Evening star., 1952-10-23
Truman Makes
Direct Plea for
Labor Support
Speech at Wheeling
Cites Gains Under
Democratic Regime
By Joseph A. Fox
Sfor Stoff Correspondent

WHEELING, w. va, OCC. 20
President Truman today made a
direct appeal for labor support in
November, declaring the Demo-
cratic Party "haS never let you
down and it never will" as he
bid anew for West Virginia S 8
electoral votes.
Returning to a State which is
one of those hit hardest by the
strike of more than $4,000 soft
coal miners, the President charged
that Senator Nixon of California,
the Republican vice presidential
candidate, is lone of the most
anti-labor men in the Congress" I"
The President asserted that a
G. o. P. victory could wreck the
labor movement.
No Mention of Strike.
In his speech, Mr.. Truman
made no mention of the strike of
the miners, whose chief, John L.
Lewis, has indorsed the Demo-
cratic national ticket.
President Truman was the first
occupant of the White House to
visit Wheeling officially, and sew
eral thousand, including the usual
crop of Ike-shouting youngsters,
heard him.
Mr.. Truman strongly urged the
reelection of Senator Kilgore,
who is opposed by former Senator
Revercomb. Republican.
The President. who campaigned
in West Virginia over the Labor
Day week end, came back today
after spending the night in Pitts
burgh, where he loosed one of his
bitterest attacks on Gen. Eisen-
hover, asserting that the general
is pursuing cheap campaign
tactics that threaten the security
of the Nation.
Getting his first Nationwide
televiSion and radio coverage of
the campaign as he spoke in
,PittSburgh's Syria Mosque, the
President last night slashed back
at Gen. Eisenhower'S criticism of
administration foreign policy,
charging that his former key mill
tary adviser is following the
isolationist line" hurting national
morale and "endangering all the
work" that has been done for
peace.
The Pittsburgh speech topped
off the second day in which Presi-
dent Truman has sought to putt
Pennsylvania 80 electoral votes
in the Democratic column, and he
was moving on through the State
today as he headed toward Wash
ington. Other stops in Cumber-
land, Md. and Harpers Ferry,
w. Va. this afternoon will end
the Prsident's fourth push for
the Stevenson n-Sparkman ticket.
Sees Stevenson Trend.
At the outset here today, Mr..
Truman reported a country wide
swing to Gov. Stevenson among
voters who have been leaning Re-
publican" and he expressed the
hope that he had helped in this
trend by bringing out "the facts"
He said that in his miles of
whistle-stopping he had been
warning what a return to reac-
tionary Republican rule would
mean to this country" and among
those who had better be on guard
he continued, "are the working
men and women of America"
The slogan on the back of Gen.
Eisenhower's campaign train, he
said should read Look >out,
neighbor" rather than Look
ahead, neighbor."
Directing attention to labor's
gains in the last 20 years. Mr..
Truman said there are many en-
ployers who are favorable to the
workers, but there are still men
who hate labor unions and would
like to destroy them"
DenOunces Labor Law.
These, he said, constitute "a
powerful group within the Re-
publican Party" and in support
of his contention, the President
pointed once more to a passage
of the controversial Taft Hartley
Labor Law by the Republican,
controlled 80th Congress. in 1947.
THE Taft-Hartley Act can
wreck the American labor move
ment," he asserted.
Mr.. Truman cited articles in
Business Week and the Wall Street
Journal as indicative of curbs that
labor could expect under Repub-
(See TRUMAN, Page A-3)