The Pittsburgh Press (August 1, 1944)
District Republicans given uplift in spirit by visit with Dewey
GOP presidential candidate, pleased with initial test, hopes to attend fall rally here
By Kermit McFarland
Governor Thomas E. Dewey, in an arduous and exacting day here yesterday, wetted his finger in the political winds in this Roosevelt region, was obviously pleased with the test, and went away with apparent, although unannounced, expectations of coming back in the fall for a big rally.
Under the usual optimism which radiates from any political exhibition of that sort, there was evidence of a real uplift of spirit among the Republicans in these parts whose arches have been fallen for the last dozen years.
Although he seemed exhausted by the effort of shaking hands with all of them, Governor Dewey was openly elated by the appearance of 5,000 pushing men and women who stormed the William Penn Hotel’s 17th floor ballroom to “get a gander” at the new Republican hope.
13 hours of conference
Later, he motored to the Pennsylvania Station through long lines of crowds, bigger and noisier than those he experienced when he followed the same parade route on his arrival yesterday morning.
Between these two parades – 13 hours apart – the New York Governor, preserving his unruffled appearance despite the collar-wilting heat and the exertion of hotfooting it in quick succession from one event to another, had these high spots to record in the diary of his first campaign day as a presidential nominee:
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He got a rousing sendoff from an overflow crowd of business and industrial leaders representing the biggest corporate establishments in the Pittsburgh District – a notable absentee being Ernest T. Weir, steel magnate who has taken a leading role in previous Republican presidential campaigns.
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He drew bigger turnouts for his informal appearances than his backers had anticipated.
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He was assured by state Republicans, chiefly Governor Edward Martin, his principal host, that the trend in this election year is “definitely toward Dewey.”
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He won an endorsement from Thomas Mallon, AFL regional director, who headed a delegation of 50 union officials, most of them AFL, who went to see him and, according to Mr. Mallon, exacted a promise that if Mr. Dewey is elected President, the Secretary of Labor will be a union man.
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He held a conference with the district leaders of the United Mine Workers union, which was generally accepted as a mere formality prior to an endorsement of his candidacy by this non-CIO, non-AFL union.
The mine union conference, in some respects, was unique. It was the last of the series. It attracted UMW officials from all over the state, here on orders of UMW Vice President John O’Leary – which would seem to mean orders of John L. Lewis.
At the end of the conference, the union’s spokesmen were at pains to say they made no commitments to Mr. Dewey and that he made no promises to them. They admitted they had no instructions except to attend. Unlike others who came to see Mr. Dewey, they methodically shied away from cameras and reporters, flatly bolting all pictorial efforts.
Dewey impression good
“We had a pleasant conference,” said Mr. O’Leary.
Mr. Dewey said nothing. Michael J. Kosik, president of District 1 in the anthracite region, gingerly expressed the opinion that Mr. Dewey had “made a good impression.”
A notable absentee from this meeting was Patrick T. Fagan, for many years a spokesman at affairs like this until he was bounced from his District 5 presidency by John L. Lewis in Mr. Lewis’ split with CIO President Philip Murray.
Present, however, were John P. Busarello (Mr. Fagan’s successor in District 5), William Hynes of Uniontown (president of District 4), James Marks of Clearfield (president of District 2), John Ghizzoni of Homer City, John Dresmich of Cecil, Joseph Yablonski of California, Frank Sabolski of Mariana, International Representative F. P. Hannaway and Mr. O’Leary, along with other local officials of the union and two district presidents from the anthracite section.
Mr. Dewey’s smooth day was wrinkled only once. He was sent a sharply critical telegram by three officials of the CIO United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers – Westinghouse chapter.
The telegram said this union’s leaders, headed by President Michael Fitzpatrick, had been rejected in their efforts to gain an invitation to Mr. Dewey’s labor conference. This they blamed on David Williams, deputy in the State Labor and Industry Department and former AFL official.
Five CIO men attend conference
The telegram charged that Mr. Williams had said he “didn’t want anyone present who might ask ‘embarrassing questions.’”
Five CIO representatives, four from a McKeesport local and Sam Amelio of the CIO United Shoe Workers, did attend the conference.
The telegram went on to chide Mr. Dewey because a subordinate in the New York administration, according to the Electrical Workers, was opposed to supplementing state unemployment compensation systems with federal funds.
The wire demanded:
Is this your position on reconversion? Are you against establishing guarantees for millions of workers who otherwise may face loss of entire income in the post-war period?
Before he departed, Mr. Dewey issued a brief statement: “I am very much pleased with the optimism and confidence shown at the meetings today.”
Congressman present
In addition to meeting labor, business and farm groups, and World War I veterans, Mr. Dewey held several consultations with local and state political leaders and candidates, and one with Walter Hallanan, National Committeeman from West Virginia.
He was accompanied to a meeting of 25 of the 33 Republican nominees for Congress in Pennsylvania by Congressman Charles A. Halleck of Indiana, chairman of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.
Mr. Halleck said:
This sort of meeting makes it clear that the Governor means to work with Congress. We exchanged problems and agreed to carry on the campaign as a cooperative effort. If Mr. Dewey is elected, we will not have the backbiting which now goes on between Congress and the White House in wartime.
The toughest ordeal of the day for the Governor and Mrs. Dewey, obviously, was the public reception at which they shook hands, within two hours, with 5,000 persons. Governor and Mrs. Martin stood in line with the Deweys and shook hand for hand with them.
Police with him
By actual count, Mr. Dewey was shaking 38 hands a minute.
To most of them, the Governor said, “How do you do?” But to some, he had thanks for their good wishes and occasionally got in an extra remark. Standing beside him throughout this affair was Sgt. Alvin Johnson of the New York State Police, whose promotion from corporal became effective last midnight. Opposite the Governor stood NYPD Detective Frank Hnide.
Sgt. Johnson gave every handshaker a visual “frisking” as he approached Mr. Dewey, and Detective Hnide, aided by a couple of Pittsburgh police, saw to it that no handshaker tarried overlong.
Birthday for Mrs. Martin
The crowd was shuttled to the ballroom from the downstairs lobby in relays, and departed between a row of chairs leading to a rear door.
At the dinner given in Mr. Dewey’s honor by Republican State Chairman M. Harvey Taylor, a surprise feature was a huge birthday cake presented to Mrs. Martin.