The Charlotte News
Wednesday, November 5, 1952
FOUR EDITORIALS
Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that the election of General Eisenhower had broken all voting records in the country, producing a landslide victory, with control of Congress still in the balance, pending the outcome of a few close elections. The General received the greatest number of votes ever for a presidential candidate. With about 29,000 precincts yet to be tabulated across the country, the General had a popular vote majority of 27,976,106 votes, more than the prior record set by FDR in 1936 of 27,751,597, and far more than the Republican popular vote record of 22,305,198 set by Wendell Willkie in 1940. The General had won by more than five million votes over Governor Stevenson, who conceded victory to General Eisenhower at around 3:00 a.m. The Governor had lost his home state of Illinois and trailed in President Truman's home state of Missouri, appeared only to have carried nine states in the South, with 89 electoral votes. The General was leading in 39 states, with 442 electoral votes, with 266 having been needed to elect. Two states, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, had voted for the General, the first time they had voted for a Republican since Calvin Coolidge in 1924. He was also ahead in 15 states, where a Republican had not won since the election of Herbert Hoover in 1928, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Governor Stevenson had carried South Carolina and Louisiana, where, respectively, Democratic Governors James Byrnes and Robert Kennon had backed General Eisenhower. Only Texas had followed its Democratic Governor, Allan Shivers, in switching party allegiance. The farm vote went decidedly to General Eisenhower, and the labor vote was divided between the two candidates. The General's victory in Virginia could be attributed in part to the statement by Senator Harry F. Byrd that he could not support Governor Stevenson because of his embrace of "Trumanism", though the Senator never endorsed General Eisenhower.
News of the victory
had been hailed
The General planned a 10-day vacation to Augusta, Ga., to rest after the campaign.
A Secret Service agent delivered to the General at his residence at Columbia University a broom, bearing the message "to clean up the mess", sent from a Brooklyn wholesale brush firm.
The home district of the President was sending a Republican to Congress for the first time in 18 years, having elected a World War II veteran, Jeffrey P. Hillelson, who had defeated labor union leader, incumbent Congressman Leonard Irving, seeking his third term.
Republicans had a slight edge in the fight to control the majority of both houses of Congress and thus organize the committees. It was still possible for the Senate to wind up Republican and the House Democratic, the reverse, or both chambers controlled by one party or the other. Absentee ballots and the independent vote might finally settle the issue in both houses. There remained five Senate seats and 28 House seats still to be decided, but the Republicans had a decided edge in the House and had one seat more than the Democrats in the Senate, in the races thus far decided.
One of the ironies of the election was the defeat in Massachusetts by Congressman John Kennedy of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., who had managed the pre-convention campaign of General Eisenhower. There were reports that the General might offer a spot in the Cabinet to Senator Lodge.
Both Senators Joseph McCarthy and William Jenner had been re-elected in Wisconsin and Indiana, respectively.
The President invited General Eisenhower to use the White House plane to make his trip to Korea if he desired to do so. The President made the offer in a brief telegram of congratulations, which also invited the General to have a representative meet with the Budget director to go over the budget figures for the ensuing fiscal year. The President planned to make a statement at the White House in mid-afternoon and to hold a press conference the following afternoon. The President had traveled 18,000 miles and made 212 speeches between latter September and election eve on behalf of Governor Stevenson.
The General responded to the President that he would use a military plane to fly to Korea and would notify the Secretary of Defense of his departure as early as possible. He thanked the President for his offer of the White House plane.
The workers appeared to have largely ignored the endorsements of Governor Stevenson by the major labor organizations, the AFL, the CIO and the UMW, with most of the union leaders declining comment in the wake of the election. A report by the Associated Press suggests that the unions would likely not receive the same degree of sympathy from the new President as had been the case under Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. The General had pledged, however, to be fair to labor and every other part of the population. Under the new Administration, there would be no repeal of Taft-Hartley, though the General had promised to recommend needed changes.
Republicans would possibly have their largest margin of power in governorships across the country since 1929, with Republican candidates leading in 21 of 30 gubernatorial races. They were on track to win six governorships presently occupied by Democrats and were leading or had won in all of the 15 contested gubernatorial elections where they already had control of the statehouses. In Ohio, Governor Frank Lausche beat Republican challenger Charles Taft, younger brother of Senator Robert Taft. The Republican, William Stratton, won the Illinois gubernatorial race against the Lt. Governor, Sherwood Dixon, to succeed Governor Stevenson. The Governor had withdrawn from the race after his nomination by the Democrats the prior July.
