Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1952-07-25


last night and early today over
the combined forces of Sen. Estes
Kefauver of Tennessee and w.
Averell Hartman of New York.
The Stevenson men were credited
with bringing back into the con-
vention fold bolt-threatening dele
cations from Virginia, South Caro-
lima and Louisiana.
They won a clear cut, though
narrow-margin victory in keeping
the delegates at work in a 14-hour
session but they had to surrender
finally and allow adjournment in
the early morning hours because
of what had all of the early ear
marks of filibuster by the Kefau-
Hartman coalition.
With the start of the balloting
only a few hours away, the AS
sociated Press tabulation of known
first ballot standings was:
Kefauver 272k.
Stevenson 215.
Sen. Richard Russell of Georgia
2O7.
Hartman 107R.
Others 2471a.
Needed to nominate 615h.
Working together in what they
have styled a liberal combine
which has attracted supporters of
some other candidates, Kefauver
and Hartman took a 615 to 529
licking in efforts to prevent the 28-
vote Virginia delegation from bal
loting on presidential and vice
presidential nominees.
1t was the first time such a coali-
ton has been defeated on an inn
portant roll call in a Democratic
convention since the early days of
the late Franklin d. Roosevelt.
The result might presage swing
toward a more conservative type
of campaign if Stevenson emerges
as the winner-especially if he
gets Southern support in the NOM
ination drive being put on for him.
The Virginians had refused to
subscribe fully to a new loyalty
pledge put across by the XIII COM
bine which would require delegates
to go to work to place the con-
vention's nominees on their states
November ballot, under the Demo-
cratic label.
In the uproarious two-hour wran-
gle that followed this test vote,
Rep. John Mccormack of Massa-
chusetts-filling in temporarily
for convention chairman Sam Ray
burn of Texas gavelled the
pledge-balking South Carolina and
Louisiana delegations back on the
roll call from which they had been
stricken when they refused to take
the loyalty pledge.
The net result was to leave the
three delegations in a position to
cast total of Ga convention votes
for the South's champion, Sen.
Richard B. Russell
Then, if they didn't like the
eventual nominee, they could 60
home and name their own candi-
date for president in state conven-
tions. All they appeared to be
pledged to do, as Gov. James F.
Byrnes of South Carolina explain
ed it to the delegates, was to give
the national party place on their
state ballots.
ByrneS was In the center of an
unscheduled bit of excitment when
newspaper caught fire near him
while he was speaking. Television
viewers saw Peter ]. Cloherty of
Boston, an assistant sergeant of
arms, seize the microphone from
Byrnes and shout:
Don't get panicky. It's only a
newspaper. 1t will be put out in a
minute"
1t was put out in about a min
ute, but there was tense anxiety
as the milling crowd was admon-
ished not to get panicky.
Asst. Fire. Commissioner An
thony j. Mullaney said he thought
the blaze may have been set delib-
erately in an effort to force an
adjournment of the proceedings.
The Stevenson bandwagon driv-
ers, sensing a gain in momentum.
were all for preventing a halt.
Backers of the Illinois governor
were confident he could hold the
South in line and apparently were
counting on some of the delega-
tions to go his way if Russell fad
ed.
But Sen. Thomas Hennings of
Missouri and strange array of
cohorts threw up something of a
!. roadblock against any Dixie