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Show HOME TOWN REPORTER Plain, Ordinary People Choose Harry Truman By WALTER A. 3HEAD NEVER, even in the palmiest palm-iest days of the late Franklin D. Roosevelt, has Washington seen such a noisy, hapy homecoming celebration as that which greeted President Harry S. Truman when he returned to the nation's capital after his magical, triumphant election. Gay and grinning, but still, with that humbleness which captured the hearts of the American people on his fighting, man-breaking election elec-tion tour, the President responded, "I hope I can deserve the honor." Your Hometown Reporter Is willing will-ing to eat some crow along with all the rest of the hundreds of Washington writers, the political pollsters and the political experts, but in retrospect, this column never climbed out on the proverbial prover-bial limb to give Governor Dewey the unequivocal victory that most did. And looking back over the campaign, in attempting to evaluate eval-uate the apologies and the explanations expla-nations of the pollsters this writer believes they have all missed the boat. It Is certainly true that Labor playeJ a part in Mr. Truman's election. It is also true that the pollsters mis-reac mis-reac the farmer vote. For In such rural states as Iowa and Wisconsin, it Is evident the farmers largely voted Democratic. Demo-cratic. But this writer believes Mr. Truman was elected by the plain every-day American citizen from every walk of life. The old Voltaire adage that "Given light and the people will find their own way" was never more true than in this election. Mr. Truman gave them the light when no one else would or did. His sincerity, his frankness on every issue, his courage and fighting fight-ing qualities and his plain, blunt Americanism endeared him to the hearts of the American people in th ; cities and in the "whistle stops" where Mr. Dewey disdained to stop. As the triumphant President came back to Washington there were very many red faces in the nation's capital, even in the membership of his own official family his cabinet. Anil while Mr. Truman is certainly not a vindictive man it would be beyond the bounds of human nature for him not to resent the attitude of a large number of the men whom he had named to high office and who had turned out to be "men of little faith." So it is expected there likely will be some changes made in the official of-ficial White House family circle as well as In many of the department of government. One must admire the sagacity and foresight of Victor ickersham who was the congressman from Okluhnma's seventh congressional district. W ick-ersham ick-ersham was swept out of office in the Republican sweep of 1946 when they gained control of the congress. He however hud placed his children in Washington schools; he was certoin that he could stage a comeback this year andt moreover, he had set him-self him-self up in a lucrative real estate business. busi-ness. He started out by finding places foi new congressmen to live. So instead of moving back to Oklahoma in 1946 he remained in Washington. f7 won back his house seat in this election, so now the Oklahoma congressman con-gressman may still have his old seat in the house up on the hill and retain his real estate business in Washington also. New Deal Is Not Dead The mandate given to President f-uman Indicates beyond controversy contro-versy that the so-called New Deal in this country is not dead, but to the contrary is alive and kicking, and that the great reforms enacted enact-ed under the New Deal will be extended ex-tended under President Truman and the new Democratic 81st congress. con-gress. Over those southern members mem-bers who opposed many of the New Deal policies, Mr. Truman now holds the whiphand. Many of them, If not outright supporters support-ers of the Dixiecrat ticket ol Gov. Strom Thurmond, only gave Mr. Truman lip-service. Now unless they play ball, there is every likelihood that some may be stripped of their seniority sen-iority rights on important senate sen-ate and house committees. One thing is certain. The procedure pro-cedure of the house un-American activities committee will be renovated. reno-vated. There will be no more branding and smearing without first hearing evidence. Even Congressman Congress-man Richard M. Nixon (R., Calif.), who was re-elected and who is a member of that committee, has drawn up a new set of rules to protect pro-tect individual rights under the Constitution Con-stitution and to give (1) the accused ac-cused equal rights to present his case, (2) the right to counsel and to make his own statement and (3) the right to examine witnesses. Probably the oldest oldster In the n w congress will be Senator-elect Matthew M. Neeley of West Virginia. Vir-ginia. He beat Sen. Chapman Rev-eri.omb, Rev-eri.omb, Republican. Neeley is 7 years old, was a freshman congressman con-gressman in 1913. Since that time he served 10 years in the house, It years in the senate and four years a governor. |
