Adlai E. Stevenson: Last Chance by Richard L. Neuberger

Reprinted from The Progressive • Madison, Wisconsin • 1960 Adlai E. Stevenson: Last Chance by RICHARD L. NEUBERGER

N 1956, after his second defeat lor their lapel or bosom at the moment. doubt, he probably would be a cer- I the Presidency, Adlai E. Stevenson This was vividly demonstrated at the tainty for the nomination in 1960. made a statement regarding the high- banquet in New York honoring Elea- But Stevenson has been beaten twice. est elective office in the free world nor Roosevelt's 75th birthday. Most One defeat was by a margin of which was both renunciatory and of the Democratic White House po- 6,500,000 votes, the other by 9,500,000. philosophical. He said, "1 can con- tentials were present. Stevenson re- These were not photo-finishes. They template in tranquillity the distinct ceived by far the most vociferous ova- were landslides. Over and against this possibility that I will never he Presi- tion. Raymond P. Brandt wrote in is the dry comment of Palmer Hoyt dent of the United States." the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that only of the Denver Post: "Who could have licked George Washington? That was Because millions of his fellow Stevenson and Mrs. Roosevelt herself how General Eisenhower was pre- Americans do not share this tran- "came away with increased popular- sented to the American people." quillity, Stevenson continues to be re- ity and respect." garded as the most likely nominee of Stevenson has told me that he will his party for the third consecutive not spend a four-cent postage stamp This is the great behind-the-scenes time. Many Stevenson enthusiasts hap- to win the Democratic nomination. debate within Democratic ranks re- pen to be intellectuals, civic leaders, He is personally fond of both Hum- gar'1 iag Adlai Stevenson. Were 1952 and generous campaign contributors. phrey and Kennedy, and he has and 1956 fair tests of his national They might be called the catalytic given each of them a sort of may-the- vote-corraling ability? If they accu- agent of the Democratic Party. They best-man-win benediction. But if a rately measured his appeal, then Dem- are what make the water fizz. They stalemate should occur at the Los ocratic Party delegates will shy away create public opinion. And they feel Angeles convention, it is probable from him as the 1960 nominee. But a sense of kinship with Adlai Steven- that Stevenson will be available for if the previous two elections are writ- son that they seem to sense in no the party's nomination—even though ten off as forlorn hopes for the Dem- other Presidential hopeful in either some of his closest friends trust this ocrats, regardless of the identity of party. will not be the case, for they wish to the party's candidate, Adlai Stevenson Thus, in spite of all the zeal and see him spared the ordeal of a third could still be the overwhelming choice fervor for that brace of tireless cam- nationwide campaign. "I'd die if of those who will assemble in Los paigning Democratic Senators, John Stevenson lost again," said the attrac- Angeles next July to make a fateful F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, tive wife of a wealthy and enlightened decision. I was told by a generous many adherents of these men contin- date grower near Palm Springs. and liberal-minded California con- ually make it evident that Kennedy It is my judgment that most of the tributor to Democratic coffers: and Humphrey are their first choices leaders of the Democratic Party look "If I could appoint a President, only if Stevenson does not actively upon Stevenson as the nation's intel- I'd appoint Stevenson. He has what enter the field. At innumerable Demo- lectually best prepared man to serve it takes to be a truly illustrious Pres- cratic gatherings, I have heard people in the White House. Who can rival ident. But if Stevenson is unable to volunteer the information that their his eloquence and basic wisdom? Yet win at the polls, I would rather suc- heart belongs to Stevenson even many of these same individuals con- ceed with a Democrat of lesser stature though they happen to be wearing fess to some doubt that Stevenson can than to lose again with Stevenson." somebody else's campaign button on be elected. II it were not for this It is Hamlet's dilemma repeated, because it involves so many hypothet- the political skill of Lyndon Johnson. government in the Twentieth Cen- icals. What if the Suez crisis had not He has many more overt handicaps tury. This, in the minds of many occurred on the eve of the 1956 elec- —his divorce, for example—than people, is a welcome contrast to Pres- tions? Had Republican demagoguery Symington. He is not currently in ident Eisenhower's bland promises of over the unpopular Korean War in high elective office like Governors 100 per cent of parity, liberation of 1952 made it impossible for a Demo- Robert Meyner of New Jersey or G. the satellite nations, and the "unleash- crat to succeed? Had the Democratic Mennen (Soapy) Williams of Mich- ing" of Chiang Kai-shek. Also, these string