North Carolina had cast a record vote, supporting Governor Stevenson, while giving General Eisenhower a greater vote than ever recorded in the state for a Republican presidential candidate. The state voted 54 percent for Governor Stevenson, whereas the nation cast 55 percent of its votes for General Eisenhower. As expected, Democratic gubernatorial candidate William B. Umstead won easily, as did lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Luther Hodges—who would become Governor upon the death of Governor Umstead in 1954. Democrats won 11 of the state's 12 Congressional seats, with the 10th District having elected Republican Charles Jonas.
In Maryland, confessed Communist spy and courier Whittaker Chambers, who, in 1948, had accused Alger Hiss of being a former Communist, leading to the latter's perjury conviction in 1950, suffered a serious heart attack on his rural farm and was in a Baltimore hospital.
Send him a get-well pumpkin
On the editorial page, "A Tremendous Victory for Eisenhower" finds that after 20 years of Democratic rule, it was time for a change, as the voters had expressed the previous day. It finds that the General's tremendous personal popularity and the public's great confidence in his ability had propelled him to victory. He had shown his great ability to be flexible and adaptable, changing from his military uniform to the civilian uniform of a campaigner overnight just five months earlier. The broad appeal of the General across the country was reflected in the electoral totals, including winning some Southern states, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, and Oklahoma.
He faced many problems ahead, all of which would be difficult to resolve. He had promised to root out corruption in the Government, to eliminate the threat of Communism in the Government, to bring a quick and honorable end to the Korean War, to shore up the strength of the free world, to bring prices down, cut taxes and spending without impairing the defense capability and security of the country, to balance the Federal budget and end inflation, to revise Taft-Hartley, to work out a better plan for agricultural price supports, to expand Social Security, as well as other issues.
It concludes that the General had shown that he was not only wise but also had the knack of getting people to work together toward a common objective. It indicates that there was no disgrace in defeat on the part of Governor Stevenson, as he had waged an "effective, intelligent, instructive campaign against insurmountable odds, not the least of which was the handicap of defending the Truman record." It suggests that it was the beginning, rather than the end, of a promising national political career for the Governor. In his concession speech, the Governor had called for unity behind the new Administration, and the newspaper joins in that call and assures the victor that though he did not carry North Carolina, he could expect the loyal support of the people of the state.
"Charlie Jonas—Ike's Fine Co-Worker" tells of the election in the local Congressional district of Charles Jonas, the first Republican Congressman in the state since his father had won the office 24 years earlier. It finds him a man of "considerable stature and capacity", from whom it was to be expected the type of "enlightened Republicanism" which was typified by General Eisenhower. His 65,742 votes, compared to 49,124 for incumbent Representative Hamilton Jones, was over twice the number received by any Republican candidate in the 10th district previously. In 1948, Congressman Jones had received only about 1,000 fewer votes than in 1952. It finds, therefore, that the hitherto silent vote in the district was either Republican or anti-Administration.
It finds that Mr. Jones had served without great distinction, but had done so faithfully, honestly and earnestly. His defeat was not a reflection on him personally, but instead suggested the demand across the country for change. The Congressman, it suggests, had usually voted for the best interests of the district and his faithful service deserved the appreciation of his constituents.
"They Got out the Vote—And How!" indicates that when representatives of various local organizations met at the request of the publisher of The News the prior August 22 to discuss a Get-Out-The-Vote drive, they knew that they faced two formidable obstacles, the first being to build up registration totals from the then existing 62,801 out of the approximately 115,000 eligible voters, and, second, to get the registered voters to the polls on election day. After much work in the meantime, the effort had paid off. Registration went to 90,375 prior to the election, an increase of nearly 44 percent. The campaign, having been reported for the first time by television in the Charlotte area, aided in accomplishing the second objective of getting the vote out the previous day. Long lines of voters had been at the polls all day long, and it was eventually determined that 76,983 citizens of the county had voted, an increase of 43,798 over 1948 and 41,202 more than the all-time high of 35,781 votes cast in the race between FDR and Wendell Willkie in 1940.
The newspaper indicates its pride in its role in the campaign and regards it as a great success.
"Double Your Money" indicates that the following evening, the West Charlotte Lions and Second Ward Tigers would do battle in football in Memorial Stadium, in what had become known annually as the Queen City Classic. The teams were evenly matched, and the previous year had labored to a 0-0 tie. The current record favored West Charlotte, with two wins to one by Second Ward, and two ties in the six-year history of the event.
The proceeds of the match would go to finance the athletic programs of the black high schools of Charlotte. The lack of adequate recreational facilities and training were the major reasons for the high rate of juvenile delinquency in the city. Thus, it reasons, persons supporting the Classic by attendance would receive double their money back.
