Campaign rules draw approval
Backers of officers seem satisfied
Washington (UP) – (March 11)
Congressional sponsors of military men for the 1944 Republican presidential nomination expressed general satisfaction today with the Army-Navy agreement outlining conditions under which members of the Armed Forces on active duty may seek and accept election to public offices.
The agreement, approved by President Roosevelt, gave preferential treatment to reservists over Regular Army and Navy men. A regular must be “drafted.” He must be offered the nomination without direct or indirect activity or solicitation on his part.
No campaigning
Reservists do not have to wait for a draft. They are authorized to file evidence of their candidacy as required by local laws without the tender of a nomination.
Neither regulars nor reservists, however, may engage in any way in political management or political campaigns.
Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI), one of the first sponsors of Gen. Douglas MacArthur for the Republican presidential nomination, said the agreement was “satisfactory.”
Comments show approval
Senator Joseph H. Ball (R-MN), backing LtCdr. Harold E. Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota now on active duty in the South Pacific, for the nomination, said that as far as he was concerned, the agreement “is OK.”
Chairman Andrew J. May (D-KY) of the House Military Affairs Committee expressed confidence that the agreement wouldn’t raise political issues or create political disturbances in the armed services.
Rep. Eugene Worley (D-TX), who resigned a naval commission when elected to the House, described the agreement as a “fine thing.”
Coloradoan objects
Objections were voiced by Senator Edwin C. Johnson (D-CO), who favors Gen. George C. Marshall for the Democratic presidential nomination.
He said:
If a man wants to be a candidate and the people want him, let him go to it. Personally, I think being an officer is the biggest job a man can hold now. But if an officer does not feel that way, I think he should be free to become a candidate for office.
Observers noticed that no provision was made in the agreement for determination of a military man’s active or inactive status between the time he is nominated and the time of his election or defeat.