Evening star., 1951-12-09
Toft's independence
And Courage Praised
Writer Soys Senator'S Virtues
Should Be Admitted
By Frank R, Kent

There are SO many different groups
now engaged in assailing Senator Taft
as presidential candidate that, except
for his own. the voices of his friends are
not easy to hear. He seems to have a
pretty bad press. Certainly all the left
wing, New Deal-Fair Deal labor boss
thinkers are in rage with him. Almost
daily they hit him with everything
they have.
So does the Truman administration.
Mr.. Truman himself accusing him Of
having been elected last time by
"slush fund" and generally joining with
his labor allies in picturing him as a
very sinister fellow, indeed. Perhaps
this attack will destroy Senator Taft be-
fore the convention, or at least make it
clear he cannot be elected. For, to it
must be added the vast number of vot-
ers who, regardless of party, believe
like" the best available man for the
presidency. However, the Taft political
aides point out that this kind of oppo-
sition is not new to Senator Taft. In
every campaign he has had to meet the
charge that he could not win. Yet he
has never been defeated.
That fact sustains his friends under
criticism well calculated to dishearten.
They do not minimize the great popu-
larity of Gen. Eisenhower nor the
fine qualities with which he is endowed.
Nevertheless, they show no loss of con-
fldence. AS to Senator Taft, he ap-
pears not to mind it. He let's no serious
charge go unanswered and continues his
plodding, systematic tour of the country,
meeting people and expressing his views
with a candor unmatched by any other
candidate in either party.
This time he has more against him
than the labor bosses and the Truman
administration. For example, he has
the powerful forces which regard him
as dangerous isolationist and cite his
votes to prove it. There are also the
professional liberals who insist he is
"reactionary Republican" eager to go
back to the days of Harding. opposed
to all progressive" proposals-though
there is nothing in his record to justify
this view. In addition. he is opposed by
various pressure voting groups who dis
like Mr.. Taft because he does not yield
to pressure to vote as they desire.
ing in the spectacle of Mr.. Taft, ignor-
ing the odds, serenely battling on while
being shot at from every side: not trying
and certainly not succeeding-in
pleasing or placating any one. not even
all his supporting friends. Two inter-
esting instances of this occurred about
a month ago. One was when Mr.. Taft
published his book on foreign policy.
It was expected that those who think
Mr.. Taft an isolationist would assail it.
What was not expected was that his
chief isolation supporter. Col. Robert
Mccormick of the Chicago Tribune.
should have been offended by Mr.. Taft's
changed views and regard him as having
gone over to the internationalists.
OF course, Mr.. Taft never was an
extreme iSolationiSt such as Col. Nc
Cormick or even as extreme as the late
Senator Vandenberg before he saw the
light. He has made some bad voting
mistakes and done some things justly
subject to criticism, but most will agree
his mistakes were honest ones.
At any rate, his complete independ-
ence of Col. Mccormick, his most pow
erful midWestern supporter, ought to
count IN his favor. The other incident
showing independence was in his North
Carolina speech to an audience Of
Negroes. In answer to questions Sena-
tor Taft fatty said he did not think the
South should be compelled to abandon
its segregated public school system.
Nor. he added, was he in favor of the
Fair Employment Practice Act as pro-
posed by Mr.. Truman. 81 am" said Mr..
Taft, in favor Of voluntary FEPA
but not one under Federal compulsion."
That does not suit the Negro leaders
and it does not suit the liberals" and it
does not suit the labor bosses and it
does not suit Republican politicians.
The ordinary politician running for
President and aware of the power Of
the Negro vote in the pivotal Northern
States would be straining to catch that
vote-as Mr.. Truman is straining. But
no one thinks Mr.. Taft an ordinary
politician. He insists on unequivocally
stating where he stands on every con-
troversial question-and lodging none.
It does seem that even those who dis
agree with him might concede he is a
man of courage without a trace of
hypocrisy. There are not too many in
that class.