The Favorites Gain

One of the intriguing minor facts of the GOPresidential race last week was that Lieut. Commander Harold Stassen actually had more convention delegates officially pledged to him (33) than had Governor Tom Dewey (29). This fact will be significant only if Dewey fails to get the nomination on an early ballot. For Tom Dewey last week had another 377 delegates an nounced as "committed" to him. Even without an additional 403 claimed as leaning in his favor, his total was thus only 124 short of the 530 required for nomination.

Last week the odds-on favorites in both parties increased their leads:

In Pennsylvania primaries, Franklin Roosevelt piled up 300,000 Democratic votes -- more than twice the number that Tom Dewey polled on the G.O.P. ticket. But the President's name was on the ballot, while every one of Dewey's 126,000 votes had to be written in. Surprisingly, no less than 5.612 voters (possibly disgruntled Willkieites) wrote in Franklin Roosevelt's name on Republican ballots.

In Massachusetts, where less than 6% of the voters turned out for the primaries, the only excitement was on the Democratic side. Joseph B. Ely, twice Governor of Massachusetts and the sole avowed Democratic Presidential rival of Franklin Roosevelt, campaigned with the slogan: "Don't Copy Hitler . . . Reject Roosevelt." He won six of his state's 68 delegates.

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