run out after 20 years in na- igan. Yet mere mention of Stevenson's Democrats occasionally recall that cer- tional office? Many of Harry Tru- name can inspire and thrill many a tain prominent members of their own man's intimates believe that Steven- gathering of Democrats. party have heralded, with much fan- son was too indecisive, that he did not I have tried to locate the secret of fare, the unveiling of a marvelous conduct "fighting" campaigns, that he Stevenson's appeal to intellectual and new farm program—a program which equivocated on issues of vast potential thoughtful voters. I think one of his they have not yet produced. appeal for the Democrats. But one of strengths is a trait which most ortho- Stevenson's faithful has replied wryly, dox politicians regard as virtually his Stevenson Weakest When He "Don't ever forget that Truman ran principal weakness—what they de- Listens to Campaign Strategists against Dewey. That's a whole scribe as his indecisiveness, his tend- lot different from running against ency to see both sides of a difficult To extreme Democratic partisans, Eisenhower." question, his melancholy and pro- Stevenson at times can be somewhat longed grappling with highly com- less than satisfying. This is probably The Lingering Doubt of plex issues. true of any political figure who Of some of these things there can broods extensively and who often ap- Whether He Can Be Elected be no doubt. In 1952 Stevenson pears indecisive. Lincoln, also a mel- The debate is endless, but it also thrashed about like a salmon in a fish ancholy brooder, was not sufficiently narrows down to another question. ladder, trying to make up his mind hard toward the South to please the How much have the two defeats by whether to run for the Presidency Republican radicals who unsuccess- Eisenhower hurt Stevenson's political or for reelection as governor of Ill- fully plotted his defeat for reelection prestige, no matter how blameless he inois. His attitude on farm price sup- in 1864. Indeed, Judge Samuel I. may be for what happened? One ports has never quite satisfied those Rosenman of New York, former con- theory holds that too many voters who favor a continuation of big ag- fidant of Franklin D. Roosevelt and among the present electorate cast ricultural subsidies; nor are public- an intimate of President Truman, their ballots against Stevenson for power groups content that he is 100 has said somewhat disparagingly of him ever to be able to reverse the per cent committed to their side. I Stevenson: verdict. Would millions of voters con- have heard criticisms from certain "I don't think his views are those of fess, even to themselves, that they labor leaders that Stevenson has a liberal, but more of a middle-of-the- could have been wrong twice before? seemed to encounter "difficulty" mak- roader. On domestic issues, there's Yet, arrayed against this is the fact ing up his mind about amendments not much difference between Steven- that many political figures in America to the Taft-Hartley Act. son's ideas and those of President have won major offices after numer- Yet these very qualities, so disturb- Eisenhower." ous defeats—Senators John Carroll of ing to some groups, are a factor in This is undoubtedly an over-simpli- Colorado, William E. Proxmire of endearing Stevenson to the intellec- fication of Stevenson's reluctance to Wisconsin, and Ralph W. Yarbor- tuals, teachers, ami writers who pre- accept felicitous answers merely be- ough of Texas, to mention only a dominate in quite a few Democratic cause they have voter appeal. Any conspicuous few on the contemporary circles. Here is a man who does not person who has read his book What scene. And if the British people had pose as having a pat solution for every I Think will know there is a gulf, permitted earlier political failures to problem of these troubled times. He vast and wide, between Stevenson's shape their attitude perpetually, they rarely indulges in the glib slogans ideas and those of the war hero who might have been denied the gifted which pretend to offer such easy rem- has twice conquered him for the Pres- leadership of Winston Churchill dur- edies for grim maladies. He reserves idency. There also have been the ing World War II. his doubts about ready answers to numerous occasions when Stevenson I am confident that Adlai Stevenson monumental problems like farm sur- was ahead of his time. During the is the private 1960 favorite of the pluses, competing with the Soviets, or 1956 campaign he took the risk of overwhelming majority of influential raising the necessary funds to finance urging a suspension of nuclear tests. Democrats. But there exists among some of these same persons the linger- ing doubt of whether or not he can be elected. Why is Stevenson such a favorite? What accounts for his enduring ap- peal to so many thoughtful men and women? He is not so liberal as Hum- phrey. He lacks the handsome youth- fulness of Kennedy. He cannot match

