Evening star., 1956-08-29

campaign" theme features in all
off-the-cuff statements.
Joe Smith"-the elusive vice
presidential candidate who re-
: ceived short shift from the Re-
:publicans at the Cow Palace-is
;eleefully revived on every pos
tsible occasion. Nixon Dixon
and Yates" are joined in unholy
partnership whenever the Demo-
cratic candidates see the opening
Major Issues Sharpened
Apart from gimmicks, the
Snajor issues themselves have
become sharper in the last two
days.
~ Moving from Santa Fe--where
| Ethe talk spread itself thinly over
! everything from water to In
NdianS-to the power hungry Pa
cific Northwest, Mr.. Stevenson
for the first time sank his teeth
deeply into solid political meat.
"The record of the Eisenhower
administration on natural re-
resources" he announced in
Vancouver, could hardly be
worse. 1t has confronted us
.agaiM with a great national
policy decision that was settled
I 30 years whether our ma
! tionai treasures of water, forest
sAnd land are to be -. developed
@for all or given away to a fa-
ssgored few"
- Vice Presidential Candidate
Estes Kefauver was blunter.
After a tour. of the Bonneville
Dam on the Columbia River,
Senator Kefauver told the crowd !:
Il want to tell you folks, and
especially the youngsters-if we
hadn't had a Democratic admin
iStration and a great Democratic
President, Franklin Roosevelt,
we never would have had a
Bonneville Dam, or any other
dam on the Columbia River"
Charges BRING Applause
Public power, the Senator
made it clear. was the private
preserve. the lasting monument.
and the permanent program of
the Democratic Party. The Re-
publican attitude toward the de-
yelopment of natural resources
was destructive" The Eisen-
hover administration, Senator
kefauver said. had produced
mot one new kilowatt-hour"
pf electricity since taking over
sand it never will"
- The crowo of about 1000 who
waited an hour to hear the can
@didates, seemed pleased. Each
reference to Republican give
xeways" brought a new burst of
! applause.
i And yet, while the attack was
Sharpening and the issues were
looming clear. Mr. Stevenson's
trip still added up to an unusual
and slightly weird performance
Although the candidates are
making public speeches and
plugging local candidates, it
hardly amounts to a real cam
paign. The crowds are assembled
haphazardly. There is almost
no advance preparation, no
bands, tickertape or any other
Of the modern campaign con-
veniences.
Local Backers Encouraged
Nor is 1t really what it is ad-
vertised to be. AS a "fact-
finding tour, the present trip
certainly rates as a prime wash
,ssout. Mr.. Stevenson has learned
~hothing since leaving Liberty
@Fille that he couldn't have been
told in an afternoon by any in
Formed grass-roots politician.
Some value, at considerable
expense. has perhaps been
gained in popping up the local
organizations. A more hard
boiled dividend has been reaped
In headlines. and the psychology
ical advantage in getting the
jump on the opposition.
But for all the observer can
tell, the major point to this ex-
ercise-and the only perceptible
result achieved so far-is to re-
assure the Democratic leaders
that they really have a chance
Of winning the election on No
vember s. After all the public
fanfare and hoopla, there is a
very noticeable "let's-get-down-
robustness" feeling when the
party chiefs gather behind closed
doors for their daily business
session.
Hard Work stressed
Make no mistake about these
so-called strategy meetings"
that are being held. They are
not sessions where deep-laid
schemes are pounded out for the
coming campaign. For the most
part they amount to a kind Of
mutual pep-talk between region
sl and national leaders. There
ihJs good deal Of reciprocal back
scratching and chest-pounding
Basic slogans are repeated over