America at war! (1941–) – Part 4

3907

Führer HQ (November 7, 1944)

Kommuniqué des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht

Die Besatzung von Dünkirchen zerschlug starke, auf schmaler Front geführte Angriffe gegen die Ostfront der Festung und vernichtete dabei 16 der angreifenden Panzer. Der Feind hatte so schwere Ausfälle, daß er seine Angriffe nicht fortsetzte. In den Dünen an der Nordwestküste Walcherens und um Middelburg setzten unsere Truppen ihren Widerstand fort, der durch die hohen Verluste des Feindes seine Würdigung erfährt.

Dem tapferen Ausharren unserer Brückenkopfbesatzungen an der unteren Maas ist es zu danken, daß die Masse unserer Verbände über Holländisch Diep und Maas zurückgeführt und eine neue Front auf dem Nordufer aufgebaut werden konnte. Die vom Feind angestrebte Vernichtung der in Nordbrabant kämpfenden deutschen Verbände ist damit gescheitert. Seit Beginn der Schlacht im Raum von Antwerpen und in Nordbrabant hat die dort kämpfende Armee in schwerstem, fast pausenlosem Ringen 883 kanadische und englische Panzer vernichtet.

Feindliche Angriffe gegen den Brückenkopf Moerdijk wurden zerschlagen.

Durch konzentrische Angriffe unserer Panzer und Grenadiere im Einbruchsraum von Germeter wurde weiteres Gelände vom Feind gesäubert und der Ring um die abgeschnittene nordamerikanische Kräftegruppe fester geschlossen. 15 Panzer des Gegners wurden vernichtet, drei weitere sowie zahlreiche Fahrzeuge erbeutet und 7 Schlachtflieger durch Truppen des Heeres abgeschossen.

Trotz des Einsatzes überlegener Kräfte zwischen Baccarat und Saint-Dié konnte der Feind nur an vereinzelten Stellen das Westufer der Meurthe erreichen. Durch unser zusammengefasstes Abwehrfeuer erlitt er hohe Verluste.

Das Störungsfeuer der „V1“ auf London geht weiter.

Aus Mittelitalien wird zunehmende Gefechtstätigkeit im Frontbogen nördlich Rocca S. Casciano gemeldet. Die verstärkten Anstrengungen der Bulgaren, unsere Stellungen zwischen dem Strumicatal und dem Raum nord­ östlich Mitrovica zu durchstoßen, brachten ihnen auch gestern keine Erfolge.

Vor Budapest hat sich die Lage infolge unserer Gegenangriffe in die tiefe Flanke der Sowjets entspannt.

Im Kampfraum Cegled–Szolnok drücken die Bolschewisten weiter nach Norden, konnten aber gegen den entschlossenen Widerstand unserer Truppen nur geringfügig Boden gewinnen.

Deutsche und ungarische Schlachtflieger griffen bei Tag und Nacht erfolgreich in die Erdkämpfe ein und fügten dem Gegner hohe Ausfälle an Menschen und Material zu.

An der Theiß sind Gegenangriffe gegen den übergesetzten Feind im Gange, örtliche Unternehmungen der Sowjets an der slowakischen Ostgrenze scheiterten ebenso wie Angriffe auf erweiterter Front südwestlich des Duklapasses.

In Ostpreußen wurde das Westufer des Goldaper Sees vom Feinde gesäubert.

Die Wucht des feindlichen Ansturmes südöstlich Libau ließ nach, dagegen setzten die Sowjets im Raum von Autz ihre Großangriffe fort. Unsere Grenadiere vereitelten den beabsichtigten Durchbruch und brachten die Bolschewisten nach geringen Anfangserfolgen zum Stehen.

Anglo-amerikanische Terrorflieger setzten ihre ausgedehnten Angriffe gegen das Ruhrgebiet fort. Nach dem schweren Angriff auf Bochum in der Nacht zum 5. November war Gelsenkirchen am gestrigen Tage und in der vergangenen Nacht das Ziel starker feindlicher Bomberverbände. Im übrigen Reichsgebiet wurden die Wohnviertel von Neumünster, Hamburg, Wien und Koblenz schwerer getroffen. Jäger und Flakartillerie der Luftwaffe schossen 55 feindliche Flugzeuge, darunter 43 viermotorige Bomber ab.

Bei den Kämpfen im ostungarischen Raum zeichnete sich ein Gebirgsjägerregiment unter Führung von Major Schaszner durch Standhaftigkeit und hervorragenden Angriffsgeist aus.

3908

Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (November 7, 1944)

FROM
(A) SHAEF FORWARD

ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section

DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
071100A November

TO FOR ACTION
(1) AGWAR (Pass to WND)

TO (W) FOR INFORMATION (INFO)
(2) FIRST US ARMY GP
(3) ADV HQ 12 ARMY GP
(4) FWD ECH (MAIN) 12 ARMY GP
(5) AEAF
(6) ANCXF
(7) EXFOR MAIN
(8) EXFOR REAR
(9) DEFENSOR, OTTAWA
(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) ETOUSA
(15) SACSEA
(16) CMHQ (Pass to RCAF & RCN)
(17) COM Z APO 871
(18) SHAEF MAIN

(REF NO.)
NONE

(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR

Communiqué No. 213

On the Walcheren Island, Allied troops have taken Middelburg and after cutting the road between there and Veere, have freed Veere itself. Other units are fighting their way northeastward from the Domburg area. Gains on the Dutch mainland have taken our troops to the outskirts of Willemstad and fighting continues on the approaches to the Moerdijk bridges, which have been blown by the enemy. Communications and supply lines in Holland and over the Dutch-German frontier were attacked yesterday by fighter-bombers. Targets included railway yards at Utrecht and Gouda and railway tracks over widespread areas of northern and eastern Holland. Rocket-firing fighters hit military buildings east of Zutphen.

