W. and L. News Service Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virgini a Fer release: Sllil.day, April 27

LEllNGTON, Va., April. 26--Political tension is the byword on W&$hington

and Lee Universi tyt s campus in preparation for tomrrow' s openi~ ot the 1952 zoock

:~spublican convention.

After months of feverish activity, final preparations are complete and

the two-day political event will begin tomorrow at 2 p,m. with the mile-long

p-9.::-ade through the streets of Lexington. The parade will start at Virginia Mill-

t.ary Institute and proceed down Main Street.

Forty-eight states and five territories have entries in this yearts

parade. Colorful floats, girl-bedecked convertibles, wild animals, cowboys, and

mountaineers vrl.ll be out in gaudy array to celebrate the opening of the political

maneuve::-ing. Several bands have been engaged to furnish appropriate nusic for the

)ccasion.

AftJr -;dnC.ir.6 throughout Lexington, the students will disassemble the

floats in front of Cor.cre:-J.t:_on Hall and convene in the Hall to begin the serious

·::-0li tical activity .,

Conver-tion ~all has been decorated to resemble the national convention

h ::..lls in an effort fC'r realism. Candidatesl pictures, slogan placards, Aorica.n

:iags, and state flags are hanging from every rafter and beam, The speaker• s plat-

f~rm is surrounded with micro}ilones, floodlights, and tape recorders.

Senator James H. Duff will highlight the Monday afternoon session with

~he deliverance of the keynote address. Senator Duffts speech, scheduled to begin

at 4:30 p.m., will be carried by many Virginia radio stations. Network radio

·:·:presentati ves will be on hand to record Senator Dufft s comments, ard probably

·,.ri.ll broadcast tltlem later during the day. Other happenings during the convention

,Jill also be =-ecordad for broadcast.

From all indications, this year's convention will be the best publicized

~ ~: J. : ts 44 year history. Approximately 4S representatives or conmunioations media

c-~ r~~ expected to be on hand for the event. Reporters and Iilotographers trom Virginia

nBNspapers, radio announcers, wire-service feature writers, Washington correspondents,

-:- slr:vioion cameramen, newsreel eameras, and network political forecasters will

·. ·:: v6r the two-day event for their respectiv• publications.

After various committee reports, the afternoon session ~11 reoes8 until

.' ~ 30 when the evening session will get under way. Nominations for Pre a:ident o! the

at tbis se~sion. Student nondnating speakers are WAS.Fit~a~~ RrJ-AM~SL~ UNIVERSITY -more- - 2 -

busily polishing up their oratory for the occasion. These nominating speeches are very important as they influence the vote of the undecided members of the state

delegations. Townsend Cast, chairman of the mock convention, will conduct a roll call

on Presidential nominations and the evening session will recess until 9230 Tuesday

morning. Tuesdayt s sessions ·· continue with the nominating speeches. After the

~aminating roll call is complete, the balloting begins to elect the. students' choices for Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. When. the outcome of the 9alloting is complete, committees are appointed to notify the winning Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. With a record of selecting five out of nine nominees in previous conven-

tions since 1908 , the students are deadly serious in trying to name for president

and vice-president the same men who will be named by the national convention in i;hicago this July.

The W&L students have done everything in their power to make the mock

~ onvention a realistic simulation of national political activity. Th~ have con- ferred with Republican state chairmen in person or by correspondence. Campaign headquarters, set up on W&L•s campus, have been in close contact with headquarters of candidates for Republican nomination. The student politicians have been amazed at the seriousness with which the political leaders over the nation have accepted the convention and the help which they have offered. Student speculation points to the fact that several ballots probably will be necessary for a nomination. Senator Robert A. Taft and General Dwight D. =isenhower have ,strong student backing and many are predicting a balloting dead­

lock between these two candidates. Harold E. Stassen, Dougl as MacArthur and

!~ 0vernor Earl Warren are also expected to have student support. The Maryland

c'elegation will also support its "favorite son" candidate--Governor T. R. McKeldin. The mock convention, always that of the party currently not holding the

tyresidency, began here with the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1908. It

·; ~- ssed Wilson in 1912, but picked Hughes correctly in 1916. No convention was held

:: ~::. 1.920 because of the war aftermath, but in 1924 the students resumed by correctly

,-_ :; .. (>J.ating John W. Davis, a graduate of W&L • . The students were right again in 1928

• _ _, ~ i_ ~ - 932 in selecting Al Smith and Franklin D, Roosevelt. They missed in 1936 by

~ · .: k 1.ng Senator Vandenburg over Alf Landon, and in 1940 they were wrong again in

:.:5 aating Charles McNarry instead of Wendell Willkie. No convention was held in

-more-

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY / - 3-

1944, while the 194.8 conclave nominated Arthur Vandenburg instead of Thomas E. Dew:ey.

State delegations have been holding caucuses to forrulate convention

campaign strategy. The students have been actively campaigning for several weeks

i:-1 8. ~. effort to bring more delegates over to their camp.

Cl ass es at the Unive~sity will be held tomorrow morning, but the after-

~oon. classes and Tuesdayt s classes Will be SUSJ:Snded for the event. Should the

convention remain deadlocked, as many predict that it will, it will be necessary

t o obtain administrative permission to cancel Wednesday's classes. This is not

i mpossible. Once, students awakened President Francis P. Gaines at 3 a.m. to

obtain such permission.

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WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY