Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-23


system before it can hope to el
Maryland's loQuacious chic
Republicans surrounded by IL
Democrats at this conference.
told his colleagues:
I'm the South. one party too
long has taken for granted the
sectional solidarity at election
time. A few rebellious uprisings
in presidential election years
are not enough to convince the
clique in control of the ma
tional conventions. They shrug
them of as the exceptions to
the rule"
Gov. McKeldin reminded his
fellow governors that Maine
and Pennsylvania similarly
were taken for granted by the
Republican Party until the
Democratic organizations be-
came strong.
S1h|NNN@oA AA~NS@@N~C@~
Now that those States have
elected Democratic governors,
and Pennsylvania a Democratic
Senator, he said, 1T well may
be that they will obtain. in
some future Republican con-
ventions. more of the respect
full attention they deserve.
The Maryland governor was
discussing the question can
\ Southerner be elected Presi-
dent?" which was presented in
. formal address at the OPEN
ing session by Gov. Leroy Col
Inns, Democrat Of Florida.
Gov. Collins opened the dis
cussion by laying down the pro-
position that a Southerner can
be elected President If he meets
three requirements-a man Of
outstanding competence" with
absolute and unquestioned al
legiance to the national well
fare, and the ability to sell him.
self to the entire Nation.
The Florida Governor seemed
to agree to some extent with
Gov. McKeldin, when he said
that. never again will the
South as a whole be in the
bag for any political party"
He pointed out that in the
iirst Eisenhower election seven
out of Is Southern and Border
States strayed from the Demo-
cratic fold. and in the second
Eisenhower victory the Presi-
dent carried 10 of those States.
Sentiment for q Man
Emphasizing that these
States were voting for an in
dividual. not for the Republi-
can Party. Gov. Collins said
the controlling American
sentiment in elections no longer
is expressed for or against a
party. but for or against q |
man"
Gov. Collins said the same
national forces that have
made it no longer possible for
the South to count on q vice
presidential nomination as a
reward for voting solid Demo-
cratic also have made it pos
sible for the first time since
the Civil War for q Southerner
to be in a position to win the
presidential nomination.
But the Florida governor also
faced up to the fact that the
racial issue presents a problem
for q Southern candidate, and
he dealt with it forthrightly in
these words:
To-day. undeniably the Ma
ton measures Southern leader
ship by its position on the race
question. An an essential goal
which any serious presidential
candidate must seek is that Of
racial harmony and progress.
No Disadvantage
II firmly believe that a.
presidential candidate from the
South who addresses the issue
honestly will be at no disad-
vantage in a campaign. In the
first place. the racial problem
Is not by any means altogether
q Southern one. It is national
in scope. 1t stirs the good and
bad in people in Chicago as
well as in Tallahassee. The
whole country-North, South,
East and VESTS anxiously
looking for honorable and
peaceful solutions"
The governor argued that
the racial problem was eco
nomic as well as ethnic, and
that improvement did not de-
pend upon an immediate end
to segregation throughout
America"
At the same time he as
serted that the prevailing
sentiment was that the Nation
believes that the decisions Of
the United States Supreme
Court are the law Of the land
and insisted that ours be
land Of the law. He said it did
not sanction violence. defiance
and disorder. and above all. it
abhors hate"
He said the Southern leader
who understands and accepts
these facts will find himself not
opposed to national sentiment.
but in harmony with it. He who
does not might as well stay
home"
Governor Warned
In closing. Gov. Collins said.
If the South should wrap
itself in a Confederate blanket
and consume itself in racial
Juror, 1t would surely miss its
greatest opportunity for chan
neling into a wonderful future
the products OF change now
taking place And we should
face up to the further fact that
1t would also bury itself politi-
cally for decades to come
AS they arrived here yester-
day the Governors. including
the chairman GOv Iuthar