Our units continued to meet strong opposition in the Hürtgen Forest. A German counterattack was repulsed west of Hürtgen, but a thrust by enemy infantry and tanks on Vossenack forced us to withdraw a short distance in the town. The enemy attack was contained and our units resumed the offensive to regain their former positions. We made small gains two miles west of Schmidt against heavy opposition. Fighter-bombers, supporting our ground units in the Schmidt area, made a series of attacks on the enemy troops and armored units. They also bombed and strafed military buildings northeast of Geilenkirchen and hit targets at Jülich and fuel and ammunition dumps at Düren. Other fighter-bombers attacked communications and transport in the Rhineland and elsewhere in Germany. Gelsenkirchen was bombed during the afternoon by a very strong force of escorted heavy bombers, five of which are missing.

In the evening, other heavy bombers attacked Koblenz. East of Lunéville, the village of Herbéviller was taken. Our units have freed several additional towns north and southeast of Baccarat. These include Vacqueville, Bertrichamps, Lachapelle, Saint-Remy, Nompatelize and La Salle. New gains were made against stubborn resistance in the Vosges heights west of Gerardmer. In the Maritime Alps, we have made gains at several points and now hold the high ground along the Italian border.

COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S

THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
/s/

Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others

ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section

NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA Ext. 9

AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
/s/
3909

U.S. Navy Department (November 7, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 177

Hellcat fighters, Avenger torpedo planes and Helldiver dive bombers of the Third Fleet on November 5 (West Longitude Date), continued attacks on Southern Luzon which had been begun the previous day. Preliminary reports show that additional heavy damage was inflicted upon the enemy’s air strength, shipping and ground installations by our airmen on the second day of the operation.

In addition to the 191 planes destroyed on November 4 (as previously announced in Communiqué No. 176), an additional 249 enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground and in the air on November 5. Many others were damaged on the ground by strafing. A recapitulation of the number of enemy aircraft destroyed in the two-day strike totals 440; with 113 of these having been shot down in the air and 327 destroyed on the ground. The largest concentrations of enemy planes were found at Nichols Field, Clark Field and Nielson Field, Lipa Field, Tarlac Field, Bamban Field and Mabalacat Field. Figures on our own losses are not yet available.

Heavy damage was inflicted upon enemy ground installations during the attack on November 5. Three oil storage areas were set ablaze at the North Clark Field; fire resulted from a tremendous explosion at the Northeast Clark Field; a railway engine and five tank cars were destroyed north of Malvar.

Shipping in Manila Harbor was again brought under aerial attack on November 5, and the following damage was inflicted on this day:

  • Three cargo ships sunk
  • One oil tanker sunk
    *One destroyer probably sunk
  • Two destroyers damaged
  • Two destroyer escorts damaged
  • One trawler damaged
  • Several cargo ships damaged (making a total of 14 cargo ships damaged for the two-day strike)

A single Liberator of the 11th Army Air Force bombed three small transports off the northeast coast of Onekotan Island on November 5. Other 11th Air Force Liberators also bombed the island the same day. In a running battle with seven enemy fighters the Liberators shot down one plane and probably destroyed another. Two Liberators were damaged. A single Liberator also bombed Otomari, south of Onekotan. Results were unobserved. Tori Shima, a small island east of Paramushiru, was bombed and strafed by Eleventh Air Force Mitchells on the same day. All planes returned.

Liberators of the 7th Army Air Force bombed three cargo ships and a tanker at Hahajima in the Bonins on November 5, but results were not observed. On the same day other Liberators bombed Ant Jima in the Bonins.

Corsairs and Avengers of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing on November 5 strafed and bombed Rota Island, the phosphate plant being the principal target.

Neutralization raids by Corsairs and Dauntless dive bombers of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing were continued in the Marshall Islands on November 5.

3910

The Chicago Daily Tribune (November 7, 1944)

americavotes1944

FDR appeals for militant, united people

Urges 50 million to cast ballots
By William Edwards

Hyde Park, New York –
President Roosevelt wound up his fourth-term campaign tonight with a plea that the nation “face the future as a militant and united people – united here at home as well as on the battlefronts.”

In a solemnly-worded appeal, he urged 50 million American voters to “show the rest of the world that our kind of government is the best in the world – and the kind we propose to keep.”

He said the political battle was finished and he did not want to talk of partisan politics. He concluded, as he had on election eve in 1940, with a prayer by an unidentified author asking the blessing of God upon the whole land.

The text of the radio address, which had been in readiness since early in the afternoon, was withheld from the press until Mr. Roosevelt actually began speaking into the microphones in the library of his big home on the Hudson River.

Delay not explained

No official explanation was given for this unusual delay.

Tonight’s sober speech was in contrast to the informal speeches delivered by Mr. Roosevelt this afternoon in a tour of the Hudson River countryside.

His last address to the voters before they march to the polls tomorrow was almost somber at times. The President said he and millions of other Americans were most deeply concerned with the wellbeing of our fighting men far away from home.

These men, he continued, will be asking questions sooner or later as to whether the folks back home looked after their interests while they themselves were off at war.

Jazz closes campaign

New York – (Nov. 6, special)
A strange medley of jazz, jingles, and wisecracks, interspersed with political potpourri put the finishing touches tonight on the New Deal’s fourth-term campaign.

For three-quarters of an hour over all major networks, writers, singers, comedians, politicians, and movie stars from Hollywood and New York followed each other in bewildering succession in the Democratic National Committee’s vaudeville jamboree.

After Frank Sinatra had spoken and others in the heterogeneous array of performers had done their bits, President Roosevelt came on in a serious mood.

Groucho Marx adlibs

Speakers included writer Quentin Reynolds, U.S. Ambassador to Russia W. Averell Harriman, Dorothy Parker, Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. Groucho Marx adlibbed a few quips on behalf of the New Deal. So did Milton Berle. Several comedians recited bits of doggerel about Dewey and Hoover.

