davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24
GENERAL SURVEY
OF CONVENTION
NEWS AND OPINION
By JACK BELL

CONVENTION HALL, Chieego
R-Rowing Democrats begin bal
loting today with Gov. Adlai E.
Stevenson an odds-on favorite to
accept q presidential nomination.
he said he doesn't want.
The 52-year-old Illinois governor
may be tabled on 4 ort-count
ballot with three Southern states
South Carolina. Virginia and Louis
iana-sitting it out.
This Dixie sitdown. prompted by
a feud over a party loyalty pledge,
seemed likely to impel the selec-
ton of a Southerner for second
place on the ticket.
This would be a direct attempt
to offset the reputed popularity Of
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the
COP presidential nominee, below
the Mason and Dixon Line.
For this role, delegates were
pointing toward Sen. Richard b.
Russell Of Georgia-if he would
take it. Russell told his campaign
strategists he couldn't conceive d
any circumstances in which he
would trade a powerful place in
the Senate for the standby job Of
vice president.
If he is unavailable, Sens. John
Sparkman of Alabama and william
Fulbright of Arkansas, both with
Fair Deal leanings. were handy.
RuSsell's campaign manager,
Sen. Edward Johnson of Colorado,
predicted the Georgia senator
would win the presidential nomi-
nation on the lott ballot.
The camps of other avowed can
didates also exuded public conf
dence.
Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennes-
see, leading the field in public.
ly committed delegates, plugged
away at getting secondary choice
ballots after the first count. Cred
tied with 263 sure votes, he ex.
peced many more on that initial
test.
Supporters Of W. Averell Harri.
man of New York. the mutual
security administrator, clutched TO
the hope that the Stevenson draft
movement would flop and the party
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24

/ shall retire to the shade and
shadows of private life. ! shall
carry to my dying day the cher
ished memory of that program.
If it was goodbye, as it seemed
to be after AZ years of public serv-
ice. it was one of the most heart
warming the Democratic Party
ever gave one Of its office holders.
Democrats who had been snarl-
ing at each other forgot their diff
ferences to yell, stamp and parade
for the venerable weep.
Everybody got into the act, with
Cabinet memters. senator's, men,
berS of the House. party leaders
and oosevelt's son parading to
the rostrum to shake hands and
exchange bear hugs with Barley.
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24

honesty and dlsioyaliy in the pub
lie service and added
I'll has exposed aud punished
those who would corrup, the in.
segriiy Of the public service
President TFuran's LOYALTY PRO
gram VAS said TO have kept ou,
"snhFcrssye elenents" and nj the
same time protected honest ard
loyal RslAiac servants agains, an.
founded and malicious attacks"
Democratic foreign policies we're
aprlaueed
Tax ressacsscrs we're promised
AS rars3ly as 6efenxs require
renss permit Z" and especially for
people With loWer iaeo-ex-
Tfsc Democrats even used ire
free entegFEase phrase Of wAich
Republicans are 81 fana. xxygnx
The frWe enterprise system has
flossrashed ard pxnsp~rrSa n Amer.
sea aarsns taeSs last no wears al
neseE hetage-
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24

would turn to is only about Fair
Deal candidate, namely Hartman
Sen. Robert 3. Kerr of Oklahoma
hoped to pick ~ the pieces if the
leading candidates should fight
themselves to IN exhausted stand
still.
Az the hour of decision ap-
preached, the Associated Press
tabulation of known fiYst-ballot
~Aoices showed this lineup:
Kefauver IS
Stevenson 166
Russell 1854
Hartman 107
Kerr As
Others 237ta
Uncommitted 246
Needed to nominate 615Ia
Despite some contrary indica-
tions, President Truman still
seemed to be keeping hands off
the ticket selection. Three lieu.
tenants in direct touch with him
said Mr.. Truman wasn't talking
yet on that point.
The President was represented
IS highly pleased with the party
platform gavelled through the con.
venticn early today by veteran
House Speaker Sam Rayburn of
Texas.
Although the plank won the con.
vention's approval on a voice vote,
It still carried the threat of q new
Southern revolt.
Walter White, executive secre-
tary Of the National Association for
the Advancement Of Colored People
greeted the planI as "a signal
victory for the forces of liberalism
in the party"
His approval waved a fresh red
flag at delegations from South
Carolina, Virginia and Louisiana
which refused to subscribe to q
watered-down loyalty pledge under
which members would have been
required to do what they could
to get this conventions nominees
on the November ballots in their
states.
Northern sponsors of the rule,
evidently fearful of alternating the
Dixie contingents into the arms
Of Eisenhower and the Republi-
caas, toned it down to provide
an escape clause where such a
pledge would not contravene state
laws or state party organization
rules.
Nevertheless, Virginia, South
Carolina and Louisiana refused to
sign.
Said spokesman Sen. Harry F.
Byrd Of Virginia:
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24
Canning Go. Fined
For Unfit Food

