Evening star., 1952-07-08
1t Would Appear That Nobody Lost

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~ very much pleased today over what
of the Republican convention. It was
as If everybody. including the delegates
and the candidates, had been in tough
fight and everybody had won.
The issue over the dirty business in
Louisiana, Texas and other Republican
strongholds Of the Deep South had been
satisfactorily Settled-for the time being.
The honor Of the Republican Party had
thus been vindicated. The faith of the
people had been restored. And, with
their sins washed away by vote Of 658-
548. afterward made practically unani-
nous. in favor Of muzzling contested
delegates until admitted to the fold by
the convention itself, Gen. MacArthur's
great speech sent them home and to bed
full Of righteous hope for their cause
and righteous Indignation at the way
the Democrats have been running the
country for the past 20 years.
It did seem. for while yesterday aft
ernoon, that things might not turn out
SO happily. Great anxiety was freely ex-
pressed lest the Republican Party be rent
in twain. Senator Taft's adherents were
eloquent in their predictions that this
would be the unhappy result if there was
unseemly controversy over the delegate
issue. They frankly expressed a prefer
ence for leaving it alone. The Eisen-
hover people, deaf to such earnest pleas,
were adamant. So they fought the thing
through, and won smashing victory
over the Taft supporters.
Gen. Eisenhower thought it was q
smashing victory, and issued a state
ment to the effect that the people had
proved that right viii prevail. And Sen
ator Taft seemed to think 1t was a
smashing victory for him. He said, in
effect, that 1t assured his nomination,
Senator Taft thus did what is called
turning defeat into victory. How he
managed to do it may be explained later
on, but not at this moment, or by this
correspondent.
That Senator Taft was able to do this
probably came as a surprise to such
great men as Clarence Brown and Dave
ingalls, Of Ohio. and John D. M. Hamil-
ton. When the delegate fight got under
way yesterday afternoon, they were
present on the platform in the rear of
Chairman Gabrielson. They were in
frequent conference with their lieuten-
uninformed observers from the press
section that the machine they have been
running so well, machine referred to
by hostile critics as steamroller, had
started to roll backward instead of for
ward. In the first place, they did not
want to start it at all. Let well enough
alone. they seemed to say. But If they
had to start it, they wanted 1t to run
frontward. not backward.
1t would be gross exaggeration to
say that the expression on the faces of
Mr.. Brown. Mr.. ingalls, and Mr.. Hamil-
ton indicated CONSERVATION, exaspera-
tlon or even annoyance over this acci-
dent. These gentlemen do not wear their
hearts on their sleeves, or their express
SionS on their faces. In this respect, they
are unlike Senator Lodge. one of the
generalissimoS in charge of Gen. Eisen-
hover. When Senator Lodge came out
on the platform, with several of his
corps commanders. just before the
steamroller began to move backward.
instead of forward, he did have an ex-
preston on his face. It was that ex-
preston of secret content commonly
associated with cat that has Just swal-
lowed the canary. The Senator acted
like man who knew he had the votes.
because he had just counted them.
The signal for the start of the fight
was two-gun salute. Senator Bricker
OF Ohio, who is a fine man to have at
convention because Of his good looks
and his majestic voice, fired the first
one by moving that the rules that had
governed the Republican convention for
the past 40 years be adopted. The sense
of what he said was that If these rules
were good enough for father, they are
good enough for me. And then Gov.
Arthur B. Langlie of Washington fired
the second gun, offering a substitute
motion. It sounded extraordinarily COM
plicated. But the delegates knew what
it meant. Those So contested delegates
from the South must not vote on any
question in the convention or on any
committee until their contests had been
decided by the convention itself.
Chairman Gabrielson, confronted by
this disagreement, received much hur-
ried and well intended advice from both
sides. Before acting, however, he de-
manded that the aisles be cleared. In
fact. whenever Mr.. Gabrielson seemed
to be pondering some deep question, he
found temporary relaxation in COM
planning about the aisles. And well he
might complain. The aisles are very
narrow. When two delegates pass
they crowd each other as well
as the aisle. This was the source of
great annoyance to MIR. Gabrielson. At
one time, it appeared likely that the
delegates might get their first oppor-
tunity in lifetime to see convention
sergeant-at-arms in action. Few people
have ever seen sergeant-at-arms in
action. and great many Of them
thought that at last they would see
what sergeant-at-arms really does.
No soap. None of the sergeants-at-
arms could be found by MIR. Gabriel
son, although he had just appointed
them. So the delegates were threat
ened with action Of some sort by the
Chicago Police and Fire Departments.