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Show Behini By PaUlMallON Released by Western Newspaper Union. VOTERS INCREASE CN MANY CENTERS WASHINGTON. Mr. Roosevelt's voice vibrated with what sounded like patriotic fervor when he urged ais party workers to get the vote registered and recorded this year as never before. He made it seem almost non-partisan patriotism the way he put it, reminding all citizens of their duty. Most observers wrote it down as the same old political line most candidates can-didates use on election eve, this time delivered earlier. But he must have spoken from inner knowledge of a condition which may decide the election and more. This campaign so far has been almost entirely centered upon undercover organization by both sides to get out their vote. Unfortunately, Un-fortunately, no political authorities authori-ties here, Republican or Democratic, Demo-cratic, keep close tab on national na-tional results of this dominating phase of the campaign. Yet here and there facts are coming to the surface, as, for instance, in Baltimore. There registration has increased 10 per cent over 1942. Of the 32,000 additional voters in that steel, air-iraft, air-iraft, war-worker port, 22,000 were Democratic, only 8,000 Republican (odd figures and independent voters apparently accounting for the missing miss-ing 2,000.) Nearly one-sixth of the whole city registration was Negro (335,380 white and 61,365 Negro.) The greatest rush of registrants was in a 10-day period before the lime limit, indicating clearly some-ne some-ne was doing an extraordinary lob along Mr. R's line, in fact, snough to swing the entire state of Maryland in a close election. From Ohio and Indiana, however, congressmen have brought reports that the local Democratic organizations organiza-tions in some counties are not functioning at all. Whether they are silently resentful resent-ful or just hopeless the report-ng report-ng congressmen do not know. They ire, however, convinced Demo-ra'iic Demo-ra'iic organizing is not up to standard. stand-ard. JOT IN PARTY OFFICES Up to now no labor organization las taken over the local machinery if either major political party. In nany cases labor votes have domi-ated domi-ated districts and controlled the arty politicians, but union men .ere not in party offices. I believe CIO tried to get its men into the Democratic organization or-ganization in Michigan a year or so back, but failedj The most authentic national reports available as a whole thus indicate CIO's efforts have been spotty so far. In war working centers they failed in their campaign to bring the voting vot-ing booths into the factories, thus to provide greater voting facilities for their people than citizens generally gen-erally enjoy, but they have been lble to edge themselves toward positions usually handled by Democratic Demo-cratic leaders (many of whom are away to war this year.) In most midwest counties there apparently is no CIO activity, or signs of success. suc-cess. G.O.P. HAS EDGE The Republicans, of course, have their 26 governors and Dewey has worked out with them, and with the Republican congressmen, an extraordinarily extra-ordinarily close cooperative system which he expects to produce the registering and voting results for his party. Mr. , Roosevelt may have spoken, therefore, less patriotically patrioti-cally than from a troubled heart. Some of his associates are even more troubled at the prospect that CIO may move in to take county chairmanships after this campaign. It may not be enough then that he repudiate the Communists on his coat tails. They are digging into the lining and the seams. There is a commonly prevailing notion the Republicans will win congress even if Governor Dewey loses. This is an easy assumption which takes the fullest possible liberties with the inner facts of the situation. situ-ation. A careful check suggests rather that the election of Dewey is essential essen-tial to bring both houses of congress con-gress into the Republican column, or rather it is, unless the voters go in for an unprecedented amount oi ticket - splitting and turn entirely away from the Democratic list after checking Mr. Roosevelt. ... The Republicans have their best chance in the house. There the lineup line-up today is: Republican 212, Democrat 216, vacancies va-cancies 3, other parties 4. Without the aid of a pencil, a glancing observer might conclude the house to be certainly Republican Republi-can as only six more seats are needed. Maybe but the unnoticed fact inside the matter is that the Republicans already fully hold the congressional field outside the cities They may logically figure to pi''' bp a seat in Seattle. |