Evening star., 1952-07-26

These are Tie IuGu dTOuuQ AQla
stevenson, the Democratic noml.
|nee for the presidency:
Closest of these men perhaps i.
William Mccormick Blair, jr.
He is 35. tall, dark and hand.
some, the scion of a wealthy Chi.
|cago family. He's an eligible male
like his boss.
Mr.. Blair became acquainted
with Adlia Stevenson when botI
were members of the William Aller
White Committee to defeno
America by aiding the Allies. Thi.
was before the United States gor
into World War II.
Mr.. Blair and Gov. Stevenson
also have long been fellow mem.
bers of the board of the Chicago
Council on Foreign Relations.
Blair's father, William McCor.
mick Blair, is a first cousin O.
Col. Robert r. Mccormick, pub.
Usher of the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune has been Gov
Stevenson's most bitter and un.
Irelenting political foe.
Fine Tennis Player.
The publisher has town hous
a block north of the three-stor.
brick mansion at 1416 Astor street
where young Blair was reared
Next door is the home of Mrs
Joseph T. Bowen, his grand
mother, who at 80 is the gran,
old lady of Chicago society.
The Blair summer home a
Lake Bluff is Mr.. Blair's lega
residence.
Another Blair cousin is Fowle
McC cCormick, a director and for
mer board chairman of the Inter
national Harvester Co.
Mr.. Blair, a fine tennis playe
and member of the exclusive
Racquet Club just around th'
corner from the Astor stree
home. was graduated from sh'
Groton School at Groton, Mass
in 1885.
He received his bachelors de
gree from Leland Stanford Uni
versity in 1910, and attended th'
Virginia Law School.
During World War II, he servet
as a captain of Air Force intelli
gence in the China Burma India
theater.
After being mustered out, Mr.
Blair returned to the Universit,
of Virginia Law School where h,
was graduated in 1947 with al
LIB. degree.
Shapes Daily Schedule.
Mr.. Blair makes up the Gov
ernor's daily schedule. handling
appointments and travel arrange
ments.
He has lived in the executive,
mansion at Springfield with Gov
Stevenson since leaving tn,
Chicago law firm of Wilson &
McIlvaine in June. 1850, to joil
the Governors staff.
The young attorney also is :
member of Phi Delta legal frater'
nifty and member of the boarc
of the Chicago Juvenile Protective
Association.
Mr.. Blair's two brothers, Bower
and Edward Mccormick, are as
sociated with their father in th'
family investment firm. William
Blair 6z Son.
Newspaperman as Aide.
Gov. Stevenson's press aide /
a former Chicago newspaperman
William I. Flanagan. 36, who's
official title in the State govern
n,ent is superintendent of the Di
vision of Department Reports. H
has been with the Governor sine
January. 1949.
Mr.. Flanagan, married and tn
father of three daughters, wa
born at Peoria where he wa
graduated from a Catholic pre-
school, Spalding Institute.
Mr.. Flanagan was graduate,
from Loyola University, Chicago
in 1888 and began his career a
a reporter for the United Press.
From 1889 to 1943 he was a re
porter and rewrite man for tn
Chicago Daily News.
When Marshal Field III Starte,
the Chicago Sun, Mr.. Flanagan
was employed by Managing Edito
James w. Mulroy as rewrite maj
and day city editor.
He left newspaper work to joil
the public relations firm of How
ard G.. Mayer in 1948. The lat
Mr.. Mulroy became Gov. Steven
sons campaign manager in 1914
and brought Mr.. Flanagan II
Springfield as the Governors pres
relations man.
Besides handling Gov. Steven
sons official statements ant
speeches, Mr.. Flanagan super
vises a corps of statehouse pres
agents.
School Ties With Editors.
Both Gov. Stevenson and Mr
Blair had school ties with editor
and writer's of national magazine
and daily newspapers.
The result probably was tn
finest buildup any Democrati
candidate has had since Presiden
Roosevelt.
Mr.. Flanagan makes appoint
ments for press interviews an
photographers and entertains visit
ing scribes when they come t
Springfield.
Gov. Stevenson's family back
ground and experiences in tn