Election 1944: Pre-convention news

[NormanStewart]

Michigan GOP backs Dewey

The Michigan State Republic Convention today endorsed New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, a native of Owosso, Michigan, as candidate for the GOP presidential nomination.

The highlight of the convention was Governor Harry Kelly’s fight to gain control of the Michigan delegation to the national conclave. His apparent victory in garnering at least 26 delegates out of 34 named in the caucuses, and a majority of the seven delegates-at-large, gives him control of the party, and may result in the ouster of Frank D. McKay, political boss from Grand Rapids, as national committeeman.

---

Cdr. Stassen rescued at sea

Madison, Wisconsin (UP) –
LtCdr. Harold E. Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota, was recently picked up in the South Pacific by a sub-chaser after his patrol boat stalled.

The incident was made public by Mrs. Harriet Bartholomew of Madison, whose brother, William Bormett, 22, was aboard the sub-chaser.

Bormett wrote his sister that while out on patrol his boat picked up a group of men from a stalled motorboat. One of the men identified himself as Cdr. Stassen, he said.

“Maybe we just picked up the next President of the United States,” Mrs. Bartholomew said her brother commented at the end of the letter, received Feb. 17.

[NormanStewart]

Primer for primaries –
State to send total of 148 delegates to national conventions

GOP will elect 70 and Democrats 78; local contests are mainly Republican
By Kermit McFarland

Pennsylvania will send 70 delegates to the Republican National Convention opening June 26 and 78 delegates to the Democratic National Convention beginning July 19.

There will be 12 Democratic delegates elected at large and four Republicans elected at large. None has opposition in the Tuesday primary.

Locally, the delegate contests mainly are on the Republican side.

Delegates are elected two to a Congressional district. Each district also elects two alternates.

Write-in votes asked

In the 30th district, four names will appear on the ballot for the two Republican delegate positions, but one of the candidates, George R. Hann (Sewickley Heights lawyer) has asked the voters to write in his name for alternate instead of voting for him as a delegate.

There are no Republican candidates for alternate on the ballot in this district, so the alternates to be chosen will be elected by write-in votes.

The Republican organization has endorsed William H. Robertson (26th Ward Republican chairman and a county assessor) and attorney Hale Hill of Harrison Township, but Ralph E. Flinn, delegate to former conventions, is also a candidate with the support of some factions.

Serving in Coast Guard

Mr. Flinn is serving in the Coast Guard as a volunteer lieutenant commander. He gets no salary. He has been a frequent contributor to Republican campaign funds.

In the 32nd district, there are four candidates for delegate. Slated by the organization are James F. Malone (5th Ward lawyer) and former Congressman Harry A. Estep. Running against this combination are George F. Otto (milk company head) and Paul F. Hanzel (North Side auditor).

In other districts, the slated candidates, both Republican and Democratic, are not expected to have serious trouble winning election.

The other candidates are:

• TWENTY-NINTH DISTRICT

Democratic delegates: Mayor Cornelius D. Scully (7th Ward) and County Commissioner George Rankin of Wilkinsburg.

Republican delegates: Robert R. Work (East Liberty real estate dealer), County Commissioner John S. Herron and William P. Witherow (14th Ward manufacturer).

Democratic alternates: Katherine O’Neil Duff (wife of Councilman John T. Duff) and Helen Stotlemeyer of Wilkinsburg.

Republican alternates: Adelaide Rigby Conly (Young Republican leader) and Nelle G. Dressler (vice chairman of the Republican County Committee).

• THIRTIETH DISTRICT

Democratic delegates: Irwin D. Wolf of Fox Chapel (department store executive) and Robert C. Malcolm (Curtisville cashier).

Democratic alternates: Nellie Chillcott of North Side and Edward B. Johnson (Democratic chairman of the 27th Ward).

• THIRTY-FIRST DISTRICT

Democratic delegates: Marguerite Naughton of West End and County Coroner William D. McClelland of Mount Lebanon.

Republican delegates: Frank J. Harris of Crafton (former State Senator), George F. Lutckens (Carnegie mechanic) and William B. McFall of Mount Lebanon (bank president).

Democratic alternates: Lily Hershman (wife of David Hershman, McKees Rocks Democratic leader) and Recorder of Deeds Anthony J. Gerard of Mount Oliver.

Republican alternates: Alexander P. Craig (Ingram clerk) and Mary Leslie Hart Poling of Dormont.

• THIRTY-SECOND DISTRICT

Democratic delegates: Mario L. Bove (Oakland real estate dealer), City Treasurer James P. Kirk of Oakland, and Register of Wills John M. Huston (10th Ward).

Democratic alternates: Irma D’Ascenzio of Almeda Street and Prothonotary David B. Roberts.

Republican alternates: Anna M. Conley (Republican chairman of the 9th Ward) and Ray E. Schneider (former North Side alderman).

• THIRTY-THIRD DISTRICT

Democratic delegates: Mayor Frank Buchanan of McKeesport and Clerk of Courts John J. McLean of Homestead.

Republican delegates: C. J. McBride (Republican chairman of the 31st Ward) and Paul W. Macks of McKeesport.

Democratic alternates: Ethel C. Mullen (wife of Mayor James J. Mullen of Clairton) and Peter Maracini (Broughton constable).