Drew Pearson tells of the bitterness in the campaign of 1952 having been nothing when compared to the mudslinging of other notable elections, when the nation emerged therefrom united and forgot the name-calling. In 1880, when President James Garfield was elected, defeating General Winfield Hancock, the former had been smeared for receiving a $329 dividend and stealing bedding from a Southern widow, as well as refusing to pay a tailor's bill in Troy, N.Y. The Democrats had forged Congressman Garfield's name on a letter proposing the immigration of Chinese to California. Meanwhile, General Hancock had been described by the Chicago Tribune as doing nothing except eating, drinking and enjoying himself "sensually". Mr. Garfield won the election by only a small margin.
Then, in 1884, with the Republicans having been in the White House for 24 consecutive years, excluding the four years of Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland ran against the Republican, James G. Blaine, who was attacked as tainted by corruption and having "wallowed in spoils like a rhinoceros in an African pool", the Democrats alleging that he had accepted bribes from a railroad in Arkansas, producing a letter which he had sent to a business associate, Mr. Fisher, which concluded with kind regards to his wife and a directive to burn the letter. That had produced the chant: "Burn this letter! Burn this letter! Kind regards to Mrs. Fisher." The Republicans countered with the charge that Mr. Cleveland had illicit relations with a 36-year old widow, who bore him an illegitimate child. The candidate admitted the affair and paternity of the bastard, stating that he had paid for the child's support, prompting the Republicans to chant: "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa?/ Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!" A group of clergymen then called on Mr. Blaine and accused the Democrats of "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion". Mr. Blaine was then charged with being anti-Catholic, costing him the election.
The closest thing to the attitude of some people toward President Truman was experienced by President Andrew Johnson, after he acceded to the office following the assassination of President Lincoln in April, 1865. But the public was far more vindictive and less tolerant, more bitter than in the current atmosphere. When President Johnson had toured the country during the Congressional elections of 1866, he was called a "traitor", "renegade", and "great apostate". Unlike the children who had heckled President Truman, the crowds meant business, and in Indianapolis, President Johnson was driven from the platform by an angry mob, yelling, "We want nothing to do with traitors!" They then tore down his banners and killed several people. He was especially hated because he had proposed, as a former Democrat, that Southern Civil War leaders be forgiven. (President Lincoln and Andrew Johnson had run in 1864 under the heading of the Union Party.)
In 1860, the bitterness toward Abraham Lincoln was the worst of all. The Charleston Mercury in South Carolina described him as "a horrid looking wretch … sooty, scoundrelly in aspect, a cross between the nutmeg dealer, the horse swapper and the night man… He is a lank-sided Yankee of the uncleanliest visage and of the dirtiest complexion. Faugh! After him what decent white man would be President?"
During the campaigns between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams, in 1824 and 1828, there was also considerable acridity. The chief issue against Mr. Adams had been corruption, charged with waste, wanton use of patronage and attempting "to make use of a beautiful girl to seduce the passions of Emperor Alexander and sway him to political purposes," when Mr. Adams had visited Russia. General Jackson had been considered a rough-hewn frontiersman of the Tennessee wilderness.
A piece reprinted from U.S. News & World Report tells of the damage accomplished by U.S. bombers in Korea. North Korea's power network had been virtually paralyzed and the country's railroads were operating at two percent of normal capacity, with industry at practically a standstill. Yet, there was no prospect of an enemy collapse, either in the rear echelons or at the front. Despite civilians in the country approaching a state of desperation, the Communist soldiers were better fed than ever before during the war, were adequately clothed and as well equipped as a year earlier.
The bombing results had been pieced together by the magazine from military reports released by the intelligence staff of U.N. supreme commander General Mark Clark. The reports were gleaned from undercover agents, prisoners of war, refugees and aerial observation, comprising the latest military data on the allied air offensive.
The allied air war had been conducted for more than two years, and the raids had been stepped up the prior June 24, the second anniversary of the start of the war, with a campaign to destroy North Korea's war potential and undermine Communist morale. The Air Force had flown 22,000 sorties since the start of that new campaign, striking North Korea with 42,000 tons of bombs, 18,000 rockets and 200,000 gallons of napalm. Power installations along the Yalu River had been a high-priority target in that campaign. Before it began, North Korean power facilities had a capacity of 2.5 million kilowatts, and the attacks against the previously off-limits power facilities had resulted in a virtual blackout in North Korea, with 50 percent of all hydroelectric generating plants having been destroyed and at least 30 percent more damaged. For a period of time, nearly all power was cut off in North Korea, causing communications systems to collapse until small generator units could be rushed from elsewhere. Presently, little or no power was available for lighting and power for irrigation was drastically curtailed. The Communists were waging an intensive propaganda campaign to promise the North Koreans that electric service would soon be restored.