. Vice President Nixon called this sug- port of some of his 1952 admirers when Lincoln and Jefferson wrote, gestion "extraordinary and appalling, when he followed the advice of cer- under crucial stress, what they them- catastrophic nonsense—the height of tain campaign strategists and devi- selves felt and believed in. They re- irresponsibility ..." Yet today, near- ated from his 1952 policy of 'talking member tales of Jefferson, in rented ly four years later, Nixon himself sense to the American people.' " lodgings in Philadelphia, drafting the has opposed a resumption of nuclear No person is more thoroughly stirring and rhythmical language of testing. Nor can it be wholly for- aware of this than Adlai Stevenson. the Declaration of Independence. gotten that Judge Rosenman's be- "If I ever am foolish enough to let In our era Stevenson, alone among loved patron, Franklin D. Roosevelt, myself run for President again," he leaders, seems to respond to these was quite universally looked upon as told me one day, "I will run exactly gleaming chapters from our past. a conservative among Democrats prior as my own man. I won't be met at Most topflight politicians make no to his brilliant unfurling of the New the Iowa state line or the Oregon secret of the synthetic authorship of Deal. state line by people who will tell me their speeches. Indeed, they often Stevenson is not a particularly the purportedly appropriate thing to boast of the task force of skilled ex- adroit politician, and he himself say to win votes in that particular perts in each field whom they have probably would be the first to admit locality. I will relate to voters—every- recruited for this task. Although it. Eric Sevareid relates how Steven- where—the blunt, hard facts about Stevenson has had at his disposal son, shortly before the Illinois elec- our position in the world and about some of the most gifted literary talent tions of 1948, told him they had writ- the sacrifices required if we are go- in the land, he has a hard time rely- ten off Paul Douglas as a possible ing to improve it." ing upon it. Davis, in A Prophet in winner and that if he, Stevenson, His Own Country, has thus described won at all, it would be by a very Stevenson Works Hard the reaction in 1952 of those who narrow margin. Actually, Douglas made the pilgrimage to Springfield to was elected to the Senate overwhelm- On His Own Speeches fortify the Stevenson cause with their ingly, and Stevenson went to^ the Kenneth S. Davis, biographer of pens and typewriters: gubernatorial mansion at Springfield Stevenson in the book, A Prophet in "All of them became convinced, if by one of the most colossal majorities His Own Country, has written that they were not at the outset, that in the history of the state. Stevenson's counselors in 1956 as- Stevenson was a far better writer of In 1952 my wife Maurine and I sumed he would delegate the writing Stevenson speeches than any of them were visiting Governor Stevenson in of speeches to others while he was ever could be. Most of them were the Illinois capital. He then was being left free "to concentrate on public initially perturbed by the fact that casually discussed for the Democratic appearances and personal 'politick- the final drafts of speeches generally Presidential nomination. Maurine ing.' " On many occasions in 1952 lo- bore little resemblance to the drafts pleaded with him not to consider this cal bigwigs could not see the candi- they had painfully prepared, but . . . because Eisenhower was sure to be date because he was busy polishing with pride and truth they could pro- the Republican nominee. "And no- his speeches until curtain time. The claim that the speeches as Stevenson body could beat Ike," she added. new division of labors in 1956 was finally gave them—speeches which Stevenson countered with the in- an unhappy one for Stevenson. It would be gathered into a best-selling formation that Senator Scott Lucas helps to explain why the genuine book months after the campaigning of Illinois, the Democratic Senate Stevenson shone through so little of had ended—were very much Steven- leader, believed Taft had the GOP the oratory during that campaign. son's own." nomination all wrapped up. "I agree He later explained to Kenneth Davis I still have my own vivid memory with Lucas," said Stevenson. that the actual preparation of speech- of Stevenson in the cramped bed- It is probably an irony of our era es, "the 'creative' thing, is what I like room of Portland's then only union that Stevenson, poor politician though to do. It's the fun of my life." operated hotel in October of 1952. he is, suffers the most when he per- This, too, may be the key to a good It was nearly midnight. He had just mits his political peers to persuade deal of the basic Stevenson image. completed a long airplane flight. His him to be out of character. This oc- Ours is an age of the synthetic—of dinner consisted of a bowl of canned curred in the campaign of 1956. De- the ghostwriter, the tele-prompter, of vegetable soup and crackers, eaten off parting from the 1952 style which had makeup to hide the candidate's bald a lap tray. While he ate, he revised inspired and lifted so many Amer- spots. We all know of