For the Fourth Time

At the lonely prairie stops where the President's train switched engines, and in the busy city terminals where it slipped in & out unannounced, this time there were no conspicuous deployments of military guards to give away the secret. But things get around: crowds jammed railroad platforms several times during the six-day, 16-state cross-country trip. They got only a quick look at the President's chief of staff, Admiral William D. Leahy, or at Fala parading about; the President stayed inside his private car. He was, by his own definition, traveling in "performance of my duties under the Constitution."

At Chicago, Democratic Chairman Bob Hannegan came aboard for a quick political conference, and after the Presidential party traveled on Hannegan kept in touch by telephone. The train rolled into a siding in a big West Coast naval base the day the convention began.

The Tired Old Men. The President's fourth nomination had been inevitable for so long that even the Democrats opposed to Term IV did not trouble to make any case for the two-term tradition. And long before the ballots were cast, convention orators were unabashedly referring to Franklin Roosevelt as the nominee. On the opening night, Keynoter Bob Kerr, Oklahoma's pink-jowled Governor, set the theme: "with our Commander in Chief to victory." He also showed how deeply one of Tom Dewey's arguments had sunk in by roaring: "Shall we discard as a 'tired old man' 59-year-old Admiral Nimitz . . . 62-year-old Admiral Halsey . . . 64-year-old General MacArthur . . . 66-year-old Admiral King . . . 64-year-old General

Marshall? No, Mr. Dewey, we know we are winning this war with these 'tired old men,' including the 62-year-old Roosevelt as their Commander in Chief."-

The Ovation. Senator Alben Barkley formally nominated Franklin Roosevelt next afternoon, in 40 minutes of ponderous eulogy. Instantly the aisles were crowded with marchers, hundreds of delegates ably abetted by the leather-lunged 27th Ward-heelers who stooge for Chicago's Mayor Ed Kelly. Placards which they had been holding face down as they sat were now waved high: "Roosevelt and Victory"; "Roosevelt and Lasting Peace." The organ, and a brassy band above it in the gallery, blanketed the loud speakers with furious music. Timed, the actual cheering for the President lasted only 14 seconds; after that the organ and the band alternated, with occasional perfunctory whoops from the galleries.

A few Southern delegates sat stiffly in their seats; many delegates, though standing, merely watched as the marchers paraded the aisles, waving their placards.

Outside in the lobby, curly-haired Mayor Ed Kelly stood talking with Jersey's Boss Hague. The demonstration had been on for ten minutes before Kelly said: "Well, let's go out and grab a banner--just for the workout." Replied Frank Hague: "What's this--nomination for the President?" Kelly grunted yes. They eyed each other thoughtfully, then decided to stay where they were.

This "ovation" for Franklin Roosevelt and Term IV lasted 36 minutes. Later, a Florida woman delegate rose to nominate Virginia's Harry Byrd for President. There were boos. On the platform, the gavel rapped firmly, and able Convention

Chairman Sam Jackson shouted: "No Democrat alive is entitled to boos from anybody!" The boos stopped. .

The vote: Roosevelt, 1,086; Byrd, 89; James A. Farley, 1.*

Voice from Afar. That night Franklin Roosevelt sat before a microphone in his private railroad car on the West Coast. His voice blared into the convention hall from giant four-way amplifiers in the rafters of the stadium. As they listened, most of the delegates kept their eyes on the empty speaker's stand, where klieg lights were still focused. The effect was eerie.

Franklin Roosevelt's acceptance set firmly the line of the Term IV campaign:

Draft. "In spite of my desire to retire to private life . . . you in this convention . . . have asked me to continue."

New Hands. "It seems wholly likely that within the next four years our armed forces . . . will have gained a complete victory over Germany and Japan, and that the world once more will be at peace. . . . Whenever that time comes new handst will then have full opportunity to realize the ideals which we seek."

Misrepresentations. "I shall not campaign, in the usual sense, for the office. In these days of tragic sorrow, I do not consider it fitting. And besides, in these days of global warfare, I shall not be able to find the time. I shall, however, feel free . . . to correct any misrepresentations."

Experience. "The people of the United States will decide this fall whether they wish to turn over this 1944 job, this world-wide job, to inexperienced or immature hands, to those who opposed lend-lease and international cooperation . . . until they could read the polls of popular sentiment; or whether they wish to leave it to those who saw the danger from abroad, and met it headon. . . ."

* Actually Admiral Halsey is only 61, Admiral King 65. General Marshall 63. * Byrd's vote: the solid delegations of Virginia (24), Louisiana (22), and Mississippi (20); also scattered votes from Texas (12), Florida (4), South Carolina (3 1/2), Alabama (2), West Virginia (1), New York ( 1/2). /- In 1940 the President promised: "When [the next] term is over, there will be another President. . . ."

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