LAKELAND LR - Federal Judge
William J. Barker fined the Mann
Brothers Canning Co. of Lakeland
$1,000 Wednesday for shipping to.
matoes unfit for human consump-
ton.
Leroy Allen, attorney for the
company. entered a plea of guilty
to violating the pure food laws
but said the violation was not will
full.
Allen said tomoatoes that looked
good apparently turned bad under
heat used in the canning process.
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24

An osprey looks so much like ar
eagle that one created consider
able excitement the other day
when it landed atop the flag pole
of the Federal Bldg.
Said one person: There's liv-
ing presentation of Americas sym
Dol - baldheaded eagle and the
Stars and Stripes. 1t is a story
worth nationwide coverage."
Stuart Whiting, a leading figure
in the local Audubon Society was
called TO verify whether the bird
actually was an eagle.
NO. he said upon investigation,
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24
War Hero Dies

SAN FRANCISCO IA - Capt.
Henry Nelson, II, whose troop
transport, the President Coolidge,
lost only twe men after striking q
mine in World War II, died
Wednesday night.
The Coolidge struck the mine al
Esniritu sanso in the New Hebrides
in the South Pacific in 1912. Nelson
quickly beaehed the converted lin.
er with $50 troops aboard. His
action was praised as preventing
possible heavy loss of life. The
two victims were erewmen.
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24

1T Is an osprey. You can tell the
difference by noticing the color of
the body. However, the two birds
- eagle and osprey - are often
mistaken for each other"
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-24

Chuck Draxenovich. fullback
and llnehacker for the Washing
ton Redskins, captained the is4s.
SO Penn State boxing team.
Evening star., 1952-05-25

ticisrn dulled for the, moment by
the sheer pleasure Of ownership. A.
relocated girl fastens q chame-
leon to her lapel ana wanders, on
to see more sights. Her little
chameleon skitters brownly over
the red wool. Both beauty and
beast are happy-or seem to be-
Certainly the salesman is.
Happiness is the great secret Of
the circus. In the final analysis,
the circus has nothing else to sell.
One is happy first of all to be under
the big top. One is happy, too,
to be parted from ones funds under
such pleasant circumstances.
And there is another kind Of
happiness; one that is experienced
in the menagerie. It is the happi-
ness that comes from facing up
bravely to danger, all the while
knowing that it isn't really there
at all. One notes with feeling OF
something like trepidation that
only a small chain and a fragile
rope keep the huge elephant in
place-and overlooks the obvious
fact that the elephant Is interested
only in peanuts. One observes url-
Evening star., 1952-05-25

neither a startling nor news
worthy statement.
But Mr.. Dunn, in his love for the
circus, got up at S am, left his
wholesale lumber business behind,
and drove all the way from Pitts
burgh, Pa, with Mrs. Dunn. They
intended to watch two perform
ances-matinee and evening-be-
fore returning to Pennsylvania and
the humdrum Of wholesaling lum-
ber.'
The Dunns are typical of circus
sfandom. Mr.. Dunn Is in his SOS;
his wife is several years his junior.
They have two children, both of
them grown. The Dunns, comfort
ably fixed financially, are in posi-
ton to indulge their love of canvas
and tanbark.
Their spare time is taken up by
fandom. They belong to the Circus
Fans of America, an organization of
about 5000 grownups who are more
than childlike in their love of the
Big Top. They go to Circus Fan
conventions. On vacations, they go
to Sarasota, Fla, which, being the
Evening star., 1952-05-25
By Fred Theroux