the advertising a speech on power and conservation icans, he allowed himself to get down agency which plans a promotional which he expected to deliver the next to such narrow specifics as the price campaign for whiskey one day and a day. His eyes were hollow and gaunt of .hogs or the cost of kilowatts. This crusade for the Presidency the next. with exhaustion. It all seemed dread- was supposed to be shrewd politics in Neither is elevating nor meaningful. fully inefficient for the candidate thus certain states. Some Democratic pol- Candidates in both parties frequently to drain his energies and strength, iticians also felt, with audible relief, have speech manuscripts thrust into especially when I thought of Eisen- that it removed Stevenson from the their hands at the last moment. There hower's smoothly-functioning cam- lofty plane and high ideals which had is not even time in which to scan paign colossus with its troupe of writ- characterized his 1952 appearances. the ghost-writer's product before it is ers and public relations experts. I The metamorphosis didn't work. The presented to the waiting audience and knew the General was not polishing St. Louis Post-Dispatch has observed: to the nation. People sense this and speeches at midnight. And yet when "In 1956 Mr. Stevenson lost the sup- yearn for ithe days in our history I came away from Stevenson's room that night with Jebbie Davidson, As- cratic National Committee dinner in sistant Secretary of the Interior, there Chicago in 1955, slightly later than were tears of pride in our eyes. midway between his two Presidential Just how liberal is Adlai Stevenson? defeats: This question disturbs some Demo- "Let us be very clear that Republi- crats, as exemplified by the strictures cans want a safe and sane world every and doubts voiced by Judge Rosen- bit as much as Democrats. And in this man. When former President Tru- day, when our position is more per- man endorsed Averill Harriman for ilous than it has been since Korea, let President before the 1956 Democratic us also profit from our past mistakes, convention, he said candidly that while we deplore them, and let us Stevenson was not liberal enough for think of foreign policy not as par- him. Yet, by contrast, Mrs. Eleanor tisans but as Americans. Let us, in- Roosevelt, whose liberalism has never deed, remember that he who plays been diluted, constantly reiterates her politics with peace will lose at both." admiration and affection for Adlai Noble and stately words, these, but Stevenson. So does former Senator not the kind to make a partisan audi- Herbert H. Lehman of New York, Justus in The Minneapolis Star ence leap onto its chairs. They tell another of unquestioned liberality. It why Stevenson is a greater favorite could even be a matter of tempera- Adlai's Faithful Little Lamb with the PTA president than with ment. The precinct liberals have rare- the local ward chairman. ly cottoned to Stevenson. But the in- ciations, Stevenson does not dampen Excesses are frequently the fuel of tellectual liberals consider Adlai their litmus paper to test if each acquaint- political fires, but Stevenson cannot nonpareil. They are his shock troops. ance is simon-pure on every possible bring himself to light such faggots. Their allegiance to him seldom public question. This may accentuate On the eve of the 1956 campaign he wavers. certain suspicions concerning how was finally persuaded to endorse 90 Stevenson himself is definitely not far left-of-center Stevenson really per cent price supports on so-called a doctrinaire liberal. Many of his dwells. Yet F.D.R. kept Jesse Jones in "basics." But he did not quite let go early affiliations, in business and cor- his Cabinet and he enjoyed cruising of the lanyard. He made it evident poration law, have helped to anchor on Vincent Astor's yacht. Nor can that he was approving an expedient him to rather orthodox economic Harry Truman be said to savor his and not an ultimate answer: ideas. In the grave crisis of World bourbon and branch water exclusive- "While firm price supports keep War II, he was assistant to Secretary ly in the company of those who score income up they don't keep surpluses of the Navy Frank Knox, who had 100 per cent on ADA's voting score- down, and I say again, lest the dam been the 1936 Republican running- sheet on Capitol Hill. burst and engulf us, we Democrats mate of Alf M. Landon. After Knox's I first met Adlai E. Stevenson at must press on, with Republican help, death from a heart attack, brought on the United Nations Conference in San I hope, to develop the much broader by assiduous adherence to duty, Stev- Francisco in 1945. We journeyed to- national farm program which is re- enson said: gether to Yosemite's granite cliffs and quired to restore the full parity of "I loved that man. He was brave plumed waterfalls, and we hiked in total farm income. At the risk of mis- and honest. And he made a very the majestic fastnesses of Muir understanding and misrepresentation, great contribution to his country in Woods. My impression of him was not I will say again and again that