Evening star., 1952-05-04
Eisenhower Bockes Put Some Life Into GOP Prory Here
By Crosby S. Moves

The other night at q Republican
rally here in town a young admirer
Of Gen. Eisenhower. suddenly found
himself confronting an umbrella. 1t
was being shaken under his nose,
saber-fashion, by a determined old
man wearing Taft button.
. Get out Of here. you traitor"
cried the umbrella-waver. Get out
and don't poke your nose back in
: here tonight"
II was fiabbergasted," the young
man reported. II got out"
The District Republican primary,
which comes of between May Is and
May %. has some of the earmarks
OF a comic opera and some of q
teapot-tempest. It also happens to
be the closest thing to a real-life
political contest that has been seen
around these parts in many years.
New Meaning
Because there is contest this year,
and because the newspapers have
played the thing with deadpan
seriousness, the G. o. P. primary has
taken on meaning and an interest
that 1t has not had in the memory
of some of the Oldest of the Old
Guard.
Basically. it's still a travesty Of
the democratic process. When they
turn out for their precinct meetings,
District voters will be sitting in con-
vention to elect delegates to a con-
ention who elect delegates to a
convention where the Republican
nomination for President of the
: United States will be made.
: In numerical terms, District Re-
, pubicans will elect 43 delegates who
will elect 43 other delegates-at- large.
Between them, this group of 86 will
name six District representatives ito
the Chicago convention, where 1,206
. delegates are going to choose the
nominee.
Citizens of other cities, who share
the Districts fantastic Republican
primary method, can comfort them
o selves with the thought that, after
all. they will have the final say-So
next November But so far as
Washington is concerned, the pri-
mary is the whole show.
/, The fact that normally self-con-
--trolled residents can work them
selves up to the point Of personal
assault over this kind Of thing is
5puzzling enough in itself. It is the
, more so since it seems probable that
most qualified voters have only the
,dimmeSt kind of notion what
+. issues, II any, are involved in the
election.
Complicated Issues
It's not their fault. In the first
place the issues are complicated
enough so that no two impartial
observers would agree on them. In
the 6econd place, the partisan ef-
forts that have been made to clarity
the issues have contained a liberal
quantity of eye-powder.
So far as most voters are con-
g scerned, the main issue will undoubt-
edly boil down to a Eisenhower
fight. It has the advantage of being
!, simple and personal. 1t gives voters
tIlC CCS1Ok1 tAIdV 0AS ACoAAy
playing q part in the national elec-
.tion.
In most of the city precincts,
voters will choose between two can
= didates. One will represent the Re-
publican State Committee. The
other will represent the Eisenhower
President Club. It seems likely
. that most Ike boosters will vote
:. for the Eisenhower tag. It seems
certain Senator Taft'S rooters will
vote for the committee candidate.
The Realities
This issue has been fostered by the
Eisenhower people and has gained
hold on the popular imagination. 1t
is not, however. entirely real.
Although it is true that the Eisen-
hover Club is all-out for its candi-
date. it is not true that the Central
Committee is all-out fer Taft. Dis