DEMOCRATS: The War for Texas

One night last week the telephone jangled in the big colonial Governor’s mansion on the hilltop at Austin, Tex. The White House was calling Governor Stevenson. This was a rare occasion. Tall, leathery Coke Stevenson is no ardent New Dealer.

The President’s voice was warm, friendly, urgent. He and the Governor had “many things” to discuss. Could the Governor drop everything and come right up to Washington for a little talk?

Coke Stevenson hastily stuffed his briefcase full of facts & figures on Texas industries and boarded a Washington plane. Air travel was a new experience to the drawling, pipe-smoking Governor, but politics was an old, familiar game. He well knew that the President had something much more pressing than industrial data to discuss: Texas’ 23 electoral votes.

For Harry Byrd? These 23 votes had been very important since last May, when a well organized group of anti-New Dealers took control of the state’s Democratic machine (TIME, June 5). These “regular” Democrats had calmly picked as the state’s 23 Presidential electors men who generally prefer Harry Byrd to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The loyal but not so well organized New Dealers, who hotly claim to represent a Texas majority, were caught off-base. But now the New Dealers felt that they had gathered enough strength to take control of the state convention in Dallas this week. Then they could throw the 23 “regulars” off the ballot, substitute 23 good New-Deal electors, and make Texas safe for Term IV.

All this maneuvering would need some deft Washington pressure—preferably by the President. To guide him, they sent the President a long, blunt memorandum, recommending: Don’t compromise an inch—fight.

The Texas Way. Governor Stevenson entered the President’s office at11 a.m. He had a minutely worked out compromise, designed to offend nobody. He outlined it persuasively to the President. Why not have two sets of Democratic electors listed on the Texas ballot—one pro-Roosevelt, one anti-Roosevelt? An hour later the Governor emerged smiling from the White House and told Jesse Jones and Harry Truman, who were waiting to drive him to the Capitol, that the President had agreed.

New Dealers on Capitol Hill were shocked and angry. Had not the President read their memorandum warning him against compromise? The White House switchboard began to buzz with incoming calls. But the President did not answer. Muttered one top New Dealer: “Now we’re in one hell of a fix. Roosevelt, by God, has only himself to blame.” Finally word went to Texas’ New Dealers: Never mind the Stevenson plan; fight for control of the Dallas convention.

Coke Stevenson, back in Austin, had established himself as a reasonable peacemaker. He did not seem much worried over the coming struggle for control of the Party in Texas. Had he enjoyed his trip? Yes—all but the Washington newsmen, some of whom were downright “unscrupulous.” One had even asked Coke Stevenson, to his face, if he intended to vote the Roosevelt-Truman ticket. The Governor had just ignored him.