OCR Text |
Show f ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS Happenings " That Affect the Future of Every Individual National Na-tional and International Problems Prob-lems Inseparable From Local Welfare. Soon the Democrats will lake over the spotlight with the opening op-ening of their nominating convention con-vention in Chicago. It promises to be a colorful show. Here is a rundown of the leading candidates candid-ates and a brief analysis of their chances based, as the securities securi-ties dealers always say in their prospectuses, on information which is believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed. Estes Kefauver The Senator from Tennessee with the coon-skin coon-skin cap has shown far more pulling power among the voters than any other aspirant to the biggest job in the world. He has suffered only one severe setback, set-back, when Averill Harriman beat him badly in the District of Columbia primary. His reputation reputa-tion as a crime-buster and an implacable foe of corruption is a tremendous asset. But the Administration Ad-ministration wants no part of him, has gone, all-out to stop him, and that will probably prove fatal to his ambitions. Richard Russell Senator i Russell is well-liked in Administration Adminis-tration circles he has voted for most of the Truman proposals. But the professionals doubt that he has enough popular appeal to win in November. He is a distinct dis-tinct possibility for the second spot of the ticket. W. Averill Harriman Mr. Harriman is one of the wealthiest wealth-iest men in the country, and he is also about 1000 per cent for the Truman policies. He seems to have the White House blessing. bless-ing. His reputation is that of a hard-working, sincere and rather colorless administrator and diplomat. dip-lomat. His major liability is that he hasn't started any fires or even sparks among the electorate. elector-ate. The commentators don't give his D. C. win much importance. impor-tance. In the first place, D. C. residents can't vote in general elections. In the second place, the Negro vote was a decisive element, ele-ment, due to Mr. Harriman's civil-rights' position. In the third place, the Administration went right down the line for him, as part of the stop-Kefauver strategy. strate-gy. These factors wouldn't Ibe significant in a national election. He is a possibility but not a probability. Albin Barkley The Veep, who was in politics before most living Americans were born, has indicated he'd like the nomination. nomina-tion. He could conceivably get it if a deadlock results. Adlei Stevenson Gov. Stevenson Stev-enson has not sought the nomination, nom-ination, and has said he prefers to continue his work in Illinois. his own or the taxpayers'. As a vote-getter, he proved extraordinarily extraord-inarily able in his run for the governorship. A political unknown, un-known, he carried the state a-gainst a-gainst the powerful GOP machine ma-chine by 500,000 votes. Last, but certainly not least, is a confident, tough man named Harry Truman. Some still think he would accept a draft. Stranger Strang-er things have happened in the strange world of American politics. But his seems to be a case where Barkis is willing if the delegates want him badly enough. Many political writers and observers think he would be the Democrats' Demo-crats' hest bet by a long shot. His record in Illinois has been excellent he has effectively fought the long-entrenched gamblers gam-blers and grafters, and proven himself a top-flight administrator. administra-tor. As a speaker, he is A-l he has been compared in this regard re-gard to the late President Roosevelt, Roose-velt, and almost everyone who knows him seems to find him an attractive and , compelling personality per-sonality v In many respects his views go along with the president's, presi-dent's, but there are important exceptions. For one thing, he believes in taking the waste out of government he is said to have described himself as a close man with a buck, whether it be |