Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-04-18
Gov. Stevenson Steals
Show al Democrats
Dinner 10 Hartman

@Nh" 4OI11A, AplL II 1O.-O6IIlO-
Gratis trotted out their presidential
aspirantS at $100-a-plate dinner
last night and found the star of
their show was man who said he
couldn't take the nomination
Gov. Adlai E. Stevenson of ILL
noiS.
This left in a political swivel
New York organization leaders
who called county chairman to-
gether today for a meeting de-
signed to indorse w. Averell Har-
riman as the States favorite son.
The expected Hartman indorse-
ment would make the Mutual Sc
curity Administrator a holding
candidate who would keep New
York's 94-vote convention delega-
ton intact for the July Chicago
convention.
Beyond that, there was little ex-
pectation that the 60-year-old
scion of wealthy railroad family
would go anywhere on a National
scale
Lucky to Get on Ticket.
In the view of many party poll
ticianS here, he would be lucky to
land on the Democratic ticket as
the nominee for Senate to oppose
Republican Senator Irving M. Ives
in the November election.
The confusion into which the
party had been plunged by Presi-
dent Truman's announcement he
would not seek denomination nor
accept a draft may have empha-
sized the f1neSSe with which Gov
Stevenson gave the Democrats
chuckling-but probably final
rundown.
In contrast with the unsuccess-
full attempts of Senator Kefauver
of Tennessee to arouse the party
faithful, Gov. Stevenson had the
banqueteers holding their sides
from the moment he began by
saying he was making a fraudu-
lent appearance, since he was run
ming only for Governor of Illinois,
and not for President.
Vice President Barley whipped
the Democrats into mild frenzy
at the dinner by telling them
their party is bound to win in
November because it deserves to
win, because it is right"
Won't Tell Plans.
The Vice President indicated
to me that he has no present
intention of announcing whether
he is a candidate.
This seemed to- make Mr..
Barley, always a popular figure
with the Democrats, the chief
darkhorse candidate in a cam
paign where there now is no
dominant personality in precon-
vention speculation.
Mr.. Hartman, praised by every
speaker as a patriot who had
spent Is years in Government
service, bid for national recogni-
ton in a bouncing, televised
speech.
He said foreign and domestic
policies couldn't be diveded, de-
spite the fact that his Republican
opponents already have begun to
tee off on him because of his sup
port of the Yalta agreements.
G.. o. P. partisans insist these
agreements gave Russia a vital
foothold in China.
Sees Kremlin Wavering.
In the face of what some have
interpreted as a new Moscow
peace offensive" Mr.. Hartman
insisted that 1.-The Kremlin is
wavering, adding:
If the &C. o. P) voices of hest
tation prevail. they will under
mine what we have built and de-
stroy the leadership of the United
States"
This was a good Democratic
doctrine, but the faithful came to
hear a new post Truman political
Messiah and seemed not to find
him.
The upshot was talk-though
mostly in whiSpers-that the Pres
ident could be drafted to run
again, even though he says he
won't respond to such a move. AS
some Democrats put it, why
don't we just nominate him and
then see what happens?"
Senator Kefauver. the top man
in the number of delegates pledged
thus far and winner in five pri-
maries, seemed somewhat unim-
pressive in a speech he read halt
ingly.
But while the other potential
candidates supped complacently att
the dower-decked head table, the
Tennessee Senator busted himself
circulating among the black-tied,
evening-gowned guests, shaking
hands and signing autograph
books.
Message From Truman.
Representative Franklin D..
Roosevelt, jr.. served as toast
master and introduced the presi-
dental aspirants. His appearance
was regarded as something of a