Republican alternates: Thomas A. Steele (McKeesport physician), Frank Kopriver (Duquesne councilman) and David H. Anderson (Homestead merchant).

• CANDIDATES-AT-LARGE

The Democratic candidates for delegate-at-large include U.S. Senator Joseph F. Guffey, his sister Mrs. Emma Guffey Miller, County Commissioner John J. Kane, Postmaster General Frank C. Walker of Scranton, CIO President Philip Murray, Attorney General Francis Biddle of Philadelphia, Democratic State Chairman David L. Lawrence, Meredith Meyers of Lewiston (former Democratic State Chairman), and William C. Bullitt (former Ambassador to Russia and France).

Republican candidates for delegate-at-large are Governor Edward Martin, G. Mason Owlett (president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association), Republican State Chairman M. Harvey Taylor and Marion Margery Scranton (Republican national committeewoman).

[NormanStewart]

The Pittsburgh Press (April 22, 1944)

Primer for primaries –
4-against-1 race features 31st district

Lt. Fulton, Navy, man to beat
By Kermit McFarland

Spotlighted among the Congressional contests in Allegheny County is the Republican race in the 31st district (South Hills).

Four of the five candidates in this district, as the campaign has shaped up, are running against the fifth, Navy Lt. James G. Fulton (Dormont lawyer). Lt. Fulton, in the judgment of leading politicians in the district, is the man to beat.

Rated the best chance is Joseph A. White of Brentwood (vice president of the Harris stores). Other candidates are Eugene O’Neill of Brentwood (a delegate to the 1936 Republican convention and a former member of the Republican State Committee), Walter V. Richardson (Mount Washington metallurgist) and Clifford Ball (Mount Lebanon aviation executive). Mr. Ball has not made an active campaign for the nomination.

Similar in 30th district

Lt. Fulton is barred by Navy regulations from making an active campaign. If elected, he will be relieved of his naval duties to take his seat in Congress.

The 30th district (North Hills) presents a similar picture. There, the man to beat for the Republican nomination is Sheriff Robert J. Corbett. Running against him are Grover C. Berg (Bellevue food jobber), Arthur H. Johnson Jr. (wholesale heating supplies), Bob Kegg (North Side clerk) and J. K. Porter (Millvale distributor).

In both districts, the Democratic incumbents are unopposed for renomination. Congressman James A. Wright of Brentwood is the only Democratic candidate in the 31st district and Congressman Thomas E. Scanlon of North Side, the only entry in the 30th district.

Republicans agree in 29th

In the 29th district (eastern wards, boroughs and townships), the Old Guard Republicans and the Young Republicans have agreed on Howard E. Campbell, president of the Pittsburgh Real Estate Board, for the Republican nomination.

Running independently are John McDowell (Wilkinsburg publisher and former Congressman), John A. Franklin (Forest Hills insurance agent), George E. Sipple (East End electrician) and T. W. Stephens (Wilkinsburg florist).

Because of the reapportionment last year, no present Congressman is a resident of this district. The Democratic nomination has been slated for John F. Lowers of Swissvale, chief clerk in the County Deed Registry Bureau, who is the only candidate.

Others are unopposed

Congressional candidates in both parties in the other two Congressional districts of the county are unopposed at the primary.

In the 32nd district, Congressman Herman P. Eberharter of Oakland is the only Democratic candidate, and Gregory Zatkovich of Oakland (former City Solicitor) is unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Congressman Samuel A. Weiss of Glassport has no opposition for renomination in the 33rd district and the sole Republican candidate is Ray A. Liddle (McKeesport attorney).

[NormanStewart]

5 Senators named election probers

Washington (UP) –
Vice President Henry A. Wallace today named the five members of a Senate committee which will investigate the campaign expenditures of candidates for President, Vice President and Senators in the 1944 election.

He appointed Theodore F. Green (D-RI), Tom Stewart (D-TN), James M. Tunnell (D-DE), Joseph H. Ball (R-MN) and Homer Ferguson (R-MI).

[NormanStewart]

The Pittsburgh Press (April 23, 1944)

Stokes: GOP ‘oracle’ predicts Dewey on first ballot

Governor Bricker may be his running mate
By Thomas L. Stokes, Scripps-Howard staff writer

Washington – (April 22)
Every so often an oracle speaks and you know what’s coming.

Such was the statement of Col. R. B. Creager, long-time Republican National Committeeman from Texas, that he could not see how Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York could fail to win the Republican presidential nomination on the first ballot.

He made the remark in Chicago after the meeting of the Arrangements Committee of the Republican National Committee. It was generally overlooked. It should not have been.

It meant, for one thing, that Governor John W. Bricker’s campaign for the nomination is washed up, if this was not apparent already.

It meant, for another, that not only Texas but the rest of the South will drop into the Dewey basket, for Col. Creager is a kingpin among Southern bosses of what are sometimes known as “the kept delegations.”

For Taft in 1940

It meant, further and most important, that there will be no “Stop-Dewey” movement at Chicago.

Col. Creager has long been identified with the Republican Old Guard, and in recent years with the Taft forces in the South. He was floor manager for Senator Robert A. Taft at the 1940 Republican convention when the Ohio Senator lost to Wendell L. Willkie.