Industry had been severely impacted by the attacks on the power-generating network. Nearly all large manufacturing plants had been destroyed early in the war, but hundreds of small plants and repair shops had sprung up along the power network, becoming a matter of increasing concern to the U.N. forces. But the new attacks had rendered those facilities useless.
Rail facilities also had been severely impacted and while the bombing had not yet caused a reduction of the enemy's capability to support logistically the combat units in a static situation in forward areas, the ability to mount a sustained all-out ground offensive had been affected.
The civilian economy had been severely impacted, with farmers being short of fertilizer and seeds, causing crops to suffer. Communist forces were being formed into units to work the fields. City workers were also in bad shape and civilian morale was at its nadir during the war. A mass migration of refugees from the cities appeared underway, after the Air Force, several months earlier, had warned residents of 78 communities living near military targets that they should evacuate. Pyongyang, for example, had only ten percent of its prewar population.
All of the reports stressed, however, that Communist police-state methods probably could keep the situation under control and prevent interference by the civilian population with the war. Military morale was reported as good to excellent among the Communists.
Joseph & Stewart Alsop tell of imminent decisions awaiting President-elect Eisenhower when he would assume office on January 20. During the course of the campaign, those impending decisions had been ignored. Meanwhile, two closely related, secret struggles about those decisions had been taking place within the Government. The most important of the two was centered around an attempt to draft a new paper regarding certain aspects of defense policy for the National Security Council and the President. That paper was supposed to define the Soviet capabilities and intentions. There was considerable dispute over whether Soviet capabilities and intentions would be the same thing. If, for instance, it was assumed that the Soviets had the capability of launching a strike which could cripple American industrial potential and, at the same time, overrun the Eurasian land mass, the question remained whether they would actually do it.
A group of eminent scientists had been asked to consider the possibility of the Soviets being able to deliver such a crippling atomic blow to the U.S. within the ensuing 2 to 3 years, and they had concluded that it could be accomplished, and, further, that improvements in Soviet air defenses would make it impossible for the U.S. to retaliate with such a crippling blow to the Soviets. The scientists and experts also reported that technological breakthroughs had made possible, however, new kinds of U.S. defensive and offensive capability, but that such could only be achieved through a crash program for improvement of air defenses and strengthening of the strategic air force, requiring enormous expenditures and perhaps the total mobilization of certain areas of industry. That problem had caused a major dispute within the Government, with the Air Force charging that it was bypassed by the scientists and experts, such that the final judgment was left to the incoming President.
Thus, the new President would have such decisions to make from his first day in office, while also having to deal with the problems of Korea, Iran, and the European allies. Those issues would influence the domestic program. The advantage to the American system was that the new President would be able to take a long, new look at the national situation and could count on considerable sympathy and forbearance from the country and Congress during his honeymoon. The Alsops indicate that he would certainly need such sympathy and forbearance, as well as the courage of the people and his own courage to make the right decisions.
Marquis Childs tells of the harm done to the Korean War during the campaign. A quarrel had begun when General Eisenhower urged that U.S. troops be withdrawn from Korean front line positions and replaced by South Koreans. The implication was that the South Korean troops had been overlooked or neglected in training. That irritated the Pentagon, and both Secretary of Defense Robert Lovett and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Omar Bradley pointed to the scarcity of equipment for trained divisions to build up the South Korean troops more rapidly, though they already occupied 60 percent of the front line divisions.
Another issue raised in the campaign was the decision in 1950 to exclude Korea from the U.S. defense perimeter in the Far East, with the Republicans blaming Secretary of State Acheson and the Democrats, led by the President, responding that General Eisenhower, as chief of staff of the Army after the war, had been party to the decision.
The ground commander in Korea, General James Van Fleet, also became embroiled in the controversy over Korea, with his wife releasing to General Eisenhower a letter he had written to his superiors asking for faster training of the South Korean troops. But it also called into question whether he had the right and authority to challenge his seniors at the Pentagon and the President. A similar controversy had swirled around the dismissal of General MacArthur as Korean supreme commander in March, 1951.
Mr. Childs concludes that decisions on the defense budget, the replacement of key men set to retire, and a host of other problems could scarcely wait for the inauguration in January, and that the politics running from Korea to the Pentagon had made those decisions much more difficult.
Framed Edition
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