Show Martin Mart in Is Likely GOP Dark Horse Contest Between Taft T aft Dewey Decisive in Republican Race By Dy N News s Anal Analyst and end Commentator As this Is written the crystal ball gazers say that the 5 8 moustached black-moustached of the Empire State is going to be the next President of the United States Some people will question this and three six or more months from now even my private gazers crystal-gazers may revise their predictions But the Dewey following is confident even in the face of the latest lates t Roper poll which shows that Harold Stassen is the only Republican no now w that Eisenhower is out who could win four out of the six major geographical cal everywhere regions tien of 01 t. t but the in 1 country the hc solid enlist from South Mr Truman I The poll says Stassen leads I j Suppose the solid South should split from the Democratic party as they indicated w they might in order or or- Y or- or order t der to tor rebuke the i X 0 11 President for his j fJ so called anti antl t t southern civil rights message which recommended mended anti anti- lynch anti poll anti poIl- poIl tax fair prat practices practices tices tires legislation which is labelled ti pro Negro by many southern critics Well su sup sup- p BAUKHAGE AUK AGE pose that and a as s of the date of thi this s poll February 5 Stassen has it Still the timers old-timers stick to the their s prediction of Dewey which the they y make with tears in their eyes instead instead instead in in- stead of 01 smoke from the smoke smoke- filled d room where decisions are supposed supposed supposed sup sup- posed to be made I wish that you people could have hav e attended that over-crowded over luncheon luncheon luncheon lunch lunch- eon at the National Press club when n Gen Dwight Eisenhower spoke an and d Introduced his successor Gen Omar Bradley as chief of staff It was a good talk and you probably read the report of it You also probably have read the report of the question and an period which General Els Eis permitted and which was one of the best news conferences con con- that's that's what it turned out ont to be that be-that that I ever have at at- tended Members who couldn't get in were standing up cocking ears ears 12 to 15 deep outside the entrances to the dining room Naturally some questions dealt deal t with the Eisenhower withdrawal statement issued late in January The night after the Eisenhower Eisenhowe r withdrawal which most Republicans Republican S Sand and Democrats considered as final finalI I happened happened- to be with two diehard diehard die die- diehard hard wing right Republicans who wh o wouldn't even admit they were as a S happy as they were They kept saying say say- ing lug why couldn't he have said that tha t much earlier if it he meant it an and d anyhow he has left a loophole so h hcan he e can run if it not now in 1952 I couldn't see that I knew a lot o of f Republicans thought Eisenhower's Eisenhower s letter was an absolutely honest hones t statement dictated by the reasoning reasoning reasoning reason reason- ing of an honest man untrained d in politics it is true but speaking I from his heart There isn't space to repeat Eisenhower's Eisen Else n howers hower's long statement in which h he S said among other things I am not available for and could not accept nomination for high political office My ly decision deci sion slon is definite and post tive live The necessary and wise subordination subordination sub sub- or ordination of the military to civil elvil power will be best sustained sustained sus sus- tamed when lifelong professional pro pro- soldiers abstain from seeking high political office I would regard it as unalloyed un tin alloyed tr tragedy gedy for our country If ever should come the day when military commanders I might be selected with an eye to their future potentialities inthe in m inthe the political field General Sherman said I will n not of run if it nominated and will not serve e if elected But what motivated Sherman and Eisenhower The sincere belief expressed in m Eisenhower's statement that a ma man manof manof n of purely military training wasn wasn't t equipped for the job That statement statement state stet l e ment as you know was throwback thrown throw back at Eisenhower as as a sideswipe e at Gen Douglas MacArthur wh who o has emphatically NOT said that h he e didn't choose to run I have spoken of the Eisenhower family at some length before in this column I do not claim to be more than an acquaintance But as I Isaid Isaid Isaid said when General Eisenhower's statement came over the wire I was firmly convinced that there wasn't any equivocation in it And I am glad that the press and their friends heard Eisenhower answer the questions questions ques ques- tl ns as he did giving back steel for steel on every throw There was a big sigh of relief of course when the Republican and Democratic leaders knew Eisen Eisen- Eisenhower Eisenhower hower bower was out I felt the same way but for a different reason My reason reason rea rea- son for being glad that Eisenhower Isn't going to be President President President-as as he would have been on any ticket if he had run run run-is is the same reason he put forth I have tremendous respect for him personally professionally I Iam Iam Iam am not a prate prole soldier but my experience as a wartime soldier is reinforced by an indirect impression sion slon of 01 military thought which goes back for many generations in my own family faintly and is kept alive with close personal contacts in the armed services I simply say this to the voter You may have a tremendous respect for a mans man's military record but that doesn't mean you'd call him in if your child had appendicitis Politics is just justas as much of a profession n as medicine med mod or the law We need a trained leader in m this p particular kind kina of leading Maybe w we will get one Maybe we wont S wS Speaker wL Joe Martin L U Universally Popular r Stassen has certain qualities of leadership with which he seems to have impressed the people interviewed inter inter- viewed by the Roper potters But unless Stassen could sweep the primaries primaries prianes m maries anes Im I'm frankly quoting my chief gazer crystal-gazer he hasn't t. t a chance at this writing There doesn't seem to be a chance of his sweeping the primaries and anyhow there ar arent aren't nt ma many y states which have adopted this device which it was thought could beat the smoke filled room Now the man who Is going to tobe tobe tobe be nominated is the man who wins in the Taft Dewey contest always as of NOW That doesn't mean it will be Taft or Dewey But it does mean that it will be the theman man who although he hasn't enough votes on this prelim can pick up enough Independent independent in In- dependent votes in later contests contests con con- tests to see sec him through At the present writing It looks as if there were enough of those changeable votes to nominate Dewe Dewey If its it's neither Dewey nor Stassen the wise guys in n Washington say it will be none other than Speaker Joe Martin who never insulted anybody and has more friends in and out of Washington Washington than a a. a winner a-winner in a crap game when everyone else is broke Without ever pulling any rough h stuff Joe Martin has put more people people peo peo- pie under willing obligation to him than any man I know in congress For example when when the Taft- Taft Hartley fight was was at its hottest a certain Republican congressman to Joe and said came Im sorry Joe Ive I've got ot to bolt My constituency constituency constituency ency doesn't want this bill Joe didn't argue He simply said Dont worry I understand your situation perfectly Well We'll get the votes anyhow Forget it Some years ago a magazine took a secret poll of the Washington Wash ington correspondents to deter mine the most useful man in congress He lIe was to be judged by his integrity intelligence industry and In influence Joe got the highest vote of anyone in either house or senate Not long ago there was one c of f those big parties here periodically thrown by various visiting firemen It was a regular stampede but t some way I managed to back Jo Joe e Martin Int into a corner with my tw two o eo wise Washington-wise assistants Joe is a bachelor and these two women ar arnot are e not lacking in either brains o or r er pulchritude They'd both met th the e speaker before more or less pr professionally professionally pro pro- a ea anyhow rather formally This wasn't formal Neither of ot them themis the theis m is a bred born Republican Lik Like e me and end all ot other er Washingtonians they are and more or less les s neutral between the parties Both o of 01 t them fell for Joe Martin hard An And d I it wasn't because it is Leap Year Yea s and Joe is a bachelor They are both hot h happily married the only kind o of 01 f assistants my wife and I hire At any rate Joe Martin is a goo good d dark dak horse to watch |