This year, the Taft forces were turned over, lock, stock and barrel, to the Bricker candidacy, and it was presumed that Col. Creager was cooperating.

Others agree

But he has seen the light gleaming from the watchtower at Albany, New York, and has submitted to the course of events.

The colonel went further and said the Dewey candidacy had gone so far that nothing should be allowed to interfere with it. An inquiry here today disclosed that leaders of other Southern delegations are of the same mind. This means no “Stop-Dewey” movement.

For if there were such a movement it would come from the Old Guard group in which Col. Creager is included, and which revolves about Senator Taft. The Senator, himself, is resigned to the Dewey nomination.

Not entirely satisfied

This is not to say that some of the Old Guarders are entirely satisfied with the New York governor. Some would prefer some fellow more tractable, less inclined to make up his own mind. But events have gone beyond them.

Nothing more than the Creager word is necessary to indicate a first ballot nomination.

It was learned here that Republican leaders have decided upon this, to do it quickly and unanimously, if possible, for the effect that will have upon party unity and party morale.

This early surrender of the Taft forces, as made public by Col. Creager, would indicate that they will now turn to promoting Governor Bricker for the vice-presidential nomination.

‘Deal’ expected

They will expect some consideration for steeping out of the way of the Dewey bandwagon, and catching on as it went by. Something of this sort may have been arranged already.

There was a big crop of “Dewey-Bricker” ticket rumors when California Governor Earl Warren, hitherto considered almost surefire for second place on the ticket, was selected as the keynote speaker by the Arrangements Committee, a position usually regarded as a bar to candidacy for either first or second place.

[NormanStewart]

The Pittsburgh Press (April 24, 1944)

Light balloting due tomorrow

State polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

An estimated 785,000 Republicans and 410,000 Democrats will go to polling places throughout the state between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. tomorrow to draw sides for the crucial November elections.

Primary balloting is expected to hit a new low for a presidential year because of wartime conditions and the fact that outcome of the elections, except for a few instances, is a foregone conclusion. The estimated total vote is only about a third of registrations for the two parties.

Presidential voting

Observers were divided on whether there will be much significance in preferential voting for presidential candidates. President Roosevelt, whose name is formally on the Democratic ballot, is the only presidential candidate listed, but some quarters expected a large write-in vote to be case by Republicans.

The only statewide intraparty contest is between State Treasurer g. Harold Wagner of Wilkes-Barre, Democratic organization choice for the auditor general nomination, and John F. Breslin of Carbon County, an independent candidate.

James vs. Rhodes

There is also a crossed-line contest for nomination to the Superior Court between former Governor Arthur H. James of Plymouth and incumbent Judge Chester H. Rhodes of Stroudsburg, holders of Republican and Democratic organization support respectively, who are seeking both party nominations to the $18,000-a-year position.

Seeking nomination to a second Superior Court position, but only in respective party primaries, are Republican Judge J. Frank Graff of Kittanning and Democratic Auditor General F. Clair Ross of Butler.

Other contests

Other statewide candidates, all running unopposed with organization backing, are:

REPUBLICANS: U.S. Senator James J. Davis of Pittsburgh (for renomination), Howard W. Hughes of Washington (for the State Supreme Court), Philadelphia City Treasurer Edgar W. Baird Jr. (for State Treasurer), State Senator G. Harold Watkins of Schuylkill County (for Auditor General).

DEMOCRATS: Congressman Francis J. Myers of Philadelphia (for U.S. Senator), U.S. Circuit Court Judge Charles Alvin Jones of Pittsburgh (for State Supreme Court), and Ramsey S. Black of Harrisburg, third assistant U.S. Postmaster General (for State Treasurer).

Delegate races

Completing the list of statewide posts at stake are four positions as delegate-at-large to the GOP National Convention, each having one vote, and 12 as delegate-at-large to the Democratic nominating convention, each with a half vote, and a like number of alternates to each session. All are unopposed.

Each party will also elect 66 district delegates and alternates, and, in other regional contests, nominations will be made for 33 Congressional, 25 state senatorial and 208 State House seats, and 113 memberships each on the Republican and Democratic State Committee.

[NormanStewart]

The Pittsburgh Press (April 25, 1944)

Even one board is absent –
County’s voters shun polls for presidential primary

By Kermit McFarland

Allegheny County voters stayed away from the polls in record numbers today as Pennsylvania went through the motions of a presidential primary.

Veteran political leaders said they could not recall a quieter election, or a lighter vote. Apparently the indifference in Allegheny County was typical of the state.

Distracted by war news and unmoved by the relatively few real contests in the primary, voters failed to respond to efforts to turn them out today.

The polls opened at 7:00 a.m. ET and were scheduled to close at 8:00 p.m.

In one district, only four voters had appeared an hour and a half after the polls opened, in another seven at 9:30 a.m., in another two at 9:00 a.m. And so it went around the county.

Political headquarters reported none of the customary complaints or requests for information from poll workers.

The high spot of the morning voting was a telephone call from the 19th district of the 4th Ward which reported there was no election board, no chairs or tables, no light and no heat. Only one board member showed up, somebody stole the chairs and table and somebody forgot to turn on the electricity.

