Evening star., 1952-09-14
Turmoil in the South
May Help Eisenhower
Writer Sees 6. O. P. Profitinq
From Discomfort in Dixie
By Fronk R. Kent

by fronk K. Kent
For nearly four generations in every
presidential election except two the
South has cast its electoral votes solidly
for the Democratic candidates. In
1928. because Alfred E. Smith was a
Catholic and wet. four States-Vir-
ginia. North Carolina, Florida and
Texas-voted Republicans total of SO
electoral votes. In 1948, because Of
intense distaste for Mr.. Truman and
his policies. four States Alabama.
Louisiana, Mississippi. South Carolina
again broke away. These, with one from
Tennessee. constituted 80 electoral votes.
The reason for this long time loyalty
of the South to the Democratic Party
was almost wholly racial. The unshak-
able. basic Republican asset was the
solid Negro vote in the Northern and
border States. Except in the two in
stances above cited that was enough
to hold the South solidly Democratic
for nearly 80 years. But, in 1896, that
reason was dissolved. In that year, the
extremely clever scheme of Messrs.
Farley and Guffy. fully supported by
Mr.. Hopkins with the wide use of Fed
eral funds, Federal jobs and extraor-
binary cajolery in the IL pivotal North
ern States where the Negro vote was
large. this Republican asset was trans
ferred almost 100 per cent to the
Democrats. where it still remains.
If ever section was "sold down
the river" by its supposed friends it
was the South. It took several years
before even the papers and the poll
ticians fully realized just what mad
been done. Not all the Southern people
fully realize it now, but vastly more
do now than ever before. They realize
now that there is more danger to the
South that the sort of economic. social
as we'll as political equality to which it
is Fundamentally opposed will be thrust
upon it by the Democratic Party rather
than by the Republican.
In spite of this realization, most
Southern Democratic politicians have
been kept in line by heavy distribution
of Federal funds, jobs and perquisites.
In Virginia, though there are now nearly
$4,000 Federal jobholders, these have
been Ineffective because Senator Byrd.
opposing the whole New Deal-Fair Deal
philosophy from the beginning, neither
asked nor received any White House
favors. In the other States, these favors
have been successful in keeping the
Democratic Solidity of the South despite
the disappearance of the big reason
for that solidity.
This state of affairs, of course, makes
complete suckers of the Southern people.
many of whom never liked either New
Deal or Fair Deal policies. In the last
four years, Southern people have be-
come increasingly resentful Of this
sucker role. That resentment was en-
hanced at the Democratic Convention
blythe character of the civil rights
plank and by the effort of the So
called young liberals of the Humphrey.
Moody, Roosevelt. jr., type to force
Southern delegations to take loyalty
oath" before the candidates had been
named or the platform adopted. They
see these young liberals" now high
among the counselors of Mr.. Stevenson
(whom some irreverent listeners to his
speeches have begun to call "The Little
Joker') and considering his selection Of
Senator Sparkman OF Alabama as his
running mate-feel more sappish than
ever.
In the South, Gen. Eisenhower is
personally more popular than any other
Republican candidate who can be re-
called and undoubtedly he will get more
votes. He easily might carry several
Southern States and he might very cas-
lily carry none. His chances are said
to be best in Virginia (where Senator
Byrd significantly has not yet expressed
a presidential preference), Texas, Flor
ida and Louisiana, in which States THE
Little Joker's" Endorsement Of the Tru-
man position on the coastal oil ques-
tion undoubtedly has hurt him. How
ever, with all the reason for casting 1t
off, that 80-year-old Southern habit Of
voting Democratic is hard to break.