Chants of vote, vote, vote were heard at intervals during the program and an overlay of continuous jazz music made the words of some of the speakers almost indistinguishable. Voices came on the air said to represent typical farmers, union members, aircraft workers, and working girls.

3911

americavotes1944

Dewey pleads for change to shorten war

End of confusion at home held vital
By Hal Foust, Chicago Tribune Press Service

Albany, New York – (Nov. 6)
Governor Dewey, in a final and solemn appeal to America’s voters, tonight urged defeat of the fourth-term candidacy for the following reasons:

  • To shorten the war and to hasten the return home of 11 million soldiers and sailors.
  • To assure a peace that will last.
  • To revive America after the war as a land of freedom and opportunity.

The 42-year-old Republican nominee spoke from the Executive Mansion here. With him were his wife, his mother, and two sons, 12 and nine years old.

He spoke as an American who has advanced himself under the free enterprise system. He spoke on behalf of his sons and others of the future generation. He spoke on behalf of the youth now in uniform which would like to return home as soon as possible and find job, and not a dole, regimentation or leaf raking.

Arguments substantiated

With a thoroughness that has characterized his entire campaign, Dewey substantiated each of his three points. He documented his argument that none of the three objectives of tomorrow’s election can be attained without defeat of President Roosevelt and the entire New Deal.

On the first point, Dewey told how confusion and bungling at Washington, DC, have weakened support of the professional warriors, Marshall, King, Eisenhower, Nimitz, MacArthur, and Halsey, who are fighting this war and will continue to command. He told how Roosevelt’s personal and secret diplomacy has stiffened enemy resistance.

On the second point, Dewey said that Roosevelt’s constant conflicts with congress preclude a harmony between the executive and legislative branches of government essential for making treaties in accordance with plans for a world peace organization. He recalled former President Wilson’s failure to win accord with the Senate on the first League of Nations issue.

Emphasizes New Deal failure

On the third point, Dewey emphasized that Roosevelt has offered for the post-war era no economic program other than continuation of the New Deal bureaucracy, which, after eight peace years in 1940 found 10 million still unemployed.

To advance all three objectives, Dewey asked the electorate tomorrow to end the unhappy turmoil, dissension, class hatred, group conflict, and antagonism that have accumulated in Washington, DC, for the last 12 years. With new, young blood, he would inaugurate an administration dedicated to and qualified for harmony and efficiency on the home front, for a quick end of the war, a prompt return home of the soldiers and sailors, and for a sound economy of full production and full employment after the war.

His last words were almost a prayer asking for divine guidance, asking for faith in our neighbors, faith in America, and faith in Almighty God. With these words, he closed his Republican campaign for the Presidency. Tomorrow, he and Mrs. Dewey will go to New York City to cast their ballots with about 50 million other Americans.

3912

americavotes1944

57,000 U.S. prisoners abroad will not vote

Washington (AP) – (Nov. 6)
The more than 57,000 U.S. servicemen and women who are prisoners of war have not been permitted to cast absentee ballots for tomorrow’s election, the War Department said today.

3913

The New York Times (November 7, 1944)

americavotes1944

U.S. VOTES TODAY; WAR BALLOT COUNT MAY DELAY VERDICT
11 states will not canvass returns from Armed Forces until after Election Day

50,000,000 total likely; Fair weather is forecast for crucial area in East and rain for Midwest
By James A. Hagerty

With President Roosevelt touring Dutchess and adjoining counties and making a final radio appeal from his home in Hyde Park, according to his custom, and with Governor Dewey broadcasting a speech from the Executive Mansion at Albany, the 1944 presidential campaign drew to a close last night.

Today, between 45,000,000 and 50,000,000 American citizens will go to the polls to cast their votes in the most important national election since the last wartime presidential election, that of 1864 in the Civil War.

In addition, 4,000,000 men and women in the armed services have already sent in their ballots or will send them in to the states that will receive and record them after Election Day. In New York State, where the extended time for receipt of war ballots expired at noon yesterday, Willian T. Simpson, chairman of the War Ballot Commission, announced that 421,128 war ballots had been received. These have been sent to the boards of elections in the different counties and will be counted with the civilian votes tonight.

Eleven states delay count

Should the result of the election be close, it may not be determined until the count of the service vote, and the result may not be known for weeks because 11 states do not count this vote on Election Day. For example, Pennsylvania, with 35 electoral votes and classed with New York as somewhat doubtful, though probably a Roosevelt state, will not start counting its service vote until Nov. 22. Thus, the result in that state may not be known until several days later if Governor Dewey should receive a plurality of the civilian vote.

The other states, with their electoral votes and dates for counting war ballots, follow:

California (25), Nov. 24; Colorado (6), Nov. 22; Florida (8), Nov. 8-17; Maryland (8), Nov. 9; Missouri (15), Nov. 10; Nebraska (6), Nov. 13-Dec. 1; North Dakota (4), up to Dec. 5; Rhode Island (4), Dec. 5; Utah (4), Nov. 7-12; Washington (8), Nov. 27-Dec. 5.

Because of complaints of congestion during the registration period in New York City, the New York Legislature passed and Governor Dewey signed a bill extending the voting hours in the state from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EWT, as had been done in the presidential elections of 1940 and 1936. The polls will open at 6:00 a.m. throughout the state. The registration in New York City is 3,217,511. The registration in the state outside New York City, including the non-personal registration, is 3,677,034.

Both sides predict victory

At the close of a campaign that showed some uncertain factors, neither national chairman of the two major parties found reason to change hie prediction of victory. Robert E. Hannegan, Democratic National Chairman, repeated that Governor Dewey would win fewer electoral votes and receive fewer popular votes than the late Wendell L. Willkie did in 1940. Herbert Brownell Jr., Republican National Chairman, again declared that he would not concede President Roosevelt a single state outside the Solid South. Neither claimed a specific number of States, although Mr. Hannegan declared at the last moment that President Roosevelt would carry New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the chairman’s own state of Missouri. Mr. Willkie carried 10 states with an electoral vote of 82 in 1940.