In McKeesport, the municipal offices were at work on orders of Mayor Buchanan for the first time in years.

Despite the small turnout of voters, elections boards did not expect an early end to their counting job. Although many of the nominations at stake in today’s primary are uncontested, the election of delegates to the national conventions and members of party committees make a long ballot and slow up the tabulation.

Political organizations, in the main, were content with the light vote, since it enhanced the prospects for slated candidates. Independent candidates, seeking to break these slates, worked industriously, but apparently with small success, in an effort to turn out the independent vote.

All of the Allegheny County contests of any note are in the Republican primary. Candidates endorsed by the Democratic county organization either are unopposed or face only minor competition.

Pledge for Dewey

The principal action of the day came in a statement by Paul F. Hanzel, candidate in the 32nd district for delegate to the Republican National Convention. He announced he will support Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York for President on the first and all ballots.

This created a relative “sensation” in the drab primary because no other Republican delegate candidates have announced themselves.

Candidate for delegate quits

The only other development of the day in political ranks was the withdrawal of a candidate for delegate to the Republican National Convention – Robert R. Work of 818 Heberton Avenue, whose name is on the ballot in the 29th district. He withdrew in favor of William P. Witherow, president of Blaw-Knox Company, who, with County Commissioner John S. Herron, has been endorsed by the Republican organization. There are no other candidates.

Assured of renomination by the Republicans is U.S. Senator James J. Davis. Also without opposition in the Republican primary are Supreme Court Justice Howard W. Hughes of Washington, Edgar W. Bair of Philadelphia (for State Treasurer) and Senator G. Harold Watkins of Schuylkill County (for Auditor General).

For Superior Court

Superior Court Judge Arthur H. James and his running mate, Judge J. Frank Graff of Kittanning, were expected to win nominations for the Superior Court, although Judge Chester H. Rhodes, a Democrat, is also entered on the Republican ballot.

Judge James is also running on the Democratic ballot, but Judge Rhodes and Auditor General F. Clair Ross are expected to win the Democratic nomination easily.

Congressman Francis J. Myers of Philadelphia, slated candidate for the U.S. Senate nomination, and federal judge Charles Alvin Jones, endorsed for the Supreme Court, are unopposed in the Democratic primary. Also unopposed is Ramsey S. Black, third assistant postmaster general, seeking the Democratic nomination for State Treasurer.

GOP battles here

John F. Breslin, a deputy in the Auditor General’s office, is running against State Treasurer G. Harold Wagner for the auditor general nomination.

Allegheny County lists Republican Congressional contests in four of the five districts, but no Democratic Congressman is opposed for renomination.

[NormanStewart]

Voting light in Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts (UP) –
Partial tests of President Roosevelt’s possible fourth term strength and Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s popularity in this state featured Massachusetts presidential primary today.

An extremely light vote was forecast, with perhaps not more than 100,000 ballots to be cast among the 2,450,000 which were distributed in the 351 cities and towns.

[NormanStewart]

Editorial: Possible Presidents

There is much talk about possible nominees for Vice President Most of it is based on political considerations, and these are based mostly on geography.

As for geography, this may not yet be “one world” but it is one country, and people care less where a man comes from than what he is and what he stands for.

As for politics, the best politics always is to eschew politics and get down to business. And what is the business of the summer of 1944? It is to select four men, any one of whom may have the job of leading the nation through difficult times.

Four men, we say. Because it looks like a close race between the Democratic and Republican nominees for President, and any man who may be Vice President may succeed to the Presidency.

A candidate for the Vice Presidency should be chosen not only as a potential President, but also as a possible right-hand man for the President.

If it becomes understood that the Vice President is to be an assistant President, if it is never forgotten that he may become President – as two Vice Presidents have done in the lifetime of many now living – the Vice Presidency will not be considered the graveyard of presidential hopes and it will attract the able men that the nation’s need demands.

The candidate for second place on either ticket must be a man whom the party can present to the nation as one fit in all respects to be President. A party which chooses any other kind of candidate for Vice President does not deserve the confidence of the voters.

[NormanStewart]

Ferguson: Fourth term and Mrs. R

By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

Mrs. Roosevelt can claim one distinction: She is the only person in the United States who says she is not curious about Mr. Roosevelt’s fourth term intentions. The rest of us want to know, and I think his silence makes woeful waste since reams of paper are used daily as the commentators argue the matter.

The First Lady played the same game in 1940. Until the moment she was rushed to Chicago to stampede the convention for her husband, Mrs. Roosevelt declared she had not the slightest idea about campaign plans.

Why must we be subjected to the same tricks again? People know that the First Lady is affected by the political future of her husband. After all she breezes into the White House occasionally and she gets her mail there. And, if only in her capacity as a wife whose destiny is bound up with that of her husband, she deserves to be consulted on such important family business.

The wives of the nation either will feel she is badly treated so long as this state of affairs goes on, or they will surmise that somebody believes somebody else can’t keep a secret.

Even if the President doesn’t wish to inform the people of his plans still, I think he ought to tell his wife. A pert “Wouldn’t you like to know?” to press conference questions would sound better than Mrs. Roosevelt’s present reply, “I have not been told and I do not care to be informed.”