restor- her hour of greatest need. It cost him necessarily of a fervent liberal but ing 90 per cent price supports to meet a lot. I'm sure it shortened his life. rather of a fascinating intellect, who the present emergency is not to say He was no intellectual, God knows, knew not only world diplomacy but they are a solution, but only that it but he was highly intelligent—which also the subtle differences between a is a better program than sliding sup- a whole lot of 'intellectuals' aren't, Douglas fir and a Ponderosa pine. ports which slide only one way ..." you know—and he knew his fellow What kind of President would man from a rough and crowded life. Stevenson be? Stevenson's Record As His loyalty to President Roosevelt, his I rather imagine he would be a Governor of Illinois political adversary in 1936, had a de- President who tried the patience of fiant quality, and his admiration and every special-interest group in the And there you have it, the strength respect for his chief seemed to grow nation. On agricultural legislation I of Stevenson intellectually and the as the going got tougher." would guess that he might be too con- weakness of Stevenson politically. He servative to please the National Farm- did come out for 90 per cent price What Kind of President ers Union and not conservative supports to cope with a crisis, but he Would Stevenson Make? enough to satisfy the American Farm could not quite bring himself to Bureau. He would be too much of a claim for such supports any panacea It is perhaps a clue to Stevenson's loyal Democrat to win over partisan status. Perhaps the statement reveals outlook that he took no cognizance Republicans, but might be too fair why he has never carried a state in of the fact that Colonel Knox was not and temperate to delight the extrem- the nation's bread basket. Zealous ad- a liberal, but only that he was not ists in his own party. For example, vocates of 90 per cent price supports an intellectual. In his personal asso- this is Stevenson talking to a Demo- rarely appreciate such gingerly back- ing. But the statement also reveals ship is this: "... Kept state expend- Enforced the over-weight truck that Adlai Stevenson is a sincere and itures on a pay-as-you-go basis by end- laws to protect the deteriorating honest man in bigtime politics. ing the use of extensive deficiency highway system, and increased high- This honesty was established for all appropriations at the end of a way revenues. the nation to see in August of 1952, biennium." Pressed for elimination of chis- when Governor Shivers of Texas Some liberals find it easier to pro- elers and cheaters from the public called ostentatiously at Springfield pose methods of spending govern- assistance rolls. and asked Stevenson to favor the re- mental funds than in raising revenues Initiated a program for state fi- turn of the rich oil tidelands to the to finance these undertakings. Steven- nancing of tuberculosis sanitaria. states. This was a major issue in the son's record as chief executive of Ill- Avoided new general taxes so four states which stood to profit inois makes it likely that he would that only two states, on a per capita heavily from such a transfer—Texas, not be in this group, which perhaps income basis, have lower per capita Florida, Louisiana, and California, accounts for the questioning of the state tax collections than Illinois. Many electoral votes were potentially degree of his liberality by former Reformed the administration of at stake. Stevenson could have ducked President Truman, Judge Rosenman, parole laws by appointing experts the question completely, or he could and others. A sound measuring stick free from political pressure. have imitated Eisenhower's ambigu- of Stevenson's philosophy might be Brought Illinois from the lowest ous acceptance of the states' rights found in some of the other features to one of the highest levels of state position. Instead, Stevenson crisply of his gubernatorial reign which ex- aid for common schools. endorsed the majority Supreme Court cite his own pride and satisfaction. opinion that the petroleum-laden Here are a few as compiled by Steven- A Democratic Ticket of tidelands were properly within the son's staff shortly before he closed his custodianship of the federal govern- desk at Springfield for the last time: Stevenson and Kennedy ment. Quite obviously, this shut off Put the state police force on a These acts reveal a man who has his meager campaign exchequer from merit basis, removing it as an item a warm humanitarian heart, who pos- benefactions by the powerful oil of patronage. sesses fiscal soundness and prudence, industry. Eliminated non-working political who administers government without An issue like the tidelands was no appointees with whom state pay- fear or favor, and who is not afraid problem for Stevenson. On some other rolls had been padded. of political pressures. They do not subjects, however, it has not been inevitably describe an orthodox po- so simple for him to accept the tra- Restored many sales-tax evaders litical liberal in the conventional