Evening star., 1952-06-29
RuIeor Ruin
Is Taft Spirit,
Flanders Says
Eisenhower Bucker
And CIO Official
AssuiI Ohio Senator
By W. H. Shippen
Stor Stoff Correspondent

stor Stoff Correspondent
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va, June
28.-Champions of Gen. Eisen-
hover and labor joined in an at
tack here tonight on Senator Taft
in the same arena dominated by
the Senator last night.
The fighting Ohioan is now &C
tivated by a spirit of rule or
ruin," according to Senator Flan-
ders. Republican, of Vermont. One
of the most disturbing aspects of
Mr.. Taft's ambitions, Senator
Flanders said, is that he may split
the party as his father did before
him on the way to the White
House.
To this was added a blast by
James B. Carey, secretary-trea
urer of the CIO, who declared:
when I say that the presence
of Senator Taft in these halls
profanes the memory of Thomas
Jefferson, 1 do not engage in
personalities.
"Men of Privilege" Hit.
Taft and his supporters, the
men of extreme reaction, the men
of privilege: profiteering and
power-grabs, symbolic the full
fruition of the forces that would
destroy the structure of Democ-
racy that Jefferson designed"
Mr.. Carey said in his prepared
address that organized labor will
try to stop Taft, and he issued
a warning:
"Organized labor and it's friends
will do everything possible to pre-
vent it-not only for the Nation S
sake but for its own sake-but
if Taft wins. no union leader
today can predict today what
may happen.
IF Taftism means license for,
wage-cutting and union busting
as already it seems to mean
organized labor may well decide
to defend its democratic gains in
its own way"
Warns of Rebellion
American unionists and mil
lions of others who would see in
the destruction of democratic
unioniSm the potential deStruc-
tion of all other democratic inSti-
tutions would ponder with Jeffer-
son in 1887: What country be-
fore ever existed a century and a
half without a rebellion?'"
In the last two days. the Uni
VerSity of Virginia'S institute of
public affairs has run more to
political slugging matches of a
presidential year than to the usual
exchange of views on an intel
lectual level.
Senator Flanders, one of Gen.
EisenhoWer'S Staunchest support
ers, told the audience that wheth-
er the Republicans nominate
Senator Taft or Gen. Eisenhower,
the candidate will be capable of
providing an honest adminiStra-
ton.
I'VE may be assured that either
will endeavor to cut down the
wasteful and destructive spending
which Is bringing us low.
Negative Policy Charged.
But in Mr.. Taft we find in late
years few evidences of anything
except negative policy. He has
served we'll. honorably and con-
structively in the details of legis-
lation. He deserves our graft
tude.
Yet in this great crisis of our
Nation he gives no indication of
a new vision or a new hope. At
his best he is defensive, not con-
structive.
"As such, he appeals to the old
guard and not to youth"
He added:
"a most disturbing aspect of his
candidacy is that he is following
in the footsteps of his father. Will
liam Howard Taft gained control
of the machinery of nomination
in large measure through control
of southern delegations. He con-
trolled the machinery but could
not control the voters. In. conse-
quence the party split and was
out of power for eight years,
though still retaining the voting
strength of a major party"
Threatened With Ruin
The speaker said that "for Taft,
the son, it is rule or ruin and it is
the Republican Party and the Ma
tion which are threatened with
ruin"
Mr.. Carey not only took on Sem
ator Taft, but attacked the ethics
of the press as displayed in presi-
dental elections. He pointed out
that I'VE are discussing tonight
the presidency and the rise of or
ganized labor Big business and
the reactionary daily press-most
of which is either owned by big
business or controlled by big busi-
ness through would
have you believe that there is a
problem fateful to the future of
our Nation in the relation between
the presidency and organized la
bor.
This propaganda (and it can
not be dignifled by any better
name) would have you believe
that labor is a relatively small
pressure group which has inf1u-
ence not only out of proportion
to it's strength but also out of pro-
portion to it's value to the Nation" !"