That attitude sets the First Lady too far above other women; it makes her less human than we would like her to be.

[NormanStewart]

Bricker shuns second place

New York (UP) –
Governor John W. Bricker of Ohio said today that he was “not interested” in the Republican vice-presidential nomination.

Mr. Bricker will address the Ohio Society dinner tonight. His speech will be broadcast at 10:30 p.m. ET by WJAS.

He was asked during a press conference:

Would you accept a position on the Republican ticket as Vice President?

Mr. Bricker said:

I am not interested in that at all. I am a candidate for President and nothing else.

Mr. Bricker’s campaign manager, Roy d. Moore, predicted that his candidate would have at least 257 delegates’ votes pledged at the convention start, June 26. Mr. Moore declined to say from which states the 257 votes would come. He also predicted that there would be no first-ballot nomination.

Five hundred and thirty votes are necessary to nominate.

[NormanStewart]

The Pittsburgh Press (April 26, 1944)

Dewey write-in vote features primary; few races are close

Nominees for state posts chosen
By Kermit McFarland

An impressive showing by Governor Thomas E. Dewey, despite a record light vote, featured Allegheny County’s presidential-year primary yesterday.

Mr. Dewey, although his name did not appear on the ballot, piled up a surprising write-in vote, overwhelming all other Republican possibilities in this informal contest.

22,151 Dewey write-ins

In 927 of the county’s 1,017 districts, Mr. Dewey attracted 22,151 write-in votes compared to 1,611 for Gen. Douglas MacArthur, his nearest Republican opponent.

President Roosevelt polled 1,955 Republican write-ins. On his own Democratic ballot, where he was unopposed for the presidential preference, Mr. Roosevelt collected 82,397 votes in 1,009 of the 1,017 districts.

Mr. Dewey’s showing, in the absence of any organized campaign on his behalf, was regarded as remarkable by local political circles.

Wide popularity shown

His popularity was demonstrated by a similar write-in vote throughout the state, but in some eastern countries this was attributed to a last-minute campaign by Pennsylvania friends.

Estimates of the vote cast in yesterday’s primary did not exceed 30%. It was possible the lightest vote in the county’s history notwithstanding the absence of thousands of voters in the Armed Forces.

Otherwise, the primary here was featured by a close fight for the Republican Congressional nomination in the new 29th district, by the defeat of David C. “Cap” Davies for the Republican senatorial nomination in the 45th district (South Hills) and the renomination of State Rep. John R. Bentley in a bitter Democratic contest in the 12th, 13th and 14th Wards.

Howard E. Campbell, president of the Pittsburgh Real Estate Board, who had the endorsement of both the Young Republicans and the Old-Line Republicans in a pre-primary deal, narrowly escaped defeat for the Congressional nomination in the 29th district.

McDowell is close behind

Former Congressman John McDowell, Wilkinsburg publisher, running without the backing of the Young Republican organization he helped to organize, ran only 360 votes behind Mr. Campbell with six precincts missing in the district. The official count, to start Friday, could alter the result.

Three other candidates split up the vote.

Mr. Davies, secretary to County Controller Robert G. Woodside, was generally forecast a winner in the 45th district senatorial fight, but trailed Thomas Lewis Jones, young Baldwin Township attorney, in a close fight.

Dispute recalled

The fight against Homewood attorney Mr. Bentley was led by Charles A. Papale, 12th Ward Democratic chairman, and resulted from a dispute between ward alderman Mr. Papale and the Democratic county organization over city and county patronage.

Mr. Papale put Julius Zangrille, a 12th Ward plumber, into the race in an effort to wheedle more jobs from Democratic headquarters. He was joined in the contest against Mr. Bentley by Louis Leff, 14th Ward chairman.

On the basis of nearly-complete returns, Mr. Bentley was renominated by a margin of 3–2.

In other Republican Congressional contests, Sheriff Robert J. Corbett in the 30th district (North Hills) and James G. Fulton of Dormont, now a lieutenant in the Navy, were easy winners, each in a field of five. Mr. Fulton will be the Republican nominee in the 31st district (South Hills).

All candidates slated by the Democratic organization were nominated safely. Only Mr. Bentley had a serious contest.

Woman wins race

In the Republican legislative contests, a feature of the results was the runaway victory of Bernyce Lysle, the only woman in the Republican primary, in the 2nd legislative district. She almost doubled her nearest opponent, Alexander Dlugonski, a previous candidate, who was also nominated.

The only other woman nominated for public office in the Allegheny County primary was Mrs. Emma Bray of Baldwin Township, who won a Democratic nomination for the Legislature in the 12th district. The slate on which she was a candidate was unopposed.

The 12th district turned up with a close race in the Republican legislative primary, late returns showing Baldwin Township attorney Irwin I. Tryon pushing Rep. Norman H. Laughner of Crescent Township for the fourth place on the ticket. Reps. Edwin C. Ewing and George W. Cooper of Mount Lebanon and John R. Haudenshield of Carnegie were safely renominated.

Christler wins

Charles M. Christler, 14th Ward attorney and former legislator, easily won the Republican legislative nomination in the 5th district, despite opposition of Young Republicans who backed William F. White (Brushton restaurant operator) who ran second, just ahead of Alderman Kenneth H. Davies of the 14th Ward.