Harry Fleischman, national secretary of the Socialist Party, said he believed the Socialist vote would be the highest since 1932, when Norman Thomas, then and now the party’s candidate for President, received almost a million votes.

With the result in New York expected to be close, possibly a plurality under 100,000 for either candidate, Paul E. Fitzpatrick, Democratic State Chairman, held to his prediction of a minimum plurality of 250,000 for President Roosevelt, and Edvin F. Jaeckle, Republican State Chairman, to his estimate of 150,000 for Governor Dewey. Arthur E. Schwartz, Republican state campaign manager, hailed the President’s trip through the Hudson River countryside, which he has taken in all his campaigns, as evidence of panic.

Because the greatest Republican strength is in the country districts, the weather predictions favor the Republican national ticket in the key states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Massachusetts. The prediction for the Atlantic and Gulf states is for a clear day – cold in the North and mild in the South.

Widespread rains are forecast for the upper Mississippi Valley and the western lake region, with showers in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Snow flurries are expected in the Rocky Mountain states and in the Far West the prediction is clear weather except for rain in Western Oregon and Washington.

Six national tickets listed

Six rational tickets have been nominated, although all these candidates will not appear on the ballot in every State. The presidential and vice-presidential candidates follow:

DEMOCRATIC: Franklin D. Roosevelt of Hyde Park, New York, and Harry S. Truman of Independence, Missouri.

REPUBLICAN: Thomas E. Dewey of New York City and John W. Bricker of Columbus, Ohio.

SOCIALIST: Norman Thomas of New York City and Darlington Hoopes of Reading, Pennsylvania.

SOCIALIST-LABOR: Edward A. Teicher of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and Arla A. Albaugh of Massillon, Ohio.

AMERICA FIRST: Gerald L. K. Smith of Detroit, Michigan, and Harry Romer of St. Henry, Ohio.

The Prohibition and America First candidates are not on the ballot in New York State. President Roosevelt and Senator Truman are also the nominees of the American Labor and Liberal parties. In New York, because of a law preventing duplication of party names even in part, the Socialist-Labor candidates are running under the label of the Industrial Government Party.

New York State voters will also vote for a U.S. Senator and an Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals. Democratic Senator Robert F. Wagner, who is running for reelection with the endorsement of the Labor and Liberal parties, is opposed by Republican Secretary of State Thomas J. Curran and Eric Haas, candidate of the Industrial Labor Party.

Marvin R. Dye, Democratic candidate for Judge of the Court of Appeals, also has the Labor and Liberal Party nominations. John Van Voorhis is the Republican candidate and Walter Steinhilber is the candidate of the Industrial Labor Party. The Socialist Party made no nominations for Senator or Appeals Court Judge.

The voters of the state will also elect 45 Representatives in Congress, who now stand 22 Republicans, 22 Democrats and one American Labor Party member, Vito Marcantonio. They also will elect 56 State Senators, 150 members of the Assembly and various judicial, county and local officials.

In addition to voting for President and Vice President, voters in 31 states will elect Governors today. Of these states, 19 have Republican Governors and 12 have Democratic Governors.

Thirty-five Senate seats, 22 now held by Democrats and 13 by Republicans, are at stake in the election. To get control of the Senate, Republicans face the virtually impossible task of holding the seats they now have and winning 12 of the seats now held by Democrats.

Maine reelected three Republican Representatives and a Republican Governor at its state election in September, but in the other states, 432 members of the House of Representatives will be elected. For these 432 seats, there are 919 candidates. Republican leaders believe they have at least a fair chance of regaining control of the House. The prospect of doing so depends upon holding their present 212 seats and adding at least six more for a bare majority of 218. Democrats contend that the effect of the presidential contest will be to increase the Democratic representation in the House.

3914

The Los Angeles Times (November 7, 1944)

americavotes1944

Last-minute efforts may decide state

Parties’ activities in getting people to polls called vital

Reaching a neck-and-neck climax in California today, the outcome the presidential contest in this state between Governor Dewey and President Roosevelt – known to be close throughout the nation – was expected to hinge upon the respective get-out-the-vote activities of the Republican and Democratic campaign field workers.

Anticipating a total state vote in excess of 3,000,000 – approximately 84 percent of the combined registration of 4,141,331 – leaders on both sides of the presidential race claimed California’s 25 electoral votes by varying estimated majorities.

Both sides confident

For the Democratic side the assertion was made that President Roosevelt will win his fourth-term bid here by a majority of 500,000.

And from Republican headquarters here and in San Francisco, a Dewey victory ranging between 100,000 and 200,000 was predicted.

Election of Lieutenant Governor Frederick F. Houser to the U.S. Senate in a substantial win over the incumbent Democrat, Sheridan Downey

Watch House race

With 13 of the state’s 23 members in the national House of Representatives wearing the

Clear weather was generally anticipated throughout California today. The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. PWT.

Republican hopes for victory in the presidential contest were pinned on a “trend-to-Dewey” sentiment among registered Democrats which, in the opinion of GOP leaders, has been accelerated during the concluding weeks of the campaign.

Heavy ballot seen

Here is Los Angeles, where the total registration Democrats number 1,047,748, and registered Republicans, 640,042, Registrar of Voters Mike Donoghue believes more than 1,500,000 ballots will be cast.

Absentee ballots from the state’s sailors, soldiers and Marines, not to be tabulated until Nov. 23, may determine the Electoral College vote of California if pre-election indications of a close finish are borne out by actual balloting.

More than 285,000 absentee ballots have been requested and these are now being returned at a rate which promises a total return considerably in excess of 50 percent of the requests.

Of the 185,797 absentee ballots sent to California men and women in the Armed Forces from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alameda and San Diego counties – the state’s four most populous centers – 98,595 have already been returned as already voted, according to announcement in Sacramento yesterday by Secretary of State Frank M. Jordan.

