10 1
ae Solid South-Solid in'60?
Vol. VI1, No. 2
3tr4&tvn Dat MAGA
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1960
Continued from Page Seven
election of the uncommitted slate
of presidential electors. Idle Sen.
Stennis silently supports this,
while campaigning Sen. James 0.
Eastland reluctantly mentions
Kennedy once in a while.
- In spite of all this, however,
tradition runs thick and segrega-
tion is not pressing issue. These
factors should help offset the op-
position of political bigwigs.
LIKEWISE, in Alabama, also sol-
idly Democratic in the past,
there is little political uneasiness.
Although Ike and Nixon have
been popular in industrial centers
such as Birmingham and Mobile,.
the large Negro and rural votes are
still sticking largely with tradi-
tion. Negroes here have also been
pressing for more integration, and
in this Kennedy benefits.
Arkansas and North Carolina,
though worlds apart on the inte-
gration problem, are really two
states with the same outlook, Ar-
kansas, behind the sure re-elec-
tions of Gov. Orval Faubus and
Sen. John B. McClellan, is still
upset with the Administration for
sending the troops into Little
Rock. Therefore, they definitely
discount Ike as an ally. Faubus
has fallen in with the Kennedy
campaign reasonably well and so
has McClellan, thereby giving the
Democrats the push they need in
this normally Democratic state.
There are not many Negroes in
Arkansas,. so their vote will not
register any great protest in any
way. The Democrats need not ap-
peal for Negro votes and therefore
the rest of the citizens find the
Democrats "safe" as usual. The
Litle Rock issue will do the GOP'
no good for the same reason,
NORTH CAROLINA, the historic
"valley of humility between
two mountains of conceit (Virginia
and South Carolina) ", will con-
tinue to go against the Republi-
can tide in the two "mountain"
states.
There is a large Negro popula-
tion in North Carolina, but Inte-
gration has been taking place
smoothly and swiftly. The Repub-
licans are waging a noisy guber-
natorial race, but it isn't likely to
turn out to be much more than
just noise.
"Things are pretty smooth in
North Carolina," said a Winston-
Salem shopkeeper. "Our men in
Congress are good men. They'll
keep Kennedy in line. No sense in
changing horses now. We're in no
trouble. We've always. been Demo-
cratic, and the Democrats are good
for -us."
However, Kennedy's Catholicism
is stirring up some uneasiness. "If
Kennedy weren't a Catholic, I
wouldn't hesitate to say he'd really
win big. But as it is I don't know,"
said one Democratic Party leader.
"I'm normally a Democrat,"
said a worker in Charlotte. "But
I used to live in Italy, and I saw
how the Catholics run things
there. We can't have that." Re-
ligious sentiment could overpower
the widespread satisfaction in
North Carolina.
WHEN ALL is said and done,
there are assets and liabilities
on both sides. No longer is there
something disrespectful about vot-
ing Republican. More and more
Southerners are turning to it every
year.
The Democrats may still count
their strong points. Tradition is
probably their greatest asset. Peo-
ple can't vote one way for one
hundred years and give it all up
overnight. Political fence-mending
and a retreat from their extreme
liberalism can still save the South
for the Democrats.
Also, Johnson in the number two
spot Is encouraging to many
Southerners. They feel that he can
keep Kennedy in line, and that
he will watch out for the states'
rights. Johnson, whose Southern
accent is much thicker in Biloxi
than in Buffalo, is a long time
Southern partisan and they simply
find it hard to believe that he7 has
deserted them.
The Negro's bid for equality al-
so helps the Democrats. The Ne-
gro generally views the Republi-
cans as a party of inaction, es-
pecially in a drastic situation, such
as forcing integration. The states'
rights policies of the GOP would
leave integration up to the in-
dividual states and the Negro ob-
Jects to this.
A 0, THE Southern Negro, like
the poor white,' is of the low-
est income brackets. He therefore
looks on Democratic welfare plans
with more sympathy than the less
free-spending programs of the
Republicans.
However, as the industrializa-
tion in the South increases, the
influx of management types tends
to lean to the GOP. There is very
little labor union power in the
South, and business capitalizes on
this politically.
Yet, Southerners do not trust
Jack Kennedy. They feel he will
force integration upon them be-
fore they are ready. They don't
look upon Nixon as a strict inte-
grationist, and they feel he will
not be quite so pressing in his de-
mands upon them.
No Democratic leaders outside of
those elected in the Southern
states have much appeal in the
South. However, many Northern
and Western Republicans do. Sen.
Goldwater and GOP National
Chairman Sen. Thruston B. Mor-
ton of Kentucky have spent long
hours in the South in this cam-
paign, and they have received
good receptions.
MENTION O names such as the
late Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio
and the late Sen. Arthur Vanden-
burg of Michigan invokes cheers
from Southern crowds, and GOP
campaigners are using these tac-
tics to the fullest. There is a gen-
eral feeling in many places that
"LBJ can't hold on to Kennedy.
Nobody can. It looks as though
the Democrats have sold us out
after all these years."
Many Southern newspapers are
endorsing Republicans openly now,
instead of just refusing to endorse
Democrats. Southern publishers
tend to be more influential than
their Northern counterparts, and
thus they wield political power.
In short, there's a lot of Repub-
lican talk, but the results remain
to -be seen. Nonetheless, no mat-
ter what the outcome of the 1960
election may be, one thing is cer-
tain. The South will no longer
lend a deaf ear to the Republicans.
One sign which may serve as a
weathervane is the size of the
stay-at-home vote this year. This
is hard to estimate, because it
will be used by good Democrats
who don't like to admit they won't
suport Kennedy. But it will be an
expression of opinion ... an ex-
pression of dissent. The next step
is to vote against the Democrats.
Nixon's strength will depend a
lot on how many of these stay-at-
home votes he can get out. Ken-
nedy's will depend on how many
stay at home.
"It'll be funny to vote Republi-
can, but I'm going to do it," said
one Southerner. "You know, the
Southern Democrats and the Re-
publicans are two minorities fight-
ing the same enemy. When we join
forces we win; when we don't, we
lose. It's the old story. United we
stand-Divided we fall."
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Donkey or Elephant, before
and after you vote, you surely will
wont to shop for your gifts at
John Leidy.
JOHN LEIDY
....
Phone NO 8-6779
0 601 East Liberty
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Assume
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November 8th and 9th
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