REPUBLICANS: Ike’s Faith

The candidate himself called his pace “intensive.” In his Denver hotel headquarters, Eisenhower was getting a tremendous load of work done. Each day he worked steadily from 8 a.m. to noon, then held open house for an hour for practically anyone who wanted to see him, then continued his briefing sessions with advisers on through the evening. The round of policy conferences was relentless. Among the week’s visitors:

John Foster Dulles, foreign policy; Illinois Representative Leslie Arends, Kansas Representative Clifford Hope and Milton Eisenhower, farm policy; Idaho Governor Leonard Jordan, development of resources; a delegation of Illinois Republicans headed by former Senator C. Wayland Brooks, to whom Ike demonstrated, fists clenched over the luncheon table, how hard he intends to fight in November.

Two groups of visitors made headlines:

¶ Negro leaders including New York’s Bishop Decatur Ward Nichols of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Hobson Reynolds of the Elks and Mrs. Ruth Mueller of the National Council of Negro Women. Eisenhower, said Nichols, was “not yet willing to concede that the only solution to civil rights is through a compulsory federal law,” but Nichols added, “we are convinced that the election of General Eisenhower in November will greatly advance civil rights progress in America . . . [Eisenhower] stated he would be a ‘soldier fighting in the ranks of civil progress …'”

¶ Three members of a House Ways & Means subcommittee, to whom Eisenhower said that the Social Security law is inadequate, and should “be extended to presently uncovered persons.” He added that this was particularly pressing in the case of “old folks” and promised that he would urge increases in old-age assistance. Eisenhower was counteracting a statement he made in 1949—which Democratic orators were sure to recall — that “if all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison.”

Eisenhower took time out to say goodbye to friends — Sergeant Leonard Dry, his wife & children. The sergeant, who is returning to Regular Army duty, has been with Ike as an orderly for ten years including D-day and occupied Germany. One day Eisenhower flew to Los Angeles to talk to the annual encampment of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Ike’s advisers were worried when they found out that the V.F.W. meeting was to take place in Los Angeles’ vast, 105,000-seat Memorial Coliseum, which they knew would not be filled. In the TV age, such huge crowds, unless they are carefully drummed up in advance, have become rare. But the V.F.W. wanted the Coliseum for parade purposes. Since his appearance was “non-political,” Eisenhower did not allow any interference with the veterans’ plans, or any attempts by the Republican Party organization to drum up spectators. Only 14,924 seats were filled.

Despite the empty seats, it was perhaps Eisenhower’s most effective speech to date. It seemed to get across not only the man’s principles but the man’s heart. Said Veteran Eisenhower, recalling the war:

“Each of us carried in his heart his own picture of America. It was a very intimate, cherished picture of America. It was what he was defending; it was what he was fighting for … We could not help wondering what America was going to look like when we returned . . .

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, when the Almighty gave us victory in World War II, he gave us another opportunity, another chance. He gave us an opportunity to make this America what we want it to be. Many a time I have stopped a soldier. I talked to him about these things, and through the years I gradually began to put down in sort of notes of my own those things that I thought all of us wanted, those features that were common to the dreams, the dream pictures, let us say, of all of us . . .” Eisenhower listed his points, his clenched fist hammering down each one:

One. “To increase America’s strength, her spiritual, creative and material strength. None of us to leave anything undone in order to make certain that that strength reaches the maximum for which we can possibly have any use.

Two. “To win a just and lasting peace secured by the entire strength of the free world. Each of us can help to see that that peace is not violated.

Three. “To build a prosperity not based on war. Each of us can help take the great resources of this country, the great geniuses of our people, our scientific brains, to make certain that we have a prosperity that brings to each & every one of us of 156 million people the most that it is possible to develop in this country.

Four. “To make America’s promise of equality a living fact for every single American. In this, each of us can have a part. We can treat our neighbor as an equal. We can treat everyone with whom we come in contact as an equal, and in doing so we will be elevating ourselves.

Five. “To strengthen and extend every measure for the security and welfare of our people.

Six. “To protect the earnings and savings of the people from the double toll of high prices and high taxes.

Seven. “To serve the worthy interests of every group of our people, yet make the test of every policy, is it good for America? . . .

Eight. “We can insist on restoring honesty to Government.

Nine. “To insure, by means which guard our basic rights, that those who serve in Government are Americans of loyalty and dedication.

Ten. “To revive in every American the faith that he can achieve a better future for himself and his family.”