National Affairs: An Elegant Gentleman

Like Candidate Eisenhower, Candidate Stevenson put in a serious week seeing serious callers. Among them:

¶ Governor Hugh White of Mississippi, who told reporters he thought Stevenson was “an elegant gentleman and a very capable man.”

¶ Agriculture Secretary Charles Brannan, who declared himself “impressed” by the governor’s grasp of farm problems, said that farmers are “in a good frame of mind toward Stevenson.”

¶ Senator Richard Russell, who predicted that Stevenson would “carry every Southern state,” declared himself satisfied with Stevenson’s stand on civil rights.

¶ Averell Harriman, who is reported aiming for Secretary of State if Stevenson gets elected. He said that he too is “thoroughly pleased” with Stevenson’s position on civil rights, added that Stevenson is “a great man.”

To satisfy two men with such divergent views on civil rights as Russell and Harriman was a real triumph in fence-straddling for Stevenson.

One day Stevenson rode to the Illinois State Fair, accompanied by a strapping cowboy actor firing two six-shooters into the air. He accepted a layer cake from a bakers’ union and had his picture taken sipping a chocolate milk shake. Halfway through the milk shake, he handed it to a wide-eyed moppet, saying, “Here, you take this. You look undernourished.”

This week Stevenson was to lunch with President Truman and the Cabinet. The most humorous aspect of the campaign to date is the relationship between Stevenson and Truman. Mr. Truman is by far the most powerful man in the U.S., yet Stevenson treats him like political poison.