By counties, the requests and returns are as follows: Los Angeles, 113,750 requests, 61,703 voted; San Francisco, 34,500 requests, 14,532 voted; Alameda, 22,920 requests, 13,127 voted; San Diego, 14,807 requests, 9,213 voted.

An additional 19,000 federal ballots have been received from statewide areas, Jordan said.

Public offices, banks and stock exchanges will be closed today. No liquor may be sold or given away during voting hours.

Record registration

From Governor Warren down through every division of the Republican and Democratic campaign organizations came a concerted appeal yesterday for a record turnout of voters.

Calling attention to the fact that California’s total registration this year is the greatest in the state’s existence, Governor Warren told the electorate that:

We should enter upon Election Day with the determination that our state will produce the greatest vote total, the greatest example of public participation in government, in its history.

Don’t stay at home

Raymond Haight, Republican National Committeeman for California, asserted that extensive polls of political sentiment throughout California “distinctly show that the Republican candidates will win all along the line if our people go to the polls.”

He made the flat statement that “what we fear most now is the stay-at-home registrant in both major parties.”

Should the actual balloting on the presidential race in California closely coincide with the pre-election polls, Haight said, “Dewey will be the next President of the United States.”

3915

americavotes1944

Victory claimed by both chairmen

By the Associated Press

Both major party chairmen see victory today for their national tickets.

Republican Chairman Brownell:

I cannot concede a single state outside the Solid South. It will be a sweeping Republican victory.

Democratic Chairman Hannegan:

Dewey will carry fewer states than Willkie four years ago.

Willkie won 10 states with an electoral vote of 82.

3916

The Chicago Daily Tribune (November 7, 1944)

americavotes1944

Illinois to cast big vote; GOP strength shows

Expect Green and Lyons to lead Dewey
By Arthur Evans

A total vote in Illinois that may equal and perhaps exceed the 4,262,196 of 1940 is looked for by Republican and Democratic leaders as the campaign goes to the polls today.

Governor Green, running for a second term, will lead the Republican ticket in the vote. County canvasses and straw votes indicate that both the governor and Richard J. Lyons, candidate for U.S. Senator, will lead Governor Dewey, head of the ticket.

The ancient lines of battle are tightened between Chicago, home of the Democratic machine, and downstate Illinois, overwhelmingly Republican.

Downstate estimate raised

Republican statisticians, after a final canvass of county chairmen throughout the state as to the indicated size of the majorities in their counties, raised their estimates of downstate strength. They said their calculations indicate that Dewey will come up to the Cook County lune 350,000 votes ahead of President Roosevelt. Green and Lyins are given a somewhat higher figure in the estimates.

With the country towns od Chicagoland traditionally Republican, the downstate margins will be increased.

Roosevelt is expected to run ahead of Senator Lucas, candidate for reelection. Lucas is opposed by Lyons, his antagonist six years ago. The President is also expected to be ahead of State Attorney Courtney, opponent of Governor Green.

What Roosevelt’s majority in Chicago will be is the problem. It is accentuated this year by the registration and the shifts in population it involves. Republicans said Roosevelt could carry Chicago by 400,000, which they do not deem likely, and still be overthrown by the net combined Republican majorities in the area outside Chicago, which means the 101 counties downstate and the Cook County suburbs.

Registry list grows

Total registration this year is 4,561,410. An increase od 196,033 is Cook County over the 1940 registry lists, largely in war plant areas, now shows the county with 380,350 more registered voters than are on the books in the 101 downstate counties. Cook County has 2,470,880; the remainder of the state, 2,090,530.

Republicans declare the downstate registry will be increased by voters in that area who may vote by affidavit as of old. A large population of the Chicago and Cook County increase results from the fact that people from downstate have moved to war plant jobs, but they have not changed their political views.

Four years ago, Roosevelt had a majority of 281,822 in Chicago, which was a drop from his 1936 majority of 555,286. Straw votes this year give him a smaller percentage of the Chicago vote than the 58.3 percent he had in 1940. Downstate straw votes and county canvasses show Dewey with a percentage notable higher than that of Willkie four years ago, and also with a higher percentage in the Cook County towns.

Soldier vote to be counted

The soldier vote, one of the imponderables in the election, is to be counted with the civilian vote. When the polls close, it is placed in the ballot boxes and the count starts, with the absentee vote supposed to be indistinguishable from the civilian. Theories on both sides are that the soldier vote will not vary much from the civilian.

It was expected to total about 250,000, but reports last night were that it may not exceed 210,000. Fewer ballots were received downstate, it was said, than were at first estimated.

One matter not to be overlooked is the difference in strength this year between the party organizations. In 1940, the Democrats had the state administration. This year, the Republicans have it, while also in a growing majority of the counties, Republicans hold the bulk of the elective offices, and organizations have been built up.

In final forecasts from the rival camps, the Republicans predicted a majority as high as 250,000 for Dewey; the Democrats estimated that President Roosevelt would “materially increase” his plurality of 102,000 out of 4,262,196 votes cast in 1940.

3917

Republican hacks who support Dewey and he is Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo all rolled into one.

3918

The Pittsburgh Press (November 7, 1944)

americavotes1944

Big cities cast record vote

War workers crowd polls; strong rural balloting indicated
By Lyle C. Wilson, United Press staff correspondent

New York –
Some of the heaviest voting in history, despite the absence of men in the Armed Forces, was reported today from industrial centers of this nation which is choosing between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thomas E. Dewey in the first wartime presidential election since 1864.

War workers crowded the polls in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville, Houston, Dallas and other cities as soon as the voting places opened. Fair weather over most of the country was also expected to bring out a strong rural vote.

First returns came from the rural Nutbush precinct of Vance County, North Carolina, where the 21 registered voters cast their ballots unanimously for President Roosevelt, and from Mashpee, Massachusetts, where complete returns gave Roosevelt 81 votes and Dewey 89.

Boston reported the total vote running ahead of 1940 throughout New England, particularly in the industrial areas.

