Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-12-04
The Political Mil
Mitchell Hopes to End
6. P. Growth in Dixie
Chairman Never Discounted
Necessity for Solid South
By Gould Lincoln


By Gould Lincoln
NEW ORLEANS, La. The Demo-
cratic National Party has come South
to celebrate its victory in the 1854
congressional and gubernatorial cleo
tons. There is, of course. reason.
The wide breach. driven between the
Democrats of the South and of the
North during the two decades of Roose-
welt and Truman. needs further healing.
No Democratic national chairman
has been more aSsiduous in his efforts
to unite the party than National Chair
man Stephen A. Mitchell. The selec-
ton of New Orleans for the victory
celebration is in line with his choice Of
Miami, Fla, for q big Democratic
gathering last March. Mr.. Mitchell is
not one of those Northern Democrats
who believe the Democratic solid
South" is to be taken for granted. In
fact, this was demonstrated two years
ago when four of these States gave their
electoral votes to President Eisenhower
and against the Democratic presidential
nominee, Adlai Stevenson.
The solid South" for political par
lance is composed of the IL States
which seeded from the Union in 1851,
and which, from 1875 until 1920, never
ieviated from their loyalty to the Demo-
cratic Party in presidential elections.
Even in 1920 only one of the II States
TenneSSee-switched and cast it's votes
for the Republican, Warren G.. Hard
ing, Some of these States went Repub-
lican during the Reconstruction Period
from 1868 to 1872. This was due to
the influx of "carpetbaggers" and the .,
limitations on the franchise imposed
by the Republicans, in charge of the
Federal Government at the time. In
1924, the South was again solidly,
Democratic for the party presidential
nominee, John w. Davis. But it was
torn apart again four years later. Re-
publican Herbert Hoover carried five
of the Southern States over the late,
AL Smith of New York. Here was no
issue of Republican and Democrat, how
ever 1t was the religious issue raised
against Smith, plus the wet and dry.
issue of the day. Smith was Catholic
and he was wet.
Solid South in 1882.
In 1882, the solid South was again
doing business at the old stand. Frank
lin D. Roosevelt had been nominated
over the loud protests of the Smith
followers. With the depression, which,
struck the country during the Hoover
administration. as their main political
asset. the Democrats swept Roosevelt
into office. ,
In the Democratic convention of 1885,
when Roosevelt was renominated, the
old two-thirds rule for nominating
presidential candidates was thrown out,
and with it went much of the power
OF the solid South in party affairs.
Thereafter the New Dealers continued
in complete control of the party. But
the Southern conservative Democrats in
Congress broke away, first in 1887 in OPP
position to President Roosevelt's Su-
preme Court packing bill The fat was
in the fire. But in 1910 and again
IN 1914 the Democrats of the South
stuck firmly to the party's presidential
nominee.
Then the Truman Fair Dealers SO in
censed the Southern Democrats with :
their civil rights program that in 1948
Dixiecrat presidential candidate. the
then Gov. Thurmond of South Carolina, %
took four States of the solid South,
This was the situation up to 1852, when
there was another fierce row in the
Democratic National Convention, with T.
the Northern liberals ready to turn the
southern Democratic leaders out of the
party Republican candidate Eisenhower
IN the following November carried
Texas, Virginia. Florida and Tennessee.
chairman Mitchell does not want this.
Hopping over to continue on the part
OF the South. 1t might become a habit.
For years, the Democrats of the South :
have had a powerful hand in Congress. =
They will in the coming 84th Congress-.
when Sam Rayburn of Texas will be -
Speaker of the House, and Senator /,
Lyndon johnson, also of Texas, will be
majority leader of the Senate. Nearly.
all OF the most important standing
committees OF the House and Senate =
VIII have chairmen from the South. The
seniority rule, which gives the South 4.
ernerS the advantage because of long
continuous service, is responsible.
No Nominee. :.
But the Democrats of the South have =
not had a presidential nominee sincen
the Civil War and Reconstruction DAYS.
despite the able men who have repre- :
sented them. Woodrow Wilson came
closest. He was born in Virginia. but
wnen ne was nominated for President :
ne was Governor of New Jersey and-
nao oeen president of Princeton. Back
IN 1924. there was a considerable,
Southern demand for the nomina ton
OF Senator Oscar w. Underwood of Ala
bama. 1t was not until 1852, however,,
mat TWO serious contenders for the.
Democratic presidential nomination en-.
tered the field-Senator Russell off,
Georgia and Senator Kefauver of Ten,
nessee. The latter was really the,
runner-up to Adlai Stevenson. SOUTH,
ern Democrats themselves have BEEN
IN part TO blame-they have feared the
North and the West would not counte-;
nance a Southern Democrat and would,
oppose a nominee for President from;
that section. More recently, the Demo-,
Gratis OF the North and West have been,
strongly opposed to the selection of a
Southerner because of the civil rights
program and their own dependence on,
the labor vote and the Negro vote for
victory at the polls. =,
The Democrats of the South have
had several vice presidential nomi-y
nees-one of them, Jack Garner Of,
Texas, was elected with Franklin D..
Roosevelt twice. Mr.. Garner would not
go along with Roosevelt when he,
smashed the third term traditions