ditional position of liberal Demo- to the rolls and insisted on equal meaning of the term. Such a person crats. I have heard him sharply ques- treatment to all on tax collections. might have tried to do away with the tion several of my Senate colleagues Improved the care and treatment sales tax altogether rather than bring from the Northwest about high inter- of the 49,000 patients in state men- honesty to its enforcement. I recall est rates. He was definitely not in tal hospitals, and provided for col- talking to the late Phil Jackson, pub- favor of increasing the cost of borrow- lection by the state of the cost of lisher of the Oregon Daily Journal of ing money, but he wondered if there such care in cases where the patient Portland, after his newspaper had were anything to the claim that this or his family are able to pay. given a luncheon in honor of Steven- might be necessary to quench the fires son, whom the Journal had indorsed of inflation. I have listened to Steven- in the 1952 campaign. son asking the same kind of pene- "All my fat-cat friends at the Ar- trating questions on the issue of Hell's lington Club have been telling me Canyon Dam. He did not instantly what a radical this man is," said Jack- assume the attitude that a federal son. "Why, he's no radical at all— dam was, ipso facto, better than a in fact, he's barely more liberal than private utility company dam. He had I am, and I'm certainly no New Deal- to be convinced, with irrefutable fig- er, I can tell you that." ures, that the private dam would Similar episodes may have occurred leave a good deal of the potential elsewhere in the nation, serving to hydroelectricity of the Snake River explain why some flaming liberals undeveloped. Positions which some cool off when confronted with a third liberals take, almost by reflex action, candidacy for Stevenson. Still, a do not come so automatically to Adlai thoughtful man's performance in the Stevenson. Furthermore, I would clas- American Presidency never can be sify him as relatively prudent on the predicted in advance with supreme broad issue of federal spending. safety and confidence. Walter Lipp- Deficit financing, which is attractive mann might hope to expunge the col- to quite a few Congressional liberals, umn which he wrote on January 8, is not found in the Stevenson litany. 1932, about the man who was subse- For example, one of the accomplish- Mauidin la The St. Louis Post-Dispatch quently to become the Democratic ments of which he boasts as a feature "Somehow I Can't nominee that year: "Franklin D. of his service in the Illinois governor- Concentrate with That Guy Around" Roosevelt is no crusader. He is no tribune of the people. He is no enemy the Landrum-Griffin Bill, he never- desire and must have if they are to of entrenched privilege. He is a pleas- theless now is enduring bitter criti- be contented and within reach of ant man who, without any important cism from some politicians with close happiness.'" qualifications for the office, would labor alliances. At 42, Kennedy's It is easy to be superficial about very much like to be President." It youthful magnetism and personality foreign policy because the guide- may just be possible that the prophe- might also be a useful foil to what posts are frequently so far away. The cies of F.D.R.'s amanuensis, Judge some look upon as Stevenson's lack test of a farm program may be in Sam Rosenman, could prove equal- of lure to the distaff vote. the price of hogs, only 25 miles off at ly inaccurate about Adlai Ewing Why Stevenson for President? the railhead. The test of foreign poli- Stevenson. Franklin Roosevelt once described cy may be in the sprouting seeds of Stevenson, grandson of Grover the Presidency as "preeminently a a war which Americans a decade Cleveland's Vice President, will be 60 position of moral leadership." If it hence might have to fight on the op- years old this February. This year, had not been that in Lincoln's time, posite side of the globe. Not even 1960, is virtually the last call for him. would the 16th President have been 20/20 vision can discern these meas- He either will be nominated in July able to persuade his countrymen to urements. That is why it is so easy at Los Angeles, the city of his birth, accept the first military conscription to promise ultimate liberation for or he never again will be considered and the first income taxes in Ameri- their relatives to foreign-language seriously for an office which many can history, so that the nation might voters in large American cities, or people regard as die natural niche be kept united? Stevenson, to me, to hint that eventually the Soviets for his talents of intellect, originality, possesses Lincolnesque qualities of will be overthrown by revolution and temperament. soul-searching, of personal inner and thus we do not need to worry I refuse to pass upon the dilemma doubts, of a brooding awareness that about Russia's spectacular shot at the of whether or not Stevenson's two pre- the way ahead is stern and hard. If moon or its satellites in far orbit. vious defeats at the hands of