attacks of congressional investigators.
Fear of the hazards posed by Gov
ernment service in return for modest
rewards. Fear Of what they con-
slider the almost inevitable smear"
charges of left-wing sympathy against
any one with the slightest liberal
tendency.
The result of these changing cir
cumstances. the liberals declare, is
creeping compromise on the part Of
liberalism with reaction. Republican
foes Of such candidates as Wendell
Willkie and Thomas E. Dewey-and
latterly, Dwight Eisenhower-have
talked much Of "me-tooiSm." This
means (to them) an unhealthy at
titude Of compromise. The ADA
leaders have not adopted the jargon.
but the idea is the same. Me-tooism
on the part Of liberals would be
fatal to the Democratic Party and,
to the hopes of ADA, they believe.
Not only is me-tooism undesirable
in the mind of the liberal bloc, it is
unnecessary as well. The ADA con-
tends that Americas young people
are predominantly liberal. It says
that in a democratic society. liberal
triumph is inevitable. It goes to the
record books to prove that the inde-
pedent voter is liberal at heart:
Certainly the independent has given
his support to the Democrats quite
regularly since 1882.
Z. s s4 W 4 &, -
Reaction Is BIdmed
Francis Biddle, head Of ADA and
Attorney General under President
Roosevelt. is another Of those who
blames reaction for the present low.
estate of the liberal. But Mr.. Biddle
believes reaction against reaction"
is at hand. He and others Of like
mind claim the American people are
growing tired of the philosophy
characterized by the term ''McCar-
thyiSin." They think the high tide
of Senator McCarthy's prestige was
reached in 1850, and that the tide
has been ebbing ever since. They
grant that McCarthyism is chal--
lenge to liberalism. but only chal-
lenge and not real threat.
Both Senator Humphrey and Mr..
Biddle are direct products Of the
Roosevelt era. Humphrey rode into
political prominence in Minnesota
on the tide of Roosevelt senti-
merlt. Mr.. Biddle, an appointiye
rather than an elective oficial. was
put IN the cabinet BY the late Presi-
dent. Another ADA leader. Senator
Evening star., 1952-05-25

mestic ones-problems OF soil con-
servation and unemployment re-
lief. These problems the young lib
erals attacked with religious zeal.
Nowadays they are problems no
longer. The men who can tackle such
jobs are in plentiful supply. But they
60 about their work with craftman's
surenesS, not with zealot's enthu-
siasm.
The big problem now is external,
not domestic. The solution to the
cold war and to the problems Of
world peace are burning issues. And
the liberals contend that the men
who have the answers to these prob
lens are still unknown and unrecog-
niZed.
The problem of the liberal
fancieS himself ordained to handle
these issues most expeditiously lis
compounded by purely extraneous
matters. the liberals feel. Dust has
been thrown in the public eye, they
assert, by the forces of reaction. That
this dust has stuck to an alarming ex-
tent is proved, the liberals say, by
the attitude of wary prudence adopted
by Government administrators, and
by the reluctance Of bright young
men to come to Washington.
Byproduct Of Feor
The ADA leadership blames much
Of the static quality Of government
operation on fear. Fear Of exposing
q satisfactory career to the slashing
Evening star., 1952-05-25
The Libeos Gd Themselves for Action No-Compomise Line

