The Pittsburgh Press (March 14, 1946)
Stokes: Is GOP awake?
By Thomas L. Stokes
WASHINGTON – Rather convincing evidence is accumulating that the Republican leadership in Congress may be off in its confident calculations of a fairly easy victory in the coming congressional elections.
It is doubtful this leadership is awake to what is going on, particularly among veterans. So many of these men have come back with ideas of a different state of things in this country, and with a determination to do something about it.
It is doubtful, too, that the party is thoroughly awake to other things, for example, the popularity of price control among women, now a substantial and aroused voting element, or to the movement from rural communities and small towns to the cities during the war which probably has its political effect.
There has come to hand a weekly newspaper “The Veteran’s Voice,” published by the Indiana chapter of the newly formed American Veterans Committee, which fixes blame on the Republicans and Southern Democrats for defeating two provisions of the administration housing bill in the House – the subsidy and price control on old houses.
Urges ‘advice’ to congressmen
The newspaper carries a statement from Martin Larner, state chairman, under the heading “Republicans held to account by AVC on housing action.” It advises AVC members to write to their Republican congressmen who voted against these provisions that it was “a vote against the veteran, and one they shall be held to account for.”
Much of the publication is devoted to veterans’ housing, and it is rough reading.
This sort of activity, which is going on elsewhere, is merely cited to show that there is something stirring among the veterans. They are not going to be content with the old way of doing things, or with a return to the status quo or, as it is sometimes called, “Normalcy.” This seems to be the objective of the GOP Old Guard leadership.
It has not taken the veterans long to find out about the Republican-Southern Democratic coalition in Congress and its fight on price controls and other controls regarded as necessary to ease the transition for everybody back to peacetime production.
As for the women’s vote, this has become an increasingly important factor. Chester Bowles has become a sort of knight errant among women for his fight to hold down prices. This is not mere hearsay. It comes from many directions.
Solid backing for Bowles
The writer had first-hand proof on a recent trip by inquiring among women’s organizations here and there. They are pretty solidly behind Chester. That, too, was in the South, where some of their husbands think differently.
Labor organizations have done an amazing amount of educational work in this direction which cannot be discounted. Walter Reuther’s insistence on tying up wages and prices and profits served to dramatize the issue of consumer interest in what is going on far more than might be imagined, even though he got practically nowhere with it in his negotiations with General Motors.
A factor in 1946 politics which perhaps has not been much considered is the movement to the cities from the usually predominant Republican rural communities and small towns.
In the big metropolitan areas, still Democratic, the newcomer is subjected to two important influences – either an efficient big city Democratic machine which is a great proselyting agency, or to labor unions, or both.
They may raise an additional obstacle for the attempt of Republicans to break into big city constituencies which is essential if the Republicans are to capture the House in the coming election.
Some few Republicans in Congress of progressive inclination are aware of this, but they do not carry much influence.