America at war! (1941–) – Part 4

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americavotes1944

New Yorkers line streets in rain to cheer Roosevelt

An estimated three million see President as he makes 50-mile tour of city

New York (UP) – (Oct. 21)
President Roosevelt toured the rain-soaked streets of New York amid a wet but enthusiastic crowd today in an open bid for the state’s 47 electoral votes for his fourth-term campaign.

Mayor F. H. LaGuardia said that Deputy Police Inspector John J. O’Connor estimated that about three million persons had seen the President during his tour.

In his first stop on the four-borough swing, the President stood bareheaded under dripping skies in Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ ballpark, where he urged an estimated 16,000 persons to return Senator Robert F. Wagner (D-NY), to the U.S. Senate.

Crowds six-jeep

Bad weather, sent inland by a sea-riding hurricane, failed to take the edge off the occasion, as the 50-car flag-draped procession wound through New York’s streets in a four-hour procession.

As the parade wheeled from 110th Street into Upper Broadway on the last lap of the tour the crowds were six-deep along both sides of the city’s more famous streets.

The President’s ride down Broadway, particularly m the theater district and on down Fifth Avenue, was made under a floating canopy of ticker tape, torn-up paper, serpentine and confetti.

His hand was in the air all the time waving to the crowd that was heavy from the Bronx down to Washington Square.

A real Dodger ovation

The Ebbets Field crowd gave the President a regular Dodger ovation as he stood by his open car – bareheaded and without his customary cane – “to pay a little tribute to my old friend, Bob Wagner.”

He said:

We were together in the Legislature some thirty-odd years ago. We’ve been close friends ever since, largely because we have the same ideals of being of service to our fellow men.

Mayor La Guardia accompanied the President on the first leg of his trip. Other municipal and party officials were in the parade, and various municipal politicos alternated in the presidential car, flanked by alert Secret Service men. The President had one constant companion, Fala, his dog, who took a somewhat aloof interest in the crowd.

Navy Yard workers enthusiastic

Arriving at the Navy Yard, the President was greeted by a noisy, unabashed crowd that yelled: “Hi, yah, Frankie. Give ‘em hell.”

Ten thousand policemen – vacations and leaves had been canceled – were stationed along the motorcade’s route. Rooftops were ordered cleared of spectators, and the Secret Service and probably the FBI were on the job.

The old Roosevelt smile was very much in evidence, and he acknowledged bursts of applause with a wave of his hat or by clasping his hands over his head. Mrs. Roosevelt, wearing a dark red fur-collared coat and a felt hat, smiled and nodded to crowds standing three-deep along the curb.

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americavotes1944

Willkie undecided, his widow says

None could speak for him, she adds

Rushville, Indiana (UP) – (Oct. 21)
Mrs. Wendell L. Willkie said today in a formal statement that the 1940 Republican presidential nominee had not made a decision at the time of his death as to how he intended to vote in the November presidential election.

The statement, apparently ending speculation as to how the candidate four years ago would have voted this time, said:

I am distressed because many people are saying that they knew how Wendell Willkie intended to vote in the coming election. He had not made his decision. No one could speak for him while he was living; and I ask, out of respect for his memory, that no one should attempt to speak for him now.

The statement was issued by Mrs. Lem Jones, secretary to Mrs. Willkie, while the latter remained in Rushville following burial services earlier this week for her husband.

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americavotes1944

Soldier votes may decide presidential election

If civilian balloting is close, results may not be known for sometime after Nov. 7
By Lyle C. Wilson, United Press staff writer

New York – (Oct. 21)
Ballots from the armed services counted on or after Election Day in pivotal states could be the determining factor in this year’s presidential contest between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thomas E. Dewey.

If President Roosevelt and Governor Dewey come to the stretch in a photo-finish the result might be in doubt for days or weeks after Nov. 7.

An unofficial United Press compilation shows that upward of four million ballots have been sent to servicemen and women – a figure not far under the popular vote margin by which Mr. Roosevelt led Wendell L. Willkie, the Republican candidate, in 1940.

Exact figures lacking

The figure is not complete and in many instances is based on estimates, state officials more often than not being unable to give precise figures.

But the potential service vote is large enough to determine the outcome in a close contest which many persons are convinced next month’s election will be.

The 1916 election between Woodrow Wilson and Charles Evans Hughes was determined with final returns from the town of Eureka, California. If California again should be the determining state, the outcome might not be known until Dec. 16 when armed service votes are counted there. It is estimated that 175,000 California servicemen and women have received absentee ballots.

Pennsylvania watched

If Pennsylvania is the key state in this election – and many persons expect it to be – final returns from that state will not be available until sometime after Nov. 22 because counting of the servicemen’s ballots will not be started until then. And there are 620,000 armed-service ballots out from that state. A dozen or more states may count service ballots after Election Day.