Detroit officials estimated that city would poll 700,000 votes compared to 584,000 four years ago. An estimated 212,000 had voted by noon.

Watchers in Philadelphia reported “very heavy” voting in both the industrial and residential sections. Industrialized Chester, Pennsylvania, was piling up its heaviest vote in history, and some Pittsburgh totals were running ahead of 1940.

In New York City’s Brooklyn Borough, an estimated 500,000 of the 1,121,053 registered voters had cast their ballots by noon.

The first 50 votes counted in Pratt City, Kansas, traditionally a Republican stronghold, gave Dewey 27, Roosevelt 23.

Despite scattered rains in the west, early voting was exceptionally heavy in Colorado and Utah.

Kansas City was having its biggest rush to the polls in many years and some precincts were half voted by 9:00 a.m. The total was expected to be far ahead of 1940.

Several Texas cities, including Fort Worth, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Longview and Wichita Falls, were expected to set new voting records.

Oklahoma war workers rushed to the polls early and in midmorning the vote was running ahead of 1940.

Indianapolis reported light voting in the industrial sections but nearby rural areas, predominantly Republican, were piling up an unprecedented vote.

In San Francisco, approximately 40,000 – approximately 10 percent of the registered voters – cast their ballots the first hour.

The Maryland vote was very heavy and ahead of 1940.

In Oregon, observers believed the vote would exceed that of 1940 despite 10,000 fewer registrations.

A record number of women’s votes was piling up in Buffalo, New York, and surrounding Erie County.

Voting enthusiasm was reported high in North Carolina, Georgia and other Southern states despite the fact that Mr. Roosevelt was generally conceded the Solid South Lines of voters awaited the opening of the polls in Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham and New Orleans.

Bricker votes early

First of the Election Day principals to vote was Ohio Governor John W. Bricker, the Republican vice-presidential nominee. He became the 111th voter to receive a ballot in his Columbus, Ohio, precinct.

Throughout the country, citizens were exercising their secret ballot rights in 140,498 voting precincts.

It is a rare and rigid test of our democracy. The men and women of the armed services have been voting for weeks and most of their ballots are sealed, waiting for the polls to be closed before being tallied.

Polltakers foresee the closest presidential contest since 1916 when Republican Charles Evans Hughes lost by a whisker to Democrat Woodrow Wilson.

Many states doubtful

A score of states are listed as close or doubtful. The absentee service vote may be decisive in any of them, including big New York and Pennsylvania.

The winner needs at least 266 of the 531 electoral votes.

National Democratic Chairman Robert E. Hannegan predicted that Mr. Roosevelt would do better than he did in 1940 when he carried 38 states.

National Republican Chairman Herbert Brownell Jr. said not only that Governor Dewey would be elected but that Republicans would not “concede a single state outside the Solid South.”

11 states delay count

State laws have already assured that the service vote will be delayed in 11 states. In any photo-finish election this year the winner conceivably might not be known until the last of the late-tally states have been reported. The last is North Dakota which makes its final service ballot count Dec. 7.

Officials estimate that 4,894,225 service ballots were distributed and that 2,856,993 will be returned for counting.

New York has already announced that 411,128 service ballots had been received by the statutory state deadline which was yesterday noon.

In many states, including New York, the potential soldier vote exceeds the number by which Mr. Roosevelt led the late Wendell L. Willkie in 1940.

States postponing tally

States in which the service ballot count will be delayed for various lengths of time are California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington. They aggregate 123 electoral votes.

in addition to the Presidency and Vice Presidency, this election will choose 432 members of the House of Representatives, 36 U.S. Senators, 31 governors and literally thousands of lesser officials. One of the 36 Senate seats is for a meaningless two-month term which expires with the present 78th Congress next Jan. 3.

Maine elected its three members of the House – all Republicans – and a Republican Governor last September. There was no 1944 senatorial election in Maine.

Both candidates speak

The campaign finally ended last night shortly before midnight with both presidential candidates on the radio in last-minute appeals, which primarily were for all eligible citizens to get to the polls today. Mr. Dewey is voting in New York City. Mr. Roosevelt will vote in Hyde Park.

The President to be elected today and the new 79th Congress will determine domestic and foreign policies for the next two years when there will be another election – this time with Congressional seats the only federal jobs at stake.

Democrats have nominal control of both Senate and House as the ballots are cast today. But, actually, an anti-New Deal coalition of Republicans and Democrats has been dominant on Capitol Hill for the last two years – and occasionally before that.

Standings listed

Here are the standings as of today:

SENATE: Democrats 58; Republicans 37; Progressives 1.

HOUSE: Democrats 214; Republicans 212; Progressives 2; Farmer-Labor 1; American-Labor 1; vacant 5.

Safe Southern states among those at stake today assure continued numerical superiority in the Senate for the Democratic Party, although administration control will continue to be in jeopardy. But Republicans insist that they will win the House this year. It is conceded that they have brighter prospects now than at any time since Mr. Roosevelt became the Democratic leader.

House may go GOP

One of the side issues of this campaign has been the possibility that the President, in a close contest, might squeak through but that the House would go Republican. In that event, Mr. Roosevelt would have to deal with Republicans if he would deal with the House at all.

Political morality, individual veracity and age have fired this campaign with bitter issues. Mr. Dewey’s challenge to the “tired and quarrelsome old men” has aroused Mr. Roosevelt’s supporters to ridicule the Governor’s youth.

Mr. Roosevelt is 62 and Mr. Dewey is 20 years younger. Senator Harry S. Truman (D-MO), who was nominated as Mr. Roosevelt’s running mate after the President decided Henry A. Wallace might be a political liability, is 60 years old. Ohio Governor John W. Bricker runs with Mr. Dewey. He is 51.

3919

americavotes1944

BALLOTING HEAVY IN DISTRICT
1940 records likely to fall in county

Both parties pleased with huge turnout
By Kermit McFarland

Voting throughout Allegheny County was uniformly heavy today as Pennsylvania electors took the center of the stage in the nation’s second wartime election in history.

