Evening star., 1953-12-20
Stevenson Is Charged
With Demogoguery
Writer BIomes 1852 Condiduts
For Lowering Political Level
By Fronk R. Kent

By Fronk R. Kent
Apparently, 1t has become journal
istically fashionable to write specula-
lively about the 1856 presidential
candidacy of Adlai Stevenson every time
he makes a speech. In view of the
obvious fact that he is running now
about as hard and fast as he can again
to capture his party's nomination. this
speculation is becoming increasingly
absurd. Not one of his party friends
and certainly not one Of his party
rivals has the remotest doubt concern
ing what he is after.
1t is perfectly natural and proper for
Mr.. Stevenson to cherish these ambi-
tions and to extend himself and
his hand-picked chairman, Stephen
Mitchell. in an effort to realize them.
However 1t is just as natural and
proper to point out that under the
circumstances the coyneSs with which
he avoids all attempts to get frank
statement out of him on this subject
is not easy to reconcile with the reputa-
ton for candor which has been built
up for him. There is, in fact, a GER
tain Pecksnifian flavor to some of his
utterances that is beginning to be
noted Every week laudatory articles
emanate from the co-called liberal
columnists depicting him as a noble.
high-minded statesman. far above the
average politician mentioned for the
presidency and one who never stoops
to demagoguery.
This picture of Mr. Stevenson as
living on level so lofty that they
cannot hope to reach it is naturally
not greatly admired by the Democratic
politicians bitten, as he is, by the pres
idential bee. Their view is that this is
by no means a true likeness OF Mr..
Stevenson and that he is just as much
of politician as the rest of them, and
just as ready to demagogue when it
seems expedient. There does seem quite
some foundation for this idea. and his
pretense of nonpartisanShip is not very
convincing. Certainly, his complete
surrender to the labor bosses during
his campaign, when after first taking
practically the same stand as Gen.
Eisenhower on the Taft-Hartley Act.
he came out flat-footedly for its repeal.
has never been adequately explained by
either himself or his friends. 1t is true
that he does not aSsaI President
Eisenhower personally and that once
or twice. as in his most recent speech.
he went so far as to commend an
Eisenhower utterance on foreign policy,
whereupon the laudatory liberals burst
out in a chorus of 'Oh, how noble!
But. there are reasons for that. One
is that Gen. EisenhoWer'S personal
popularity is still so great that there
is no nourishment in personal at
tack. A second is that his United
Nations speech was so sound and sim
cere that it was applauded not only
bv all the free world but by some
Democratic papers that had supported
Mr.. Stevenson. However, though MI.
Stevenson in his Philadelphia speech
associated himself with the President
in his historic utteranceS, ne also
enunciated a paragraph which got
scant attention until reprinted by
Arthur Krock in the New York Times.
It follows: 1.-The Bill of Rights is be-
sieged, ancient liberties infringed. reck-
less words uttered, vigilante groups are
formed, suspicion, mistrust and rear
stalk the land, political partisanship
raises strange and ugly heads, the Sc
curity of secret files is violated and
the specter of political police
emergeS."
If this is not rank demagoguery, 1t
is hard to describe it. This might
have come from Chairman Mitchell
and his Democratic Digest, or from
former Vice President Barkley. or from
Mr.. Stevenson's running mate, Senator
Sparkman. But surely Mr.. Stevenson
knows better. He knows the Bill OF
Rights is not beSieged, that suspicion,
mistruSt and fear do not stalk the
land; that the security of secret files
has not been violated and that no
"specter of political police emerges."
For such a sweeping, partisan and
wholly inaccurate statement OF our
internal conditions there is no excuse.
It could come from a Senator Hum
phrey or a Senator Kerr or even Sem
ator Kefauver without causing much
surprise.
But to come from the noble Adlai.
the high-minded statesman who lives
on the level above the ordinary poll
ticians, it is somewhat sickening. Dis
tinctly, he lowered the level. To those
who like the truth it would seem to
force the conclusion that he is not the
man his eggheaded intellectual sup
porters claim he is-and never was.
Despite the Gridiron Dinner comment
last week that he would rather be
bright than be President" it might be
better for Mr.. Stevenson to stick to
being funny, even though sometimes
not too felicitously, than to resort to
open demagoguery AS jokester he
would not be formidably challenged in
his own party but as demagogue he
has real competition in both.