Evening star., 1952-09-21
Some AFL Leaders
Oppose Endorsement
l0f Stevenson Ticket
By james Y. Newton
Sior Sauff CORRESPONDENT

BY james 7. Newton
Stor Sscff Correspondent
NEW YORK, Sept. 2O-Some
opposition was apparent today in
the American Federation Of Labor
to Endorsement of a presidential
candidate, but it was not believed
strong enough to prevent an Of
fetal AFL blessing to Gov. Adlai
|StevenSon's candidacy.
Gov. Stevenson is scheduled to
address the AFL convention at
IL am. Monday. Later in the day
the 15-man AFL executive coun-
tcil will meet to draft it's recon-
|mendation to the convention on
an Endorsement. The council will
decide whether to depart from
tradition and recommend presi-
Dental candidate. If they decide
to do so they will suggest choice
to the delegates.
These recommendations will be
made to the 750 delegates on
Tuesday. which is a sort of ''pol-
itics day" at the convention. There
will follow debate and the con-
|vention will make the final deci-
SionS.
Not Eisenhower Backers.
Opposition to any Endorsement
did not come so much from
Eisenhower supporters, of whom
there are few, as from delegates
who say that while they individu-
ALLY will support Gov. Stevenson
they believe the AFL should ad-
here to its policy of not giving
Ia presidential Endorsement.
Top officers of the AFL Retail
Clerks Union, one of the fastest
growing units in the AFL, for
example. are opposed to giving
an Endorsement although they
profess to be pro-Stevenson.
George @. Lynch. president of
the PatternmakerS Brotherhood,
also expressed open opposition to
Ia departure from tradition.
A Stevenson supporter, Mr..
Lynch. nevertheless, said he be-
lieved an AFL Endorsement, under
the circumstances would harm
rather than help the Democratic
candidates chances of election.
Gen. Eisenhower addressed the
convention last Wednesday.
Virtually Certain.
But the AFL Executive Council
was almost certain to recommend
a Stevenson Endorsement. There
is no record Of an AFL convention
ever upsetting a council recon-
mendation. OF the Is members
of the council, only four, at the
most, apparently will oppose an
Endorsement.
AFL Secretary Treasurer George
Meany, power here, made it
clear. however. that if the con-
vention indorses the Stevenson
Sparkman ticket it will not in
dorse the whole Democratic Party.
He said there are many Democrats
for congressional and
high State Offices that labor will
oppose. At the same time, he
added, a sizable number of Repub-
licans running for such Offices will
receive active AFL support.
Some OF the opponents Of any
Endorsement said they will attempt
to have the AFL convention recess
on Tuesday and then reconvene as
a convention of Labor's League for
Political Education, the AFL's po-
litical arm. This tactic would
keep the AFL's convention tradi-
ton of never having indorsed a
presidential candidate. But it
seemed unlikely the move would
meet with success.
Convention in Recess.
The convention was in recess
today and tomorrow. There were
meeting. however. of the executive
council and other committees.
The AFL committee on interna-
tional relations released a report
calling for a stepping UP, rather
than a slowing down of American
help in the worldwide drive to
stop Communism and recapture
Iron Curtain countries. The COM
mittee called for a broad program
Of indirect aid" to free countries
to replace the old Marshall plan.
The committee warned against
the slowing down of the American
defense armament program.
The progress made by free Eu-
rope in rearmament to date" the
report stated, sis not yet sufficient
to deter, let alone defeat, Soviet
aggression which con-
tinueS as a grave threat to world
peace and human welfare"