St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1960-11-04

l nad so much confidence in tn
Republicans on the indignation
problem, complains Mrs. Doroth,
Nichols of Hamtramck, a secretar,
in a doctors office. "Eisenhowe
just has not done much about it
so maybe a Democrat will be bet
ter" Another former Eisenhowe,
voter switching to Sen. Kennedy
B i more paper mill worker
Charles Dorsey, asserts: "Nixor
has been influenced by Eisenhow
er's policies on civil rights, which
could be improved some"
Some Negroes, almost all o.
them white-collar workers, are
backing Mr.. Nixon because Of
Southern influence in the Demo.
cratic Party. Specifically, Vice
Presidential candidate johnson def,
initely is losing votes the Demo
Gratis might otherwise have cap
tured.
Don't Trust Sen. johnson"
Nixon could do more to carry
out his civil rights policies than
Kennedy could" predicts Chicago
beautiCian Olander Hawkins. a
/ Stevenson Democrat who is switch
ing into the Republican column.
The Southeners would hold Ken
nedy back, like they made him take
/ Johnson as Vice President" Mrs.
Harriet McCrary, wife of a Pitts
burgh warehouse foreman, is sup
porting Mr.. Nixon partly because
Il don't trust Sen. Johnson an
inch"
Yet strategists of both parties
may be magnifying Sen. Johnson's
influence on the Negro vote all out
of proportion. COP. campaign lit
erature stresses the Texans OPP
position to extreme civil rights
legislation and quotes his off-the-
cuff remark at Texas barbecue
that he'll oppose the Democratic
Platforms civil rights plank when
it gets up in Congress in the
November election" Democratic
civil rights specialists fret over
Sen. Johnson's failure to spend
more time delivering pro-civil
rights speeches in Negro popula.
ton centers.
Voter interviews, however. show
most Negroes are totally unaware
of Sen. Johnson. And many who
realize that a Southerner is Sen
Kennedy's running mate aren't
bothered by it. II think Kennedy
will be able to handle Sen. John.
son and the Dixiecrats," forecasts
Mickey McElroy, a Pittsburgh
clerk and party-ine Democratic
voter.
NixOn's Other Attractions
Actually, the support Mr.. Nixor
does enjoy among Negroes stem.
less from his civil rights RECORD
than from other attractions: Hi.
experience as Vice President, hi.
reputation as a coldwar strategist
who can keep the peace and-tC
a few Negroes-his anti-inflatior
policies.
World peace is more important
to me than racial disturbances,
maintains Pittsburgh barber Eph
rain Crockett, a Nixon enthusiast
Richard Robinson, Boston waiter
who voted for Mr.. Stevenson foul
years ago, is switching to the
COP. because Nixon seems t
be more experienced"
In addition, few Negro vote.
have been turned Mr. Nixon's way
by the surprise asset on the COP
ticket, Vice Presidential candidat,
Henry Cabot Lodge: II thinl
Lodge is more qualified than either
of the two Presidential candidates,
argues 23-year-old Brooklyn ma
chinist Jerome Wilson, explaining
why the Republicans will get hi.
first Presidential vote. Says Chi
cago bartender Russ Thomas: I'm
for Nixon because he's got a very
good man for Vice President"
But, so far, there is little reac,
ton among Negroes to Mr.. Lodges
'prediction"-not backed up BY
Mr.. Nixon-that a COP. victory
would mean a Negro in the Nixon
Cabinet.
One reason why Sen. Kennedy's
gains among Negroes are so dram
attic is that there's an almost total
absence of any switches to Mr.
Nixon of Stevenson Democrats who
object to Sen. Kennedy's Catholic
ism. Although Negroes predomin-
ately are Professionals there Is al
most no discernible anti-Catholic-
ism. Rather, a small bloc of Negro
votes may swing to Sen. Kennedy
because of sympathy by members
of racial minority for a member
of a religious minority.
Being a member of a minority
group himself" argues r. o.
Strange, a uniformed receptionist
fcr us. Steel Corp. in Pittsburgh.
~ think he'd be beneficial to the
Negroes and more inclined to fight
bigotry."