Evening star., 1960-07-12
kennedyPace
Stepped Up as
Victory Nears
BY ROBERT X. WALSH
Star stan Writer

Star stan Writer
LOS ANGELES, July 12.-Al.
though the Democratic presi-
dental nomination appears tt
be practically in his hand, Sen.
ator Kennedy is not letting ur
on his missionary work among
the delegates who must make
it Official.
The current task of suggest.
ing a running mate will moi
crowd out further visits to State
delegations.
Today's announced "partia
schedule" subject to expansion
as time and the convention tidt
allow. calls for trips to Nortl
Carolina, New England, wy,
oming, South Dakota anC
California caucuses. Their
were twice as many yesterda.
from 8 am. until his late
afternoon news conference. Blu
he insists there will be no slow
down in attending to even tn,
smallest detail.
He indicates that whether O.
not he needs more help towarc
the magic figure Of 76l conven,
ton votes. he regards sucl
visits as far more than cour.
tesy calls or political pep talks
Looks to Election
In his round of caucuse
ranging from Alaska to Florids
yesterday he requested dele.
gates not merely to vote TO,
him in the convention hall, bu
to do all they could to elec
him President in November,
He emphasized this particu
larly to Southern State dele.
gates. He promised to cam,
paign in person as vigorousl,
below the Mason-Dixon Line a
above it.
increasingly, too, as if in t,
Warmup to meet campaign
criticism Of his comparatiy,
youth, he made at meetin,
after this general counter.
attack:
i came into politics in tn,
postwar period New problem,
must be solved in a new way
This is a changing, a new anc
a revolutionary period, differ.
ent entirely from the days o.
Franklin D. Roosevelt anc
Harry Truman. 1t needs Wig.
orous, forward looking leader.
ship to make the l960s the big.
gest time Of our lives"
Il don't think youth is {
calamity. We all get over il
soon enough anyway"
Senator Kennedy's problem
the day the convention opened
was not so much the corralline
OF support but the avoidance OF
signs of unSeemly over-confi.
dence, exultation or impatience
He seemed almost reluctant tt
come out and concede he /.
confident of getting the nom
ination, possibly on the first
ballot. All through the day he
resolutely refused to hint at q
choice for the vice presidential
nomination, although it became
increasingly clear the decision
would be his.
Provocative Questions
The Senator's only obvious
letdown occurred when his
eyes turned cold and his smile
froze when South Carolina del
egateS asked some provocative
questions. Later, while express
ing delight" at holding a news
conference, he called the turn
by ending it abruptly with 9
Thank you, Jack" before AS
sociated Press Reporter Jack
Bell or anyone else could say
Thank you, Senator"
AS for levity, his caucus visits
Yesterday gave ample opportu-
nifty, but he contented himself
with a friendly and frequent
smile.
Senators johnson and SYM.
lngton told jokes at the Penn.
sylvania delegations breakfast
But Senator Kennedy seldom
Joined in the table quips.
Whats the matter with Sen.
sator Johnson" Senator SYM.
ihgton asked Senator Kenned,
as the three sat together al
the head table, 1--WE neve,
seen him laugh so much"
Maybe he knows some.
thing" !" Senator Kenned,
smiled.
The three Senators often en-.
countered one another at the
caucuses. AS If to encourage
party harmony. none said un-
kind words about the other
Each promised to campaign
for the winner.
Humphrey Cheerful
Senator Kennedy's one-time
primary rival, Senator Hum.
phrey, advised him at the
Minnesota delegation meetine
10 be OF good cheer, friend
you have many friends here
Senator Kennedy returned
the compliment by admitting
he was no farm problem expert
as were Senator Humphrey ana
Gov. Freeman, but he assured
them Il am a good listener
and l will listen to you"
His suddenly called news
conference toward the close Of
the day produced fewer pointed
questions than those asked al
the South Carolina and Michi-
gan caucuses. A South Carolin-
ian voiced some concern lover
the super-liberal program pro-
posed by your candidacy" An
other wanted to know what
he would do about sending
Federal troops into Southern
States