Evening star., 1952-09-21
Sees Stevenson Paying
For CIO Support.
Writer Says People Won't
Embossed President
By Eronk R. Kent

For while the friends of Mr.. Ste
venson were delighted with the failure
of General Eisenhower and Senator Rob-
ert Taft to get together and agree ON
Mr.. Taft'S part In the campaign. They
rejoiced in the stories from the Steven
son supporting columnists that Sena.
tor Taft was insisting upon General
Eisenhower giving him, Gin writing"
commitments not only as to policies but
as to major administration appoint.
mertS.
No one not feeble-minded could think
for q moment that Senator Taft would
make so insulting proposal or that
General Eisenhower would do anything
except reject 1t If he did. Nevertheless.
1t was such an entrancing prospect
from their angle that the Stevenson
propagandiSts spread this idea all over
the country and were still spreading it
at the time of the Eisenhower
breakfast. It then developed that no
commitments in writing or otherwise
had been asked or given; that while the
two men differed in detail on number
of things, there were no fundamental
differences between them, nothing to
prevent Senator Taft from being whole
hearted in his advocacy. There was on
neither side any compromise of princi-
pie.
This. naturally, was disappointing to
the Stevenson management, which for
weeks had been trying to drive q wedge
between General like" and Senator Taft.
When that effort failed Governor Ste
venson stopped personally talking about
the "two-headed elephant and, in his
merry way, announced that Senator
Taft had now taken over the Republi.
can campaign and the general was no
longer in charge. OF course, Governor
Stevenson knows this Is not true and
1t seems rather cheap for him to say
that 1t is. However, 1t being now i'm
possible further to dwell on the division
in the Republican Party. perhaps there
is nothing else for him to say except to
denounce its unity. Or, perhaps, this
picturing OF the generals surrender"
and Senator Taft's assumption of com.
mand" Is just another example Of the
irresistible wit and humor with which
the Little Joker" interlards all his
speeches and press conference utter
anceS.
At any rate. this change of Stevenson
strategy forced by the Eisenhower Taft
accord apparently is not displeasing to
the Eisenhower managers. They say
and with truth-that despite the Steven-
son statements and the outpourings of
the Stevenson columnists. few will be-
lieve that like" paid a price" for the
Taft support inconsistent with his self.
respect or compromising his basic be-
iefs. In brief, the accord with Taft
will lose IKE" no support Except pos
sibly that of Senator Morse) and will
gain him many thousands of Taft SUD-
porters all over the country who were
dragging their feet"
Certainly no such ''price" was paid
by IKE" for his accord with Taft as
was paid by Gov. Stevenson in his bid
for the labor-boss support. In his Labor
Day speech he heroically told the CIO
leaders that Il am not your captive"
Then. by a miraculous coincidence, he
found that what he had to say was
exactly 100 per- cent what the cheering
C1O bosses wanted him to say-to wit.
that ne is hatly for repeal Of the Taft
Hartley Act. though previously he had
expressed himself for the law with modi-
+f1cations. which happens exactly to
describe not only Gen. Eisenhower's po-
sition but also that Of Senator Taft
hlmseh. 1t does not seem too much to
describe the Governors declarations on
this occasion as an unusually subtle
exhibition of double talk" There are
strong reasons to believe the American
people would like once more to see a
President wholly free of obligations to
labor bosses who time and again have
shown their complete willingness, at
great cost to all the people, to strangle
the national economy in order to get
their way, regardless Of war or national
crisis.