Evening star., 1960-07-12
Butler Blasts
'HisFoes in
Both Parties
By GOULD LINCOLN
Star stan Writer

LOS ANGELES, July H.
Paul NJ. Butler. chairman of
the Democratic National Com
mittee for 5ha years. swung
hard in his convention swan
song last night at his foes in
both parties. Mr.. Butler will
retire as national chairman on
the day after the adjourn
ment of the convention and
open a law Office in South
Bend, Ind, his home town, with
a branch Office in Washington.
He took note in his conven-
ton speech of the frequent
demands that he resign his
post, made by irate Democrats
from the South to whom for
years he has been like a red
rag to a bull. They have hated
him because of his advocacy
of drastic civil rights legislation
and because of his refusal to
accept National C o m m mittee
members-elect who had de-
serted the Democratic ticket on
election day.
Mr.. Butler declared:
II will retire at that time,
not a day later, and in spite Of
some helpful suggestions which
have been made. not one day
sooner. I have held this post
for 5l2 years. I cheerfully join
with some of my critics in
agreeing that this is long
enough, and with a few that it
Is too long"
The Democratic politicians
seemed to relish his defiance
of those who have demanded
his scalp as the price of unity
in the Democratic Party. He
insisted that unity without
principle is of no value. Demo-
Gratis, he said, believe in truth
and ideas, and that no policy
is so sacred that it cannot be
criticized. ~
Mr.. Butler was a critic Of
President Eisenhower when
others were reluctant to make
a personal attack on the Chief
Executive. He once predicted
that if Mr.. Eisenhower were
elected to a second term, he
would not live long enough to
complete it. He did not mince
words in his valedictory re-.
marks. He charged that the
President had let our position.
in world affairs sink to a low
level. He said that Soviet Pre-
mier Khrushchev had laughed
at the President.
I'm all sincerity" continued
Mr.. Butler, Il ask two ques-
tions:
Cd Would Mr.. Khrushchev
have dared to laugh at Frank
lin Roosevelt? t7
t2) Would KhruShchev have
dared to laugh at Theodore
ROOSEVELT"
Mr.. Butler described the
Eisenhower administration as
eight years of golfing and
goofing."
He chided the Republicans
for their peace and prosper.
ity" slogans.
Even the Republicans know
it isn't really peace-and it
isn't really prosperity either"
he said.
1T is just an uneasy armis-
tice."
Mr.. Butler reminded fellow
Democrats-split on the civi!
rights iSsue-that this no long
er is a matter of purely do
mestic, concern.
If there is a ruckus on inte-
grafton anywhere in the South,
Moscow fattens on it," he said.
IF civil rights are violated
in the Middle West. Indonesia
knows about it by the next
morning. :"
The chairman took note of
former President Harry S. Tru-
mans charge that the conven-
ton had been "rigged" in favor
of Senator Kennedy.
He denied fatty that he had
favored any one candidate for
the Democratic presidential
nomination and insisted he had
been fair to all. What he tried
to do, he said, was to prepare
the Democratic Party to elect G.
President, take over the Gov
ernment and reverse the in
effective course the Govern
ment has followed under Re-
publican rule.
His address was typically
Butler. He is going out of Of
flee fighting-if he must-al-
though urging that the party
unite for the battle to defeat
Uino DroeiIart AT;ynx, ,aa,,4 SIJ