go?" they ask. They feel that the
South needs the Democratic Party
even more than the party needs the
South-which is plenty. And, racial
equality aside, the liberals say. a
liberal platform fulf1lls the pressing
requirements of Dixie-soil conServa-
ton, price supports, rural electrif1ca-
tion, aid to education, highway grants
and the like. The South will insist on
these things. the liberals believe. And
the South will not get them from the
Republicans or the Dixiecrats.
In their conviction that the Nation
needs liberalism. the liberals are
unanimous. Where they split at pres
ent is on the question of who shall
carry the bright banner. Some like
Kefauver, others are behind Steven
son. Hartman looks good to another
bloc, and Senators Douglas and Nc
Mahon have their boosters, too.
StolIing for Time
The attitude of the ADA on can
didate seems to be one of stalling for
time until after the Republican con-
vention. ADA expects little difficulty
in agreeing on candidate after the
g. O. P.'s choice is known. The lib
erals feel that If it is Taft, any good
man can win. But, they believe, If
Eisenhower is the choice. it will take
hard-hitting, uncompromising lib
eral with strong popular appeal.
What it boils down to in the 1852
campaign is that liberals are united
on strategy and hesitant on tactics.
There are some things they will not
compromise on. They want effective
international cooperation, not only
on the military level. They insist on
an incontrovertible stand for civil
liberties
The liberals are not planning
break II they fail to get what they
demand. Most Of them reluctantly
will vote Democratic-eyen conserva-
tive Democratic-as the lesser of two
evils. They see no virtue in schism
such as created the wool-hat Dixie
Gratis" and the woolly- minded PRO
gressives" in 1948. But in the COM
ing election, and in the four years
that follow, the liberals will fight for
an effective revival of their faith
within the present party framework.
One Of their major projects will be
to forge workable liberal coalition
opposed to the informal conservative
merger of recent years.
There viii be no third party Of the
liberals creation. But there will be
o lot Of commotion in the existing
two.
Evening star., 1952-05-25

headquarters of the circus, Is sort
of mecca for fans.
During the off-season, they read
books about the circus and improve
the room in their house which is re-
plete with mementoes Of the circus.
They correspond with their per-
forming friends and with fellow
members of the fan group. And al
ways, they dream of the delirious
hours they have spent under the big
blue canvas, and the hours they
have yet to spend.
When, as happened last week, the
circus gets to within several hum
dred miles of Pittsburgh, the Dunns
travel to see it. When the circus
reaches their town, they entertain
their friends among the performers,
trying always to smooth the way for
the men and women whose lives are
spent in tents.
Like most Circus Fans, the Dunns
religiously follow a policy of giving,
not taking. They make fetish Of
refusing passes, though they could
have the run of the circus for the
rest of their lives If they asked for
it. They always pay their own way.
Evening star., 1952-05-25

And las Mrs. Dunn emphasizes -
1--WE don't ask questions; circus peo-
pie don't like It,"
There is a large and thriving
group of people like the Dunns here
in Washington. Attorney Melvin D.
Hildreth is past president of the
national organization. Zoo Direc-
tor william M. Mann is another
leader in the membership of about
200 here. The present head of the
Circus Fans Of America is an Evans
vile Qnd.) newspaper cartoonist
named Karl Kae Knecht.
In return for their friendship and.
homage, the fans usually get the
privilege of visiting the big area
behind the main tent, where the
weirdest sights of circusland are to
be seen.
Evening star., 1952-05-25

Herbert Lehman of New York, also
is q Roosevelt product.
In a way. Senator Lehman points
up the old-age that afflicts American
liberalism. He succeeded Mr.. RooSe-
welt as Governor of New York at
the comparatively youthful age of 81.
Lehman now is in his mid-70s. Yet
he is the creed's great pillar of
strength in the Senate, along with
Paul Douglas of Illinois.
A Strong Mon
In one respect, Senator Lehman
Is possibly one Of the strongest men
in the liberal camp. His experience
in politics and administration is vast.
His integrity Is unquestioned. His
influence in party circles is strong.
And he is in a position to apply the
pressure at the Chicago convention
If necessary.
Although liberalism, in some Demo-
cratic quarters, has the connotation.
of nasty word. the ADA is con-
fident of strength at Chicago. Al
though the party is admittedly in.
the hands Of relative conservatives,
the ADA has no fear Of the Demo-
Gratis throwing away winning
program"
Nor is ADA much worried over the
possibility that the Southerners will
walk out If a liberal program in-
cluding civil rightsis adopted at
Chicago. Where will the Southerners
Evening star., 1952-05-25