Eisen- somebody were to ask what I think is hower stamp him indelibly as doomed the vital difference between Steven- Adlai Stevenson Is to failure in quest of the Presidency. son and all other candidates in both Onlv a seventh son of a seventh son parties, I would answer that it was America's Hairshirt cou.d answer this question. It lends an almost indefinable ingredient Stevenson has never indulged him- itself no more to authentic assessment which might be called "stature." self in these luxuries. He is the prag- prior to the event than does the whole Within Stevenson, I believe, are the matist who threatens his own political question of the religion of Senator essentials to be a great President. chances by reminding audiences that John F. Kennedy and California's This is quite different from being a we cannot thumb our noses even at Governor Pat Brown. We only can good President or a successful Presi- countries which occasionally offend hope that the bigotry which plagued dent, as a number of the other aspir- our precious sensibilities. "I know Al Smith in 1928 is no more. But can ants unquestionably could become. some politicians tell us that we don't this actually be determined until it is America today desperately needs need allies," Stevenson has observed. put to the test? A casual inquiry at a great President. "Life would certainly be much sim- the front door fails to duplicate the Foreign policy is the supreme chal- pler if that were so, for our friends emotions of an election in which lenge. With his flourishes of world- can be highly irritating. But it is not hysteria and fanaticism might run wide travel and pilgrimaging, Eisen- so. We need allies because we have wild. Intolerance cannot be measured hower has substituted the appearance only six per cent of the world's popu- apart from the conditions and at- of a policy for policy itself, in the lation. We need them because the mosphere which tend to create it. The view of James Reston of the New overseas air bases essential to our own Stevenson riddle may not be quite so York Times. After the cheering is security are on their territory. We difficult to unlock, and yet surely the over, the enigma of a divided Berlin need allies because they are the impact of previous failures is a gen- or Soviet space supremacy still re- source of indispensable strategic ma- erally unknown quantity in most mains. Stevenson has persisted in terials. We need, above all, the moral elections. recognizing that good-will journeys or strength that the solidarity of the I personally favor a Democratic vague platitudes are seldom substi- world community alone can bring to ticket of Stevenson and Kennedy. Des- tutes for "generosity and decency in our cause. Let us never underestimate pite all the current flyspecking as to human relationships, and equality in the weight of moral opinion. It can his record in the Senate, I look upon human opportunities." be more penetrating than bullets, Jack Kennedy as one of the superior Discussing the unrest among the more durable than steel . . ." Senators of our era. Courage is a teeming millions of Asia and Africa, Stevenson is America's hairshirt. prime requisite in politics. Certain- Stevenson has said, "Underneath the He is the man who offers "blood, ly it required courage to tackle the recriminations of diplomats and the sweat, toil, and tears" when others inflammable issue of labor reform. conflicts of nation-states, there boils are hinting temptingly at tax reduc- Regardless of the course he followed, up today the hopes, resentments, and tion or more federal subsidies and Kennedy was damned if he did and aspirations not just of leaders but of benefactions. Indeed, people have damned if he didn't. This has been great masses of people seeking for come to expect candor of Stevenson. demonstrated by the fact that, al- themselves and their children the One of the highest tributes which he though Kennedy strived successfully rights and privileges which, [Wood- received was when he strayed briefly to pull some of the sharpest fangs in rowl Wilson said, 'all normal men from this role during the 1956 Presi- dential campaign. Men and women any other important visitor to the sponsible for their political downfall. instantly complained that he was out Soviet dictator. Stevenson is a different kind of of character, that the 1956 campaign For example, in interviews with bird from the usual political breed. product was definitely not the au- The Progressive and the New York He was twice vanquished for the thentic Stevenson. Somehow, Adlai Times on Khrushchev's disarmament Presidency under the most trying and Stevenson has come to epitomize in address at the United Nations, Stev- difficult circumstances. He brought many minds a political figure who enson exclaimed: "This is the first tears to millions of eyes besides his tells the truth, irrespective of politi- time I have ever felt encouraged on own on the night of his defeat in cal consequences. the subject of disarmament. His re- 1952, when he told those who had Nikita Khrushchev's doorstep has plies to my