| Show s seat Beat Union Bosses at Own Game erne erney IBy y Out Most Voters on Nov 7 1 By Iy Bruce e Hios at COLUMBUS Ohio Nov 27 NEA Tile The The story of how Sen Robert A. A Taft licked big labor politics at the polls can be found only at the thc factory gates in the shops on the farms and in the key leey political command posts throughout populous Ohio Each of these places holds apart a apart part parl of the Ohio story and its it's only when the parts are arc fitted I I together that a clear pattern begins begins begins be be- gins to emerge Mainly its it's this Taft raft whipped labor at the very game it tried to make its own own gettIng getting out the vote He and out- out organized the opposition and spurred one of the greatest political po po- political Ii crusades ever touched off off- I But many other things help to ton toj J n If account for Tafts Taft's stunning success success success suc suc- cess Nov 7 7 In this th s part four-part series NEA will twill report on them They've been debating the Ohio senatorial election rc result ever cr since Ince Nov lU 8 8 Ever Everyone seemingly I has lias had hat his opinion why Sen Robert Hubert A. A Taft defeated defeated de te- the combined organizations organizations of labor Now o for the first time here are arc the facts of the thc Ohio story tor obtained b by byN byN N E As A's tee ace reporter Bruce Blont In an intensive ho survey of the state This is the first of or his hi four dispatches all and try to give each its true weight in the total story I Ive I've just finished a tour tom of Ohio In Cleveland's Cuyahoga river flats I 1 I buttonholed grimy steel workers at a mill gate and asked them who they voted for and why In central Ohio I took a bus bu's into the country and put the same questions to a farmer milking cows in a muddy barn he was just one of many I talked to as I walked along lonely rural roads from door to door I spent seven hours poring over the organizational records of a atop atop atop top figure on the Uie winning twinning side I had a private interview with Taft II himself Altogether I saw the chief men in the Taft camp the labor leaders who tried to engineer the senators senator's senators senator's senators senator's sena sena- tors tor's defeat and scores of people in the ordinary walks of life Remarkably they largely agreed on the tangible things that were compounded into victory Here they arc are a I 1 The prime ingredient was Taft himself Twice Twice this this fall and last last last-he he tramped tirelessly into every corner of Ohio Each time he spoke from morning until night as though his political future hung on every speech Perhaps Ohioans saw him and he earned priceless newspaper space He pounded the issues with the durable energy of a star trouper punching out his lines in a triumphal triumphal triumphal tri tri- year two tour 2 Taft mapped an over all campaign plan that for boldness scope and exhaustive attention to detail may never have been matched on the thc state level He enlisted top organizing organizing- brains and fashioned a whole new newstate newstate newstate state Republican high command He stirred tens of thousands of volunteers to form a crusading See Page 3 Column 3 i it J. J t Large T Turnout Won for Taft Continued from Page Tage 1 army compared with whom Wendell Wen Wen- Vendell dell Willkie's amateur helpers in 1940 were disorganized cub scouts seouL Examine this effort eUort at at close range and you feel like a military tary student studying the man power and materiel miracles performed on day D-day in Normandy The press became a strong Taft ally giving him nearly editorial editorial edi edi- tonal backing Everywhere E newspapers newspapers newspapers news news- papers strummed the crusaders' crusaders theme Taft is a brilliant well- well informed lawmaker with wilh the starch to say no in m the fact of or a flood of yeas Ohio and the nation should prize his independence inthis inthis in inthis this critical hour All the top politicians agree this was fuel f for r the blaze that fanned out to consume men of or many political political political po po- po- po shadings shading Independents and staunch Democrats Democrat joined the Save Taft movement in sizable battalions And here the senator got perhaps perhaps per per- haps his greatest stroke of or luck For his Democratic opponent he drew State Auditor Joseph T T. Ferguson Ferg Ferguson Fer Fer- g guson a candidate whom many Democrats and wheelers free-wheelers found sadly wanting in m senatorial stature A likable competent minor official official of of- ficia Ferguson seemed Deemed out of his element in m the big race He lacked knowledge and experience in broader affairs Iris His speech often was ivas crude His physical appearance appearance appearance appear appear- ance led his detractors to paint him Mm as a buffoon a sort of or pocket edition Joe E Brown In his Ius own camp an uneasy feeling grew that he lost votes yates every time his hoarse voice oice sang out On top of this Taft got another break The Tha regular Democratic organization didn't display the snap and dr drive e showed by the revitalized G GO GOP 0 P P. P When labor moved mo in the regulars abdicated Resentful of the intrusion almost actively hostile at times they turned their attention largely largel to the job of reelecting Gov GO GOFrank Frank Lausche Thus labor not only alienated large groups whose voting support it needed to win it antagonized I Ithe the only men it could call on for real political know II For despite its proud claims after President Truman's upset in 1918 1913 labor in m this campaign proved itself still almost totally unversed in the tough techniques of precinct- precinct level politics Left to its own deICeS devices de- de vices ICeS it couldn't deliver a winning twinning margin for Ferguson The unofficial figures suggest that labor just didn't get out its vote ote While Taft surpassed his 1944 showing by Ferguson Ferguson Fer Fer- Ferguson guson ran behind the 1944 Democratic tic nominee This seems an accurate measure of labors labor's failure With the year off-year vote vole a record by supposedly supposedly a Democratic advantage Taft advantage Taft won in a sweep These were the things you could put your finger on Both sides were in m substantial a accord c c cord o r d on them though labor naturally was reluctant to concede it had alienated alienated alien alien- anybody S Besides these factors however a host of intangibles figured inthe inthe in inthe the outcome But its it's almost impossible impossible im impossible im- im possible to measure their impact either singly or together The Chinese red advances in Korea just before election the general world orld situation the threat of communism at home new ne taxes effective on Oct 1 credit controls controls no no one knows how much these thes may have troubled Ohioans and affected their votes No one can be sure either how widespread was vas the evident re resentment resentment resentment re- re of union men against their leaders' leaders aggressive ve tactics nor whether hether its it's fair to blame off- off year disinterest to some extent for the Democratic stay-at-homes stay Its It's too early to say how much Taft TaCt may have ha been helped by bya a new kind of ballot that wiped out straight ticket voting And nobody can calculate accurately how much money was spent on each side Its It's clear that crusades cost plenty but how do you price the crusading energies of a aoun olun volun- leer Leei arm army Labor leans heavily lea on the intangibles in intangibles in- in tangibles tang to explain its resounding defeat The winners inners credit them too but they put greatest store by bythe bythe bythe the great organizing org effort which they feel drew the disgruntled and troubled into the Taft crusade at atthe atthe atthe the finish Tomorrow What the workers and f farmers aimers say ay |
