Evening star., 1952-08-17
Negro Vote Necessary
Stevenson Success
Democrats Called Coptives
Of Pressure Groups
By FFonk r. Kent

Though this presidential campaign has
not yet really begun to roll, 1t seems
worth noting that some of our leading
bleeding-heart publicists who for nearly
20 years have been writing lyrically
about the so-called New Deal and Fair
Deal policies, programs and ideals and
labelling all who failed to Join in the
chorus as Republican reactionarieS or
worse, at last are beginning to recognize
the facts.
For example, in the past 10 days some
Of the most ardent left-wing writer's
have been almost frantically pointing
out to their candidate. the pure but
indecisive Mr.. Stevenson. that 1t is not
his policies. program or ideals which
really count in this fight. What really
counts, they tell him, Ia the Negro vote
in IL States-Maryland. Delaware. Illi-
nois. Michigan. New York. Pennsylvania.
California. Ohio, New Jersey. Massachu-
sets, Indiana and Connecticut. Re-
gardless of what he does in the South.
no Democratic candidate. they point
out, can possibly win without the bulk
of these States. whose total electoral
vote Is 246 (266 is a majority and whose
total Negro vote is above 3.2 million.
These facts repeatedly have been
presented but never until recently ad-
mitted by Democratic leaders whose
position was that the things that en-
chanted the Negroes were their great
love Of Mrs. Roosevelt and their belief
in the alleged ideals of the New and
Fair Deal. Now, not only the left
wing liberals" but the hard boiled big.
city Democratic bosses have been max
ing 1t plain that a good deal more than
that Is needed this time to hold the
Negro vote in these IL pivotal States.
The -and-water civil-rights plank
In the Republican platform, plus the
nomination Of the second-rate anti
FEPC Senator Sparkman of Alabama
as Vice President. plus Mr. Stevenson's
statement that he thinks tho States
rather than the Federal Government
should deal with this FEPC problem.
have thrown Negro leaders into q re-
sentful condition Of mind.
The left-wing writer's and the Demo-
cratic politicians hate to face the fact
that the Democratic Party now Is de-
pendent upon the Negro vote for sue.
cess. Put the diSaffected South aside,
put the sore labor bosses aside, put
aside the Democratic voters sickened
by corruption, incompetency and waste
put aside all this. and the contention
Of the disturbed Democratic politicians
is that they still can win with the 25
million Federal jobholders ESTIMATED by
the Dunn Survey to be worth 10 million
votes) and the solid Negro support in
the aforementioned IL States. But
that support is completely indispensable.
They may not win with it.: they cannot
win without it.
Democratic leaders-and particularly
the left-wing publicists-do not pub
licly admit these facts, but they never
theless know them to be true, as do
all other politicians with access to the
figures and ability to count to 10 with
out taking off their shoes. Pressure
on Mr.. Stevenson to say or do some
thing about this state of affairs is heavy
and variegated. Some want him to
make 1t clear, as did his friend Averell
Hartman, that he favors full social
as well as political and economic equal
ity. But. Of course. If he does that hs
will again stir resentment among white
Democrats Of the South. Others want
him merely to give personal assurances
to such influential Negro leaders as
Walter White and Representative Adam
Powell that he II personally much
stronger for what they want than
either the platform or himself has said.