Explosion in Massachusetts

"It was a political explosion of atomic proportions," said Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. "It's a revolution," burbled one hardened Republican professional. Both comparisons may have been somewhat extravagant. But no one could deny last week that in Massachusetts' presidential primary there was a resounding boom for Candidate Dwight David Eisenhower.

On the Republican end, it was 254,838 votes for Ike v. 110,406 for Taft, all write-ins on both sides. On Democratic ballots, Ike had another 16,107 write-ins, running second to Estes Kefauver's 29,-451. In all, Eisenhower got 62% of the record 433,890 votes cast by Republicans and Democrats--more than the eleven other candidates combined.

Ike won 27 of the 28 contests for Republican district delegates, lost only one city (New Bedford, the bailiwick of Taft's state chairman, Newspaper Publisher Basil Brewer). Of the ten delegates-at-large, at least two were for Eisenhower. That made the count: 29 for Ike, three for Taft, six uncommitted. When the word reached

France, Ike rubbed his chin and said: "It has begun to look kind of serious."

Taft supporters were hard pressed for a way to deny that serious was just the word for it. Taft had admitted in advance that the primary would be a fair test. But Taftmen found an explanation of sorts in the fact that Eisenhower supporters had urged independents and Democrats to vote for Ike. Cried David Ingalls, Taft campaign manager: an "immoral alliance." Taft himself let drive: "This development in Massachusetts and other states threatens the complete destruction of the two-party system . . ." Eisenhower Manager Lodge had a quick answer: "There just are not enough Republicans in the U.S