None knows, of course, what percentage of service men and women will vote. But if their participation is large, percentagewise, they will control the result in many a close state.

This election campaign is primarily a contest for 11 big states where the vote in 1940 was close. Of those 21, Mr. Roosevelt won nine and Mr. Willkie two. Mr. Dewey probably must hold those two and reverse the trend in the others to win. At the least he must reverse the trend in most of them.

There is a persistent and quite persuasive Democratic argument that Mr. Roosevelt will have a majority of the armed service vote. The argument becomes considerably sharper on the question of how great a majority.

But it is pointed out that fighting men and service women are from the younger brackets of the electorate where the administration counts itself strongest.

On the other hand, it is argued that these young people are likely to be strongly influenced by what their own families intend to do on Election Day.

But, however the armed service vote may divide, its potential impact on the outcome is indicated by some pertinent figures relating to the 11 close states where Mr. Dewey must cut deeply into Democratic positions to win as well as hold the two states which went Republican in 1940.

Figures which follow show the margin by which these states were won in 1940. The first two, Indiana and Michigan, went Republican. The rest cast their electoral votes for Mr. Roosevelt.

For comparison with the 1940 margin, the unofficial estimates of outstanding armed service ballots which may be cast this year are given:

1940 margin Estimated 1944 service ballots
Indiana 25,000 150,000
Michigan 7,000 200,000
Illinois 102,000 250,000
Massachusetts 137,000 450,000
Minnesota 48,000 124,000
Missouri 87,000 80,000
New Jersey 71,000 331,118
New York 224,000 523,816
Ohio 147,000 241,273
Pennsylvania 282,000 620,000
Wisconsin 25,000 No estimate

Outstanding Wisconsin ballots may be assumed to be in excess of the 1940 margin by which Mr. Roosevelt won the state.

Big votes cast

Although the Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania margins were large in themselves, it must be remembered that those states cast an enormous vote.

Ohio cast well over three million votes last time, Illinois 4,200,000, Massachusetts two million, New York 6,270,000 and Pennsylvania more than four million. Those contests were close.

The aggregate electoral vote of those 11 states is 237, only 29 short of the bare Electoral College majority necessary to elect. In 1920, those states cast an aggregate of 15,613,807 votes for Mr. Roosevelt and 13,522,386 for Mr. Willkie.

Mr. Roosevelt’s 11-state popular vote margin was 2,091,521 votes. Those states have outstanding 2,823,207 ballots sent to the armed services.

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Blast death toll may exceed 100

Debris still searched for victims’ bodies

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Dock blast kills 5 and injures 50

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3123

New Yorkers back Ohio-to-Erie canal

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Italy’s great need for aid stressed

Threats of famine, chaos emphasized

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americavotes1944

Cheers for Roosevelt cost woman her teeth

New York (UP) – (Oct. 21)
A woman Democrat in Queens leaned out of her fourth-floor apartment window today to cheer lustily when President Roosevelt’s motorcade passed by.

At the peak of her efforts, her false teeth – uppers and lowers – popped out and fell on the heads of spectators on the sidewalk.

3125

6 coal strikes cost 14,000 tons a day

U.S. Conciliator acts to settle disputes

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americavotes1944

Labor factions split on campaign

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (UP) – (Oct. 21)
The Pennsylvania Federation of Labor “Committee to Elect Roosevelt,” in a circular to the state AFL union membership, today took issue with the campaign arguments of the new “Labor’s Non-Partisan Committee of Pennsylvania For Dewey and Bricker,” headed by David Williams, deputy State Labor and Industry secretary and former State AFL, secretary-treasurer.

The circular, signed by committee chairman and state AFL president James L. McDevitt of Philadelphia, said members of the Dewey-Bricker group “speak now as individuals,” whereas the Federation’s committee is acting under authorization and direction of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor.

The letter pointed out that some members of Mr. Williams’ committee were delegates to the Federation convention in April, “but did not speak or vote in opposition to the Roosevelt endorsement.”

Mr. McDevitt charged the “nonpartisan committee” with using “the scare technique with respect to their comments concerning Communists.”

Mr. McDevitt said:

We have led the fight against all persons and organizations that have identified themselves with Communistic ideologies, and have not hesitated to expel them from the ranks of our movement, in accordance with the provisions of our constitution, whenever we were able to secure creditable evidence.

3127

Wildcat strike halts output of B-25 bombers

Kansas company fires 127 workmen

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Nightclub fire charges dropped

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3128

americavotes1944

Dewey preparing farm speech

Minneapolis address set for Tuesday night

Albany, New York (UP) – (Oct. 21)
Governor Dewey tonight began working on a major farm speech which he will deliver on a whirlwind campaign through the Midwest next week.

Governor Dewey, who returned to the New York capital after a campaign speech in Pittsburgh lasts night, started work on the farm address with Elliott Bell, his chief advisor. They planned to devote most of the weekend to whipping into shape the material the GOP nominee obtained at conferences with farmers in all sections of the country.

The Governor’s Midwest itinerary calls for a nationwide address from Minneapolis Tuesday night and Chicago the following night, with a three-hour stopover for conferences at Milwaukee in between.

Governor Dewey will leave Albany Monday morning for Minneapolis.

3129

MacArthur warns Japs on prisoners

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3130

Cuban cargo ship adrift; crew gone

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Tug survivors washed ashore

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3131

americavotes1944

Editorial: ‘Alphabet soup’

Do you know the initials of the bureaus that control your lives?

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3132

Miss Perkins plans larger department

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americavotes1944

Bricker cites GOP gifts to Social Security

Hits New Deal’s exclusive guardianship

Salt Lake City, Utah (UP) – (Oct. 21)
Ohio Governor John W. Bricker, asserting that welfare legislation was only evidence of good intention, said tonight the actual fulfillment of a Social Security program depended upon administration and sound government.

Defying what he said was the New Deal claim of “exclusive guardianship” over Social Security, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, in a speech prepared for delivery here, asserted that “America has always had a Social Security program.” Furthermore, he cited Republican contribution to social progress and said his party’s platform now outlines a Social Security program which deserves support.

Enactment only one thing

Bricker said:

As American citizens, we must realize that legislation is not a guarantee of social progress or Social Security. It is only evidence of good intentions, the fulfillment of which depends upon the soundness and the security of our government.

Enactment of legislation is one thing; administration and sound government are something else.

“The Social Security Act of 1935 was not a spur-of-the-moment New Deal conception,” Governor Bricker said.

Cites Republicans’ role

The Republican Party, he said, “has played a vital role in promoting social progress,” adding that his party gave the country the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Commerce and Labor Departments, Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, the Federal Children’s Bureau, first National Unemployment Conference, Railway Labor Act, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Federal Farm Board and the original Home Loan Act.

Governor Bricker goes to Wyoming after resting here throughout tomorrow.

Earlier today, he branded as a “myth” the “indispensability” in foreign affairs which, he said, the Democrats claimed for Mr. Roosevelt.

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americavotes1944

34,000 votes from services received here

Returns averaging over 5,000 a week

One-third of the 100,000 military ballots for the presidential election – voted and ready to count – have been returned to the County Elections Department and tucked away in a bank vault for safekeeping.

The ballots continued to deluge the Elections Department last week when 5,000 were received, a slight drop from the previous week, but raising the total to 34,000 of the 100,242 mailed out, County Elections Director David Olbum said.

It was the fifth straight week that the return has hit a 5,000-a-week or better average.

Week of counting foreseen

With two weeks left before the Nov. 7 election, and nearly five weeks remaining before the deadline for the acceptance of military ballots, indications are that the final total will reach at least 50,000, and perhaps go over that figure.

Mr. Olbum said yesterday that if half of the absentee votes are returned in the County, “it will take at least a week to count them” once the tabulations by the Return Board get underway 15 days after Election Day.

If the race is close in Pennsylvania, the 390,000 military ballots, expected to be returned “could very easily” determine which way the state’s 35 electoral votes will go, thus delaying the national outcome until about Dec. 1, he said.

New York in same category

Mr. Olbum added:

Nothing could be more appropriate than to have the soldier vote decide a wartime election.

The final outcome in New York may also hinge on the military ballots, with more than half of the state’s 600,000 absentee votes already returned. In the 1940 election, the Democratic plurality was 224,000.

New York’s military vote laws, however, require the ballots to be returned on or before Nov. 3. They will be counted on Election Day, the same as civilian ballots, Mr. Olbum said, thus removing any delay in final tabulations.

Ballots still going out

He said:

If the margin between the two parties is 100,000 or so after the count of civilian votes, then the military count may well determine the winner in either Pennsylvania or New York.

Ballots are still being mailed out by the Elections Department to servicemen and women missed in the roundup of military voters and to those who have sent back ballots improperly filled out or otherwise defective.

Less than 2,000 ballots received so far have been defective or appear questionable. To all these voters, the Department has mailed new ballots, along with a letter explaining why the first ballot may not be valid.

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americavotes1944

‘Man from Mars’ coming –
Orson Welles to speak for Democrats at Mosque

Senator Truman and ex-Governor Pinchot scheduled to perform on same program

Orson Welles, who scared the daylights out of half the nation with a radio broadcast a few years ago, will waggle the specter of a Republican victory before Pittsburgh Democrats at Syria Mosque Nov. 2.

