, reports that he has received
many communications from Taft admir-
ers. One president of labor union, he
says, came to him and strongly urged
that Senator Taft be the party nominee
and outlined plans for lining up sup
port of the workers for the Ohioan.
In addition, David ingalls, of Cleve-
land, a cousin Of the Senator, has been
visiting many States of the Union in the
interest Of a Taft candidacy. He will
make his report eventually to the Sena-
tor. According to reports, Mr.. Ingalls,
is finding a large number Of Taft-for-
President Republicans.
Move Appears Reasonable.
Presumably, some months in the fu-
ture Senator Taft will canvass the entire
situation, as revealed by these various
reports, and determine whether to cast
his hat in the ring.
Outside Of Nationwide presidential
preference primary. in which all poten-
tial candidates for the Republican nomi-
nation were entered, the course adopted
by the Taft supporters to determine
sentiment for their candidate appears
the most reasonable and effective.
Although proposals for q Nation-wide
preference primary have been advanced
from time to time, nothing has been.
done about it.
Sixteen States do hold presidential
preference primaries. In some Of them
there is direct preference vote, and in
others delegates to the Republican Ma
tional Convention are elected who may
be pledged to candidate-and If that
is not desired, may be elected as ''un-
instructed" In several of the States
which hold these primaries the consent
Of the candidate must be obtained to
place his name on the primary ballot.
1t is obvious, however, that while
these primary contests may show the
trend Of opinien regarding presidential
candidates, they will do 50 correctly only
If all the principal potential candidates
are on the ballot. Further. if Senator
Taft Is to become candidate, he must
do 30, as practical proposition, prior
to the holding Of many Of these State
primaries.
The first Of these primaries will be
held March IL in New Hampshire, and
the last on June 3, in California and
South Dakota.
No Novice in Politics.
Senator Taft Is no novice in the field
Of national politics. His first real bid for
a presidential nomination was made in
1910, when he was runner-up in the
party's national convention to the late
Wendell Willkie, and his second, in 194S,
when he lost out to Gov. Dewey. He
has never in the past made it a prac-
tice to enter presidential preference
primaries in States other than Ohio,
but has relied on the efforts Of his
friends to gain support Of delegates
to the national convention from all parts
Of the country.
What his tactics will be next year
is not known. His supporters, when
asked If he will enter primaries outside
of Ohio, say that is bridge he will
cross when he comes to it: that he
must first decide whether he is to
run or not, If, however, he should
enter number Of these primaries
and roll up large votes, he could demon
strate that the Republican voters want
him for the presidential candidate
and also help to dispel the oft-repeated
assertion that he would not be a strong
candidate.
In the minds Of many, Senator Taft
is already candidate and working hard
at it. Certainly he has had already
many reports that he is wanted.