Groping

With the great political contest of 1956 beginning to occupy the minds of politicians across the U.S., the challengers trotted out onto the field last week and began to warm up. As they threw a few trial curves, tried a little batting practice and issued their predictions of the season's outcome, leaders of the Democratic Party exuded unity and optimism. But the way they threw and hit and ran only served to illustrate that they have a serious problem.

Facing the fact that the Republicans have a tremendously popular President in the White House, the Democratic Party is groping for a good political position. On the key issue currently being argued in the U.S.--China policy--Democrats on Capitol Hill have found a position. Led by Georgia's Walter George, the party's foreign-policy spokesman, nearly all Democrats in Congress joined the Republicans in giving President Eisenhower full discretion to employ U.S. military forces in the Formosa Strait.

In a speech last week, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman George (see below) clearly repeated that stand, and expressed confidence that Dwight Eisenhower "will go prepared by the best advice and will bring his own great experience to bear. He will do what good men have done down through the ages. He will go into his closet, and, face to face with his God, will make his decision."

"In Humility." While the Democratic Party's congressional foreign-policy leader was preparing to speak thus, the party's titular leader was taking a quite different position. On a national radio network, Adlai Stevenson in effect seriously questioned the wisdom of Walter George and the U.S. Congress. Said Stevenson: "While our President has great military experience, perhaps it is not improper to ask whether any man can read the mind of an enemy within a few hours of ... an attack and determine whether, at some later date, the enemy plans to go further ..."

Stevenson had his own proposals: "relinquish" the Nationalist-held islands of Quemoy and Matsu to the Chinese Communists, and ask the United Nations to seek a permanent status--"independence, neutralization, trusteeship, plebiscite, or whatever is wisest"--for Formosa. As it thus bowed graciously to the will of other nations, said Stevenson, the U.S. should stand before the world "in humility."

With this clear separation of Democratic positions on the record, 3,500 Democrats gathered in Washington at week's end to raise hope and money, and to honor one of their oldest hands, House Speaker Sam Rayburn. There the faithful chose to put their differences behind them. Joining in the tributes to Texan Rayburn, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson said: "Back in 1952 a lot of our folks [in Texas] got excited over tide-lands oil, so they voted Republican. Well, we got Ike and we got our tidelands, and it hasn't rained since. Now we're caking our cows,* quarreling with our wives, and praying to God for forgiveness and a Democratic Administration."

But even as Texan Johnson spoke and Texan Rayburn was honored, the Texas seat on the Democratic National Com mittee remained vacant, and Texas Democratic Governor Alan Shivers, who led his state into the Eisenhower camp in 1952, refused to join in the festivities.

"We Can Lick Anybody!" Since the internal pain was not as bad as it often has been in the Democratic Party, the leadership hoped to rally everyone for an attack on the foe. National Chairman Paul Mulholland Butler urged all the faithful to take a bold anti-Eisenhower position, "to pinpoint the mistakes and the confusion of the Administration on the President himself." Mrs. Katie Louchheim, the party's Director of Women's Activities, promptly did her bit by characterizing the Eisenhower Administration as "muddle of the road." Cried Philadelphia Contractor-Publisher (the News) Matt McCloskey, Democratic national treasurer: "This business that we can't lick Eisenhower is crazy. We can lick anybody!"

Into the chorus moved Harry Truman, who charged that the Elsenhower Administration has almost destroyed the fine heritage he left to the nation. Truman told a $100-a-plate Rayburn dinner that a conspiracy on the part of the press is preventing the people from learning just how bad the situation in Washington is (see PRESS). Then Truman, onetime protege of the late Tom Pendergast, made a remarkable charge against the Republicans. "I regret to say that we have not seen such cynical political behavior in any Administration since the early '20s," he said.

When Rayburn rose to speak, almost everyone at the dinner expected him to carry on along the same line; in recent months his anti-Eisenhower tone has been much more pronounced than that of most other Democratic leaders. But Mr. Sam fooled his listeners. He argued that the Democrats have been supporting the President's policies more fervently than the right wing of the Republican Party. Said he: "Our hearts go out to President Eisenhower as, in the terrible loneliness that surrounds Presidents, he wrestles with the problems of life and death that confront the nation."

At the end of the first week's hard workout, it was clear that the Democrats had not hit a steady stride for the 1956 season. Their main source of optimism was the deep division among the Republicans, but, ironically, the Democrats were divided over what was the best way to take advantage of the Republican division.

* Feeding them cakes of cottonseed meal to supplement or replace drought-stricken range grass and alfalfa.

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