questions left me with the worked in his losing cause: become a favorite platform for Ameri- clear understanding that in his view "Someone asked me, as I came can political hopefuls. It has intro- an international control body should down the street, how I felt, and I duced a jarring and even frightening have the power and facilities to con- was reminded of a story that a fellow element into our political life. The trol and inspect each step of the dis- townsman of ours in Springfield used Communist Party is unable to poll a armament process to the extent nec- to tell—Abraham Lincoln. They fraction of one per cent of the vote essary to insure compliance with the asked him how he felt once after an at American ballot boxes. Yet the step, such power and facilities to vary unsuccessful election. He said that world's top Communist, Khrushchev, according to the needs of each he felt like a little boy who had may possess the power to shape an phase . . . stubbed his toe,in the dark. He said American election simply by rattling "While I wish I were more san- that he was too old to cry, but it the nuclear sword or fluttering the guine that something positive might hurt too much to laugh." dove of peace at appropriate mo- come of Mr. Khrushchev's sweeping I have never heard Stevenson be- ments. Bismarck did this as a calcu- disarmament proposal, he certainly wail his political fortunes. I have lated policy in Prussia to influence gave me new hope that they meant never heard Stevenson deride his con- French politics. What if Khrushchev business this time. And above all, we queror or speak poorly of those who finds that the mailed fist or the should not hastily and cynically dis- failed to support the Stevenson cam- gloved hand, on his part, can stam- miss his proposals as 'clumsy propa- paigns. His references to the Presi- pede American voters into favoring ganda,' 'old stuff,' or 'utopian non- dent of the United States, whether one party or the other as an in- sense.' For thereby we only redouble spoken in public or in private, are strument of supposed peace? the propaganda impact—if that is all always in terms of personal respect. I think this is one of the truly dis- it is—of Russia's posture as the peace This is not usual in American poli- turbing developments of our era. maker—the mighty Russia which first tics. One should listen to former That is why the visits of leading put a satellite in orbit and has just Senators commenting on those who Americans with Khrushchev must be pinned her colors to the moon. occupy their chairs. reported faithfully and realistically, "We must pay attention, cautiously One night at a dinner party in and without self-serving embellish- but carefully, to what Mr. Khrush- Washington, my wife and I heard the ments. If public opinion in our chev says about disarmament because Dean Achesons ridiculing and de- country is to be unmoved by he has a lot to say about the life and nouncing Stevenson. The vilification Soviet bombast or blandishments, death of all of us. And I wish we continued for a long time and was then American statesmen must be en- could learn that with the Communists obviously no secret. They seemed tirely candid in analyzing their im- the important thing is not always anxious to make known their utter pressions of Khrushchev's motives whether they are sincere but whether contempt and dislike for the Demo- and aspirations. Stevenson, as I see it, they are serious." cratic Party's unsuccessful nominee has come closer to such a goal than of 1952 and 1956. Some weeks later Stevenson Would Shape we mentioned this episode to Steven- son. He shook his head sadly with a ADLAI STEVENSON: A Time of Greatness wry smile. "Dean was a fine Secre- Stevenson has a nobility of spirit tary of State," he said. "I only wish LAST CHANCE which is rare in politics. Lincoln said, he and. Mrs. Acheson thought better "I shall do nothing through malice. of me." And there the topic ended. by RICHARD L. NEUBERGER What I deal with is too vast for I do not know whether Adlai Stev- each reprint: malice." Alas, this counsel of re- enson ever will become President of single copy 15 cents straint is frequently honored far the United States. The path ahead of five copies 50 cents more in the breach than in the ob- a two-time loser is pocked with perils, fifteen copies $1 servance. Many men in politics, flat- and 1960 is undoubtedly his last reduced prices on tered beyond belief and the object of chance. Destiny often foils those who constant sycophancy, whine and wail seem most prepared for destiny's cli- larger quantities whenever matters do not suit their mactic events. But what I do know Send your order or inquiry to fancy. After a defeat at the polls, is this—if Stevenson does not go to Reprint Department they blame everyone except them- the White House, millions of his selves. I have sat beside former gover- fellow Americans will feel they have The Progressive nors and former Senators, listening been robbed of their opportunity to Madison, Wisconsin to hours of abuse against those re- live in a time of greatness.