And if there are still any wavering doubters not frightened into the fourth-term line by Orson, Senator Harry Truman, who is running for Vice President, will appear on the same program.

The third man on the program – which is just five days before Election Day – isn’t Father Time. No, Junior, it’s his first cousin, former Governor Gifford Pinchot.

But the big attraction on the program, sponsored by the Allegheny County Committee, will be “The Man from Mars,” the man who won the beautiful and glamorous Rita Hayworth by sawing her in two every night before an applauding throng.

There won’t be any such luscious victim at Syria Mosque, however. Instead, Orson will aim his cutting remarks at Tom Dewey.

Whether Rita will be present to hear her husband and help draw attendance hasn’t been announced.

Mr. Welles has been quite active in the Roosevelt campaign for some weeks – together with such other amusement notables as Frank Sinatra and Paulette Goddard.

Previously he had become a figure in serious discussions outside the realm of the theater and radio when he was a very vocal proponent of the opening of a second front in Europe – prior to the time that the general staff was ready to open it.

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americavotes1944

Writers, leaders agree –
Pennsylvania is THE pivot in election

‘Heat’ is turned on Keystone State
By Kermit McFarland

Pennsylvania, in the opinion of nearly all the top political writers of the country, as well as most of the national leaders, has become “the” pivotal state in the presidential election.

Reports from the national headquarters of the two major parties indicate that many of the strategists and pulse-feelers believe the election may hang on the outcome in this state.

Political reporters from the major newspapers and news services have been pouring into the state the last couple of weeks. Some 40 who were assigned to cover Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s speech here Friday night devoted their day Friday to hunting down information on trends in this area.

Nominees visit state

Mr. Dewey’s second appearance in the state and the fact that President Roosevelt will make one of his few campaign speeches in Philadelphia next Friday add to evidence of the concern with which Pennsylvania’s big bloc of 35 electoral votes is regarded.

The Republican candidate’s extraordinary efforts to dent the so-called “labor vote,” which generally has been regarded as mainly in Mr. Roosevelt’s corner, provides additional evidence.

In his speech at Hunt Armory Friday night, the New York Governor’s principal purpose, it was plain, was to persuade labor groups that his administration not only would be as friendly to labor as the New Deal, but would be more competent to handle labor issues on an equitable and efficient basis.

Appeals to ‘white collars’

He also made an all-out appeal to the “white-collar” groups, in which lie the bulk of the “independent” vote and which the politicians are just coming to recognize as a potent voting bloc capable of providing the balance in an election.

Mr. Dewey’s white-collar speech drew an immediate response from Leo F. Bollens, president of the National Federation of Salaried Unions.

Adopting Mr. Dewey’s term “forgotten Americans,” Mr. Bollens said “these people are little better off than they were four years ago.”

He said inflationary rises in the cost of living have left the white-collar workers far out of line in comparison to highly-paid workers in war plants.

Views in letter to Dewey

He said:

Certainly, these people are not responsible for inflation. Probably, if an analysis were possible, it would be found that they are contributing a far greater proportion of their income to war funds and charitable work than most of those who are receiving inflated incomes. This group forms the backbone of our financial structure.

Mr. Bollens set out his views in a letter to Governor Dewey.

The drive to sway Pennsylvania into the Republican or Democratic columns will be intensified in the remaining two weeks of the campaign.

The Democrats are making a special effort to impress on voters believed to be friendly to Mr. Roosevelt the necessity for voting. They report many war plant workers, reluctant to take off time to vote seem to be indifferent to the election on the theory that Mr. Roosevelt will win anyway, whether or not they vote. Democratic and Political Action Committee workers are turning on the heat to break up this notion.

La Guardia to speak

Two Republican mayors will occupy the speaking platform at North Side Carnegie Music Hall Tuesday night when the Independents for Roosevelt. a special committee, stages its second rally.

Mayor Fiorella H. La Guardia of New York and Mayor George W. Welsh of Grand Rapids, Michigan, former Michigan Lieutenant Governor, will be the speakers.

The Democratic County Committee has also scheduled a major rally at Syria Mosque for Nov. 2 at which Senator Harry S. Truman, Democratic candidate for Vice President will be the principal speaker. Democratic headquarters also announced former Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot and Orson Welles, movie and radio luminary, will speak on the same program.

3137

Egg prices climb again; last, OPA says

‘Trying to be fair’ is reply to criticism

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3138

Kirkpatrick: Daring American actress sheltered Allied fliers two doors from Gestapo

Stage star outwitted Nazis in occupation
By Helen Kirkpatrick

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Yanks find German cellars well stocked with food

Smaller, self-supporting towns well off, but big cities reported facing crisis
By L. S. B. Shapiro, North American Newspaper Alliance

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