In the 10th district, Swissvale auditor Robert J. Strathearn broke the organization-endorsed slate by a wide margin. He defeated Walter C. Feick, Glassport dentist backed by organization leaders. Also nominated were Albert E. Beech (a state employee of Wilkinsburg), Paul M. Bardes of Oakmont (former legislator) and William P. H. Johnston (Penn Township auto dealer).

McNair is victor

Former Mayor William M. McNair, running with the support of the Democratic machine, easily won the legislative nomination in the 4th district and will oppose Rep. O. B. Hannon in November.

Mr. McNair defeated Michael J. Holland, a city fireman. Mr. Hannon was renominated by a heavy majority over former legislator Harry B. Ackermann and Edward W. Brinling.

Party men win

In other statewide contests, candidates backed by party organizations easily won nominations.

Superior Court Judge Arthur H. James and Common Pleas Judge J. Frank Graff of Kittanning won Republican nominations for the State Superior Court by handsome majorities over Judge Chester H. Rhodes, a Democrat who entered the Republican primary.

Judge Rhodes, nominated for a second term by the Democrats, and Auditor General F. Clair Ross, named as his running mate for the Superior Court, polled similar majorities over Judge James, former Governor, who took a fling at the Democratic primary.

In the only other statewide Democratic contest, State Treasurer G. Harold Wagner was nominated for Auditor General over John F. Breslin, an assistant in the Auditor General’s office.

Davis renominated

U.S. Senator James J. Davis was renominated by the Republicans and Congressman Francis J. Myers of Philadelphia was named for the Senate by the Democrats. Neither had primary opposition.

Also nominated without opposition were Democrat federal judge Charles Alvin Jones and Republican Justice Howard W. Hughes for the State Supreme Court, and Democrat Ramsey S. Black, third assistant postmaster general, and Republican City Treasurer Edgar W. Baird of Philadelphia for State Treasurer.

[NormanStewart]

Avert U.S. politics, Britons warned

By Helen Kirkpatrick

London, England –
Britons traveling to the United States on business in recent weeks have been admonished by Prime Minister Churchill himself against any talk or action which might in any way be interpreted as interference in American politics.

Among the usual documents that outward-bound travelers receive has been a letter from Mr. Churchill strongly urging Britons going to the United States not to make any statement or engage in any discussions which might subsequently be construed as indication of the British attitude toward American elections. He expresses his determination that nothing shall be done to endanger the good relations between the United States and Britain.

[NormanStewart]

In primaries –
Bay State favors Dewey and Roosevelt

Ely, New Deal critic, lags behind

Boston, Massachusetts (UP) –
Complete unofficial returns from the Massachusetts presidential primary showed today that Democrats elected a slate of delegates largely unpledged but favoring a fourth term for President Roosevelt.

Only six of the 56 Democratic district delegates chosen were pledged to former Governor Joseph B. Ely, anti-New Dealer and fourth term foe, who is a candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in Massachusetts.

In the two Congressional districts where the popularity of New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey was put to a minor test, the pro-Dewey delegates were elected by the Republicans over unpledged opponents.

Roosevelt men happy

Results of the balloting, probably the lightest in Massachusetts history, were hailed by Democratic State Chairman William H. Burke Jr. as a definite Roosevelt fourth term victory. He predicted that within 48 hours Mr. Ely would endorse the President for a fourth term.

However, Mr. Ely said the returns indicated:

Such a substantial cleavage in the party that I should think the vote would serve as a warning to fourth-termers.

Ely is a delegate

Mr. Ely himself was assured a seat at the National Convention since he was one of 12 Democratic delegates-at-large elected without opposition.

The seven-man Republican at-large slate, including Governor Leverett Saltonstall and House Minority Leader Joseph W. Martin Jr. likewise was unopposed.

It was in the 13th Congressional district comprising part of Boston and a Southeastern Massachusetts area, that the Ely forces made their best showing. All four convention seats at stake in that district were won by Ely-pledged candidates: Michael P. Feeney of Boston, Francis J. Carroll of Canton, Clement A. Riley of Norwood and Alice M. Durst of Boston.

Some Ely men trail 4–1

Mr. Ely’s other two delegates were in the 10th district, a Boston-Brookline area. They were Boston City Councilor Michael J. Ward and David J. Brickley of Boston, who ran both as members of the pro-Roosevelt slate presented by the Democratic State Committee, and at the same time endorsed Mr. Ely’s candidacy.

Pro-Ely candidates were entered in a total of seven of the state’s 14 Congressional districts, but trailed in most cases, sometimes by as much as four-to-one.

[NormanStewart]

Kentucky GOP solid for Dewey

Louisville, Kentucky (UP) –
The 22 Kentucky delegates selected to go to the Republican National Convention in Chicago will cast first a complimentary vote for Governor Simeon Willis as the “favorite-son” candidate for the presidential nomination and then switch to New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, it was disclosed today.

The selection of delegates was completed yesterday at the State Republican Convention here.

Friends of Ohio Governor John W. Bricker had hoped to captured at least four of the 22 delegates, but a solid front for Governor Dewey was presented.