The turnout of voters by early afternoon was exceptionally big, in many cases surpassing the vote at the same stage of the polling four years ago.

Some political leaders said they believed the record turnout of 1940 would be broken by the time the polls close at 8:00 p.m. EWT.

Both sides pleased

The extraordinary outpouring of voters held up in both industrial and residential areas, indicating an equal interest in the election by both sides of the political fence.

Both the Republican and Democratic headquarters were highly pleased with the turnout.

On the South Side, for instance, 20 percent of the registered vote had been polled shortly after 10:00 a.m.

Mt. Lebanon and Dormont districts reported the voters were streaming to the polls at the rate of a hundred an hour.

In a Brookline district, they were voting at the rate of more than two a minute.

Similar reports were obtained from representative districts throughout the county.

Women urged to vote early

In the mill districts, party workers concentrated on getting women voters to the polls before 3:00 p.m. when the heavy turnout of industrial workers was expected to begin.

Except for a mix-up over registration cards for voters who changed addresses recently, there were no reports of disturbances or serious confusion. Two additional telephones were installed at the Pittsburgh Registration Commission to handle complaints from voters whose cards had been mistakenly sent to the wrong polling places.

Twenty State Police were assigned here for possible emergencies, They had seen no action early this afternoon.

The police, under Capt. A. J. Hudak of the Greensburg Barracks, made their headquarters in the office of Sheriff Robert J. Corbett.

With fair, mild weather favoring the voter turnout, the polls were opened at 7:00 a.m. Long queues of electors already were on hand in most districts to cast their ballots.

Poll workers from the rival political parties turned out in droves at an early hour. Democratic and Republican organization forces were augmented in some districts by representatives of the C1O Political Action Committee.

The big job of the day was to get out the vote and both sides believed a heavy turnout would benefit their cause.

The courts will be open until 10:00 p.m. to hear election complaints.

Two judges, John J. Kennedy and William H. McNaugher, have been assigned to make themselves available for court action if necessary during the night while the count is proceeding.

State registration high

More than 4,600,000 Pennsylvania voters are registered, not including thousands in the armed forces who were sent military ballots without the formality of registering. More than 640,000 were sent military ballots and some 220,000 have already been returned, although the deadline is not until Nov. 22.

Upwards of 80 percent of the registered vote was expected at Pennsylvania’s 8,208 polling places. In Allegheny County, there were 1,024 polling places to accommodate an expected voter turnout which might reach nearly 650,000.

At stake are Pennsylvania’s 35 votes in the Electoral College on which many political observers believe the national election may hinge.

11th-hour appeals made

Four years ago, President Roosevelt carried the state by 261,000 over the late Wendell L. Willkie, Republican candidate. This plurality was exactly identical to the combined pluralities Mr. Roosevelt received in Allegheny County and Philadelphia.

Last-minute appeals to the voters were delivered by party leaders and candidates last night, the principal speeches in Pennsylvania being those of the two head men, Democratic State Chairman David L. Lawrence and Governor Edward Martin, speaking for the Republicans.

Mr. Martin said:

If the New Dealers are returned to power, there is no reason to believe they will not resume with new fury their bitter and vicious attacks upon the American enterprise system. There is every reason to believe they will. They want to “make America over.” They have said so again and again and again.

GOP ‘lies’ denounced

Predicting the state today would “break the back of the Dewey campaign,” Mr. Lawrence charged the Republicans have thrown into this “Roosevelt fortress every weapon they could find.”

Republican lies have been more vicious and more shameless here. Republican newspapers have been deeper dipped in venom here. Republican money has been raised – and spent – more lavishly here.

Mr. Lawrence said Pennsylvania is recognized as a “pivotal, crucial” state and that Mr. Dewey “cannot hope to win without it.”

Martin hits ‘ballot slackers’

Governor Martin urged every voter to go to the polls.

He said:

A ballot slacker is not a true patriot. By his actions, he shows that he does not Care what becomes of his country. Too much depends upon the results of tomorrow’s election for any man or women who is able to go to the polls to neglect that duty and that responsibility.

Only the ballot slackers can defeat the party of Americanism. Remember: The stay-at-home vote defeated Wendell Willkie in 1940.

3920

Violent fighting rages in Reich town; Nazis fail to cut off Yanks

Allies complete triumph in Southwest Holland; Germans lose 43,000 men in area in month
By J. Edward Murray, United Press staff writer

…

3921

191 Jap planes destroyed, 8 ships hit in Luzon raids

Liberation of Leyte nears final phase as two U.S. columns sweep on last enemy base
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer

…

3922

Japs report B-29s over home island

New reconnaissance flight indicated
By the United Press

…

3923

americavotes1944

ELECTION BULLETINS

Dewey 29, Roosevelt 8, in Massachusetts town

Mount Washington, Massachusetts –
Mount Washington, the first Massachusetts town to report complete returns, today gave: Roosevelt 8, Dewey 29. In 1940, the town gave Roosevelt 10, Willkie 32.

Dewey votes in New York City

New York –
Governor Thomas E. Dewey voted today as “Thomas Edmund Dewey, New York, lawyer.” He voted at a polling place, just three blocks from his legal residence in the Roosevelt Hotel. Approximately 100 persons waiting in line to vote, gave him a round of applause.

Chickasha puts Dewey in lead

Chickasha, Oklahoma –
The first 58 votes counted in a Chickasha precinct today gave: Dewey 35, Roosevelt 28.

‘Tree grower’ Roosevelt casts vote

Hyde Park, New York –
“Tree Grower” Franklin D. Roosevelt voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt for president today for the fourth time. He cast his vote in the old Hyde Park Town Hall where he made his first political speech in 1910. Mr. Roosevelt drove from his home with his family in an open touring car.

