| Show Marquis Marqus Childs Master Minds Miss lv the Boat Those W WASHINGTON Those of u us who comment on politics hava have hav I a tendency to ip write as though ii this or that move w were e r o e part of some master p n plan I 1 a n carefully calculated cal cal- 4 k 11 We c cr r u write r i t e about r tactics strategy strategy strat strat- t r egy campaign t tech techniques ch n iq ues major and minor speech- speech Air Mr Chil Childs ls es cs giving an impression of master minds weighing each elch word and counting counting counting count count- ing the flicker of each eyelash Actually it is a hit miss hit miss or-miss business run on hunch guess intuition and accident Nothing Nothing Noth Noth- Nothing ing could illustrate that sowell so sowell sowell well as the Democratic primary in New Hampshire and its aftermath The Democratic field general general general gen gen- eral you sec see how confirmed this tendency can be he is Frank McKinney 1 chairman of the Democratic National Commit Commit- tee After President Truman called the presidential primaries primaries maries wash eye-wash General McKinney McKinney McKinney Mc Mc- Kinney got him to change his mind and enter his name in New Now Hampshire I Having ing decided to throw in his big gun what did General McKinney i do At the height of the campaign he went to FlorIda Flor Flor- Florida ida on a vacation There are arc cynics who say that g given gen en the capacity for practical politics he has shown thus far it was probably all for the best Rattle Battle Lost In any event the battle was lost What is more the victory of Senator Estes Kefauver plus another piece of blindfold blindfold blindfold blind blind- fold politics may have made it all but impossible for Truman Truman Truman Tru Tru- man to step out and name an alternate who lio in the view of oC most of his associates is Governor Governor Gov Gov- Adlai Stevenson of Illi Illi- nois What has happened ill illustrates illustrates illus illus- strates s- s the almost complete lack of coordination In Oregon a few enthusiastic Democrats entered Stevenson's name in the presidential primary primary primary mary to be held there on May I 16 Stevenson Ste first learned of it when a reporter telephoned him from Oregon to ask if he had any comment He Ile replied ed that he had had no prior knowledge of his entry and that while it was flattering he was running for governor of Illinois and nothing else Apparently Apparently Apparently Ap Ap- Ap- Ap no one in Democratic headquarters in Washington was informed in advance of oC the move Opposing Kefauver When Stevenson was here briefly last week the question of the Oregon primary was raised with one of Truman's official family It was suddenly realized that he would be competing competing competing com com- in Oregon with Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee Much better known and with the background of oC his New Hampshire success the Tennes- Tennes sean scan in ill the coonskin cap could campaign in Oregon for or two or three weeks and be confident confident confident con con- of oC blanketing the Illinois Illinois Illinois Illi Illi- Illi- Illi nois governor who would not campaign With the convention only two months away a licking of that kind would work disastrously against Stevenson With this threat clearly visible a long long- distance call was put in to Monroe lonroe Sweetland Democratic national committeeman in Ore Ore- gon Sweetland was told that Stevenson's name should be withdrawn The reply was something of a shock to Wash Wash- ington Under Oregon law it is impossible to withdraw and Stevenson's name must stay on the thc ballot Stran Strange e Contraption The Oregon primary law is isone isone isone one of the strangest of all the presidential primary An individual may be entered without his consent C Consequently efforts have been made to put in candidates who will obviously harm other can can- Thus Thu Senator Wayne Vayne Morse 1 has been entered by the Taft forces Since he is a strong supporter of General Dwight D. D Eisenhower he would presumably presumably presumably pre pre- take away votes from Ike This underscores the need for a national primary law which would do away with such curious beauty contests As has been proved repeatedly repeatedly repeat repeat- edly in the past they can be booby traps for unwary politicians poli poli- Credit if iC that is the word is given to John D. D M. M Hamilton for persuading Senator Senator Senator Sen Sen- ator Robert A. A Taft to go into the New Hampshire primary Ha Hamilton nilton is eastern manager of the Taft campaign His previous distinction inthe in inthe inthe the field of politics was a manager of Alf Landon's campaign campaign campaign cam cam- in 1936 Landon carried Maine and Vermont Hamilton's Hamiltons Hamil tons ton's stock is said to be rather low on the Taft bourse just at present presen t. t |