Governor Willis, elected convention chairman, keynoted the meeting. He said:

After the November election, we will have no buttery-voiced fireside chats or My Day tripe in the newspapers. We must have a President who does not show contempt for the intelligence and character of the people. For 12 years, we have seen the United States mismanaged, manhandled and outraged, but deliverance is in sight.

[NormanStewart]

Colorado sentiment favors Dewey

Denver, Colorado (UP) –
Colorado Republicans met here today to select the remainder of the delegates to the party’s presidential nominating convention in Chicago next June.

Each of the state’s four Congressional districts has already selected two delegates each, with seven to be named today. Colorado’s delegation is traditionally uninstructed, but party sources said sentiment was strong for Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York for the presidential nomination.

[NormanStewart]

Foreign policy to get test in Senate

Bipartisan showdown may affect campaign
By Jay G. Hayden, North American Newspaper Alliance

Washington –
A bipartisan showdown with regard to American foreign policy, which is bound to affect vitally the approaching presidential campaign and may determine this country’s international relationship for years to come, will get underway in a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee this week.

This is the committee asked by Secretary of State Cordell Hull “to secure as great unanimity among the American people and Congress as possible with respect to the basic post-war security program.”

Its membership consists of Democrats Chairman Tom Connally (D-TX), Walter F. George (D-GA), Alben W. Barkley (D-KY) and Guy M. Gillette (D-IA), Republicans Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI), Wallace White (R-ME) and Warren R. Austin (R-VT) and Progressive Robert M. La Follette (PR-WI).

La Follette opposed

A degree of friction entered into the formulation of the roster. The administration did not want Senator La Follette included in it, and when Senator Vandenberg, who had nominated Mr. La Follette as one of the three minority members, refused to proceed without him, one additional member was added each to the Democratic and Republican sides.

The obvious intention of this maneuver was to strengthen the administration hand, since Senator Austin has never varied even so much as a hair’s breadth from support of President Roosevelt’s foreign policies.

Senator Vandenberg’s position is understood to have been that Mr. La Follette was entitled to the place from the standpoints both of seniority and ability, and, in any event, there can be no real solidarity of American foreign policy unless it takes account of the Midwestern nationalism, for which Mr. La Follette speaks.

Full cooperation demanded

While nobody so far has been able to put their hands on it, there is rumored to have been a significant correspondence between the Republican and Democratic Senate wings.

The crux of the position of Senator Vandenberg, personally, is that he is willing to go the limit in bipartisan cooperation, even to the point of devoting all his time to the effort from now on and abstaining from any part in the approaching presidential campaign.

But, Mr. Vandenberg insists, this sort of cooperation is practicable only if it proceeds on the basis of a completely equal Democratic-Republican partnership in formulation of foreign policies and an equal Democratic abstinence from their use for electioneering purposes.

Electioneering fought

Particularly, Senator Vandenberg is said to have insisted that Mr. Roosevelt, no less than the State Department, must be completely tied into any interparty harmony arrangement that may be affected.

Reduced to its most blunt political implication, the Republicans intend to see to it that, if a bipartisan foreign policy entente is entered into, Mr. Roosevelt is foreclosed from going out in the weeks immediately before election and saying, “See how effectively I have brought the Republicans to heel.”

[NormanStewart]

Post-war peace agency, arms pact urged by Governor Bricker

New York (UP) –
Ohio Governor John W. Bricker last night advocated an early agreement between the United Nations on post-war military strength and objectives, followed by establishment of a cooperative world peace agency when governments have been restored, as the first steps toward averting another world war.

Mr. Bricker said other essential steps include a joint study of the problems of international trade, tariffs and monetary stabilization, and the adoption of a strong, decisive policy by the United States.

At the same time, he charged that the New Deal failed to exercise “ordinary prudence” for national security before the war.

World police opposed

The American people, he said in an address at the Ohio Society of New York dinner, want no international police force and no super-government or dictatorial world state, but feel that the United States must take her place in a cooperative order of sovereign states supported by the will of the people.

Joint responsibility for world order until economic and political stability has been regained by individual nations must be assumed by the United States, Great Britain, Russia and China, he recommended.

Mr. Bricker said:

This means that these four great powers should agree now to maintain adequate military, naval and airpower in the immediate post-war period.

‘Mutual understanding’

This does not mean an international police force, or a military alliance… it does contemplate a mutual understanding as to their respective military establishments and that they shall express that understanding in a temporary and transitional compact to be entered into as soon as possible.

Assailing U.S. foreign policy of the past decade as an unwise “course of day-to-day diplomacy,” Mr. Bricker said the State Department must again be permitted to exercise the responsibility vested in it. This country has the “know-how” in international relations, he said, “and a Republican administration will use it.”

He charged the Roosevelt administration with too often exhibiting indecision in dealings with other nations, and asserted that the nation’s ideals must not go by default in this war.

Must guard principles

He said:

America’s cooperation with other nations must not be at the expense of her principles, her honor, her ideals or her form of government. But I believe we can have international cooperation with justice and with honor, and that America must play her full part and do her full share.