Early West Virginia returns

Charleston, West Virginia –
Here are some early, and incomplete, returns from West Virginia: From 10 precincts in Beckley; of 1551 votes already cast, 724 were for Roosevelt; 417 for Dewey. From one precinct in Pt. Pleasant, Roosevelt 28, Dewey 61. From one precinct at Wilsonburg, Harrison County, five for Roosevelt, 20 for Dewey. From two Charleston precincts, 62 for Roosevelt, 108 for Dewey. From a Kanawha County precinct, 25 for Roosevelt, 55 for Dewey. From two Ohio County precincts: 38 for Roosevelt, 258 for Dewey.

Dewey early leader in Kansas City

Kansas City, Kansas –
Early returns from 26 scattered precincts today gave President Roosevelt 901 votes against 1,084 for Dewey. The first 10 precincts reporting here gave the President 269 votes and Dewey 244. These same precincts went three to two for Roosevelt in 1940.

Oklahoma town favoring Roosevelt

Duncan, Oklahoma –
Unofficial, incomplete returns from five Duncan, Oklahoma, precincts today gave: Roosevelt 250, Dewey 91. Complete returns from the same five boxes in 1940 gave: Roosevelt 986, Willkie 444.

Republican lead cut down

New Ashford, Massachusetts –
New Ashford, formerly the first town in the nation to report its returns in presidential elections, today gave: Roosevelt 21, Dewey 22. In 1940, the town gave Roosevelt 13, Willkie 33.

Roosevelt gains one, so does GOP

Hart’s Location, New Hampshire –
This hamlet, first in New Hampshire to report its returns today, gave Roosevelt 6 and Dewey 4. In 1940, it gave Roosevelt 5 and Willkie 3.

3924

americavotes1944

Editorial: Be sure to vote early!

Polls will be open until 8 o’clock tonight.

Because of heavy voting there may be a last-minute rush; therefore, we urge you to vote just as early as possible.

All polls and forecasts indicate that Pennsylvania is a crucial state and that the result here may have a vital hearing on the national election.

Therefore it is unusually essential that all citizens vote.

Don’t forget that the machine vote, the controlled vote, the Communist vote and the intimidated vote is always cast – but many citizens of other groups chronically fail to cast their ballots.

Don’t be among the non-voters. Perform the highest function of citizenship by casting your ballot – and do so as early as possible.

3925

americavotes1944

Odds on Roosevelt

St. Louis, Missouri –
The books of James J. Carroll, St. Louis betting commissioner, today read President Roosevelt as the favorite with odds of 1–3 while Governor Thomas Dewey’s odds are 2½–1.

3926

americavotes1944

parry3

I DARE SAY —
That Yankee tempo!

By Florence Fisher Parry

It won’t be long now. The suspense is awful – much worse, I think, than in 1940. But now that the tumult and the shouting have died down, one thing stands out clear. We are a far more nervous, impatient and quick-tempered people than we’ve ever realized before.

The strain and suspense, the fear and uncertainty which the war has put upon us, is telling in our tempers. Our control is wearing a little thin. Not that we haven’t always been an impatient people. Our tempo has always been quicker than others’. There’s something within us that clicks faster than in any other people. We have fewer processes; we have quicker arrivals. We get there. We cut corners to get there. There’s an urgent pulse in us not to be found in other people.

It’s in our speech. It’s in our very walk. It’s a certain wiry, nervous, irritable drive. It ties up with our very chemistry. We catch on faster than other people. That’s why our speech is so vivid and explicit. That’s why we need slang and use it so much and are always adding to it, and condense in a word, in a phrase, what “Regular” English would require whole long sentences to convey.

Quick on the trigger

And because we’re geared high, and because of our nervous, accelerated tempo, we get there first, whatever the goal. Never has this American attribute stood out so markedly as during this present campaign. I would say that there has not been a campaign speech made by anyone that the listening audience hasn’t been way ahead of the speaker! That’s why our speakers have had such a tough time keeping back the applause until they’ve made their point. That’s because their audiences get the point almost before the poor speaker has had a chance to begin his sentence!

Now there’s been a lot of talk about how the President’s delivery has slowed down lately, how very, very different it is since even four years ago. Frankly, I suspect that it isn’t so much that the President has slowed down so much as if is that we have stepped up so much.

All this being so, it is amazing that it has not been recognized more successfully by the motion picture producers and directors. For in direct ratio to the stepping-up of our national tempo has been the motion picture producers’ tendency to make longer movies and longer drawn-out sequences.

In the last month, I have seen half a dozen movies that have worn me out, in something the same way that one is worn out it one has to walk with someone who has to move very, very slowly.

Now I am going to name some of these pictures: Since You Went Away, Going My Way, Casanova Brown, The Seventh Cross. These come most quickly to mind. It seemed to me as though they would never end!

Some of them were very good pictures indeed, or would have been if they’d been stepped-up in their pace and cut in their contents.

The same thing occurs in our public functions. There have been innumerable luncheons and banquets and meetings im town lately, designed to promote some of the worthiest causes that have ever enlisted our support. Yet in nearly every case the function was simply too long! The other day I sat for four solid hours at a luncheon, first eating and then listening to the speakers.

That’s America

We’re always hearing about the graces, the leisures and the ampler, richer ways of life which have been adopted by our charming neighbors, the South Americans; by our charming Allies, the English; by our new and interesting Allies, the Russians; by our ingratiating Allies, the Chinese. All these others (we crude, unschooled and unaged Americans are told) have discovered the secret of leisurely living, and we are adjured to take example from them.

Now with all due respect to these estimable friends and neighbors, and with due regard for their more – shall we say? – civilized mode of life, I attest: Our quick, hasty, nervous, restless, American tempo suits us best. It’s our very makeup. We burn up energy needlessly. We scorch our highways with speed-burning tires. We run when we could walk. We stand when we could sit. We talk when we could be silent. We get mad when we could be calm.

We’re a fast steppin’, quick thinkin’ dynamo. We’re America! We want to get a move on!