easily that the bars on the lions
cage look mighty unsubstantial-
and neglects to observe that the
king of beasts is lying lethargically
on the floor of his cage, growing
idly at piece Of meat he Is too
lazy and well-fed to consume. It
is the kind Of happiness that comes
of feeling like Frank Buck-and
knowing all the time that one
couldn't be safer in church.
These are feelings that impinge
on children with only slightly more
strength than on adults. The effects
of this excited, frightened, secure
happiness wear off more slowly in
the case of grownups. Perhaps this
is not so remarkable: A happy child
lives this kind of life every day,
minus only clowns and animals.
An adult, however, has his daily
job awaiting him. He is understand
ably loath to return to the grind.
Evening star., 1952-05-25

back lot, in reality, is a business
like, matter-of-fact place where
confusion often reigns, but phony
dramatics never. It is the part Of
the circus the cash customers
seldom see.
Behind the big top, the perform
ers and the animals work, eat and
occasionally sleep. There is q big
dressing tent, which serves the pur-
pose Of the dressing room In q
theater. There is q tent for the
horses-a sort Of tarpaulin stable.
There are other tents for the stor-
age Of the shows mountains Of
gear. And there is q commissary
tent, where the same sort Of plain,
bulky fare is served that one would
expect to find in a logging camp
or military mess.
A few of the circus 1000 en-
ployes sleep at the circus ground
from choice. A few others-the top
brass of the operation-prefer
hotels. But the great mass of circus
folk live in the sleeping cars that
make up large part of the tabled
circus train. In Washington, the
train has been parked on the Penn
Sylvania's Kenilworth avenue spur.
about a mile from the circus
grounds.
Beehive of Activity
Virtually from dawn to midnight.
there Is something doing on the
back lot. Gangs of white and Negro
roustabouts heave-ho on the ropes
that keep the main tent up. A
blacksmith busily shoes q huge
Percheron while carrying on Q
spirited conversation with a midget.
Two dwarfs and a high-wire "ar-
tiste" chatter amiably in an ESQ.,
teric mid-European tongue until q
man driving a caterpillar tractor
shouts for gangway. An elephant
couturier tries a grotesque costume
on an amenable female Of the
species. A man in Trojan uniform
cocks his head up at an 8O-degree
angle to converse loudly with
stilt-walking clown garbed as q
man from Mars. What appears to
be an Italian family lolls beneath
a clothesline stretched between
guywires, giggling hilariously at
something or other.
Everywhere, there is mending and
hitting going on. Costumes that
look flimsy from the ringside seats
turn out, on closer examination, to
be put together strongly from ex-
cellent materials. Constant packing
and unpacking, frequent cleaning
and pressing, dictate that both
cloth and workmanship be sound.
In the last few moments before
the big show begins, there is a GER
tain amount of real confusion. But
1t Is muted. The exhibitionism Is
saved for the cash customers.
Evening star., 1952-05-25
Greatest Show Keeps Weaving is Old Magic Spell

WTHEN the circus pulls up stakes
w after tonight's performance,
the acreage at Twenty sixth street
and Benning road NE. will stand,
again, vacant and forlorn. And in
the souls of several thousand WASH
ingtonians, there will be an empty
feeling-a loneliness that will not
be assuaged until next year.
To these thousands who love the
circus, the year will be something
to endure until The Greatest Show
on Earth comes to town again.
Some hundreds Of them will not
take their loss lying down. The
hard-core fans win follow, as best
they can, the winding path Of
the circus. They viii pick it up here
and there, basking momentarily in
the sheer Joy Of finding themselves
back under canvas.
Almost singly among non-injuri-
Gus forms of recreation, the circus
is something hard to take or leave
alone. Few people are in-between
about circuses. One loves them
with a passion approaching mad
ness. Or one abominates them.
Last week was the time for those
who love the circus. The remain
ing 81 weeks belong to those who
deSpise it.
Just as the word government"
otherwise unmodified, usually means
the Federal apparatus, "circus" by
itself generally means the one that
is finishing its six-day stand here
today. There are dozens Of cir
cuses in America, from huge lay
outs down to two-elephant opera
tions. But the Circus complete
with italic the and capital C-is
Ringing Bros, Barnum & Bailey.
What is it about this form of
entertainment that rings a bell
either tuneful or cacophonous-in
the brains Of most Americans?