Promises to do more than can be performed will breed ill will and hate, he said, adding:

There must be open and frank consideration of our responsibilities. There must be no secret international agreements affecting the post-war world. International goodwill can be developed by open and honest dealing with other nations and by keeping our commitments.

Lack of prudence shown

In his attack on Roosevelt’s pre-war policies, Mr. Bricker said that the New Deal failed to fulfill its obligation to protect the Philippines “in the face of Japan’s growing power” and sought to appease Japan despite the warnings of Ambassador Joseph C. Grew.

He added that after Hitler seized the power in Germany, the government did not exercise “ordinary prudence” for national security and took no heed of gathering clouds of war.

[NormanStewart]

The Pittsburgh Press (April 27, 1944)

Wife, a Democrat, opposes GOP hubby

Santa Fe, New Mexico (UP) –
New Mexico’s gubernatorial election in November may be one of the fanciest political scraps in the state’s history.

Mrs. Edna Peterson of Albuquerque filed yesterday as a Democratic candidate for the nomination – the first woman in the state to seek the post.

Robert E. Peterson, her husband, has announced he, too, will seek nomination – on the Republican ticket.

[NormanStewart]

Write-ins for Dewey to make him choice of state on first ballot

Governor’s proven popularity leaves delegates no choice except to back him
By Kermit McFarland

Pennsylvania support for Governor Thomas E. Dewey on the first ballot at the Republican presidential convention in June is practically guaranteed by the write-in votes cast in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

Nearly complete returns from the state’s 8,195 voting precincts today showed that the New York Governor, in an impressive showing of strength, had drawn approximately 140,000 write-in votes in an election which set a record by its small turnout.

Have no alternative

Mr. Dewey’s thus proven popularity among Republican voters in Pennsylvania left the 70 delegates elected to the national convention no choice except to back him on the first ballot, despite the failure of nearly all the delegates to pledge support to the popular choice.

As a result, both Pennsylvania delegations will go to the national conventions prepared to vote as a unit for the two leading candidates for President – Mr. Dewey and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

All of the Democratic delegates were already pledged to the President and he became the voters’ choice by rolling up more than 300,000 votes in the preferential primary Tuesday. He also garnered more than 6,000 write-in votes – 2,000 of them in Allegheny County – on the Republican ballot.

No basis for comparison

Politicians today were busy trying to interpret the results of the presidential poll, but without great success.

While Mr. Dewey’s showing was remarkable, considering that he is not an announced candidate and that his name did not appear on the ballot, a comparison of probable strength between him and the President is not easy on the basis of the Tuesday returns.

Mr. Roosevelt was the only presidential candidate on the Democratic ballot. Thousands of Democratic voters apparently did not indicate a presidential preference, but whether it was because they disapprove of Mr. Roosevelt or because they saw no need of voting in the absence of a contest was a matter for speculation.

Organized movement in east

Governor Dewey’s write-in was sparked in the eastern part of the state by an organized movement and by editorial support of this plan from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Republican daily. However, his vote in western counties, where there was no activity on his behalf, appeared equally impressive.

Only one Congressman fell by the wayside in the primary voting. He was Grant Furlong of Donora, elected two years ago to represent Washington and part of Allegheny Counties. This time, however, because the Congressional districts were reapportioned, he ran in Washington and Greene Counties.

He was beaten in the Democratic primary by Fredericktown physician Dr. Thomas E. Morgan.

Supported by CIO

Dr. Morgan had the backing of the Democratic organizations in Washington and Greene County, but Dr. Furlong was supported by active CIO political groups. Dr. Furlong carried his home county of Washington, but lost Greene by a wide margin.

The principal surprise of the Congressional races was the victory of Eddie McCloskey, turbulent Johnstown politician, in the Democratic primary in Cambria, Armstrong and Indiana Counties.

Mr. McCloskey, beaten for reelection as County Commissioner last year by the leaders of his own party, turned the score on the same faction Tuesday by trouncing their candidate, Westmont insurance agent Robert S. Clark. Mr. McCloskey had previously been Mayor of Johnstown and a state boxing commissioner.

Falls in comeback

In November, Mr. McCloskey will run against Congressman Harve Tibbott (R-Ebensburg), who had no primary competition.

One former Congressman made a successful primary comeback and another failed.

Clinton County manufacturer Robert F. Rich, who in six terms in Congress attracted national attention by his repeated question on the floor, “Where is the money coming from?” was nominated by the Republicans in the new 15th district – Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, McKean and Cameron Counties.

He won in a field of four candidates.

Former Congressman Guy L. Moser of Berks County failed in his attempt to defeat Congressman Daniel K. Hoch for the Democratic nomination. Mr. Hoch ousted Mr. Moser two years ago.

Casualty among Senators

Charles A. P. Bartlett, former State Senator, was nominated by Republicans in Northampton, Carbon and Monroe Counties to run in November against Congressman Francis E. Walter of Easton.

Among State Senators, the only casualty of the primary was Senator George A. Deitrick of Sunbury, who was defeated in the Republican primary by William I. Troutman of Shamokin, present Congressman-at-large from Pennsylvania. Mr. Troutman had the backing of Northumberland County Republican leaders.

Only eight of the 190 members of the State House of Representatives who were candidates failed to win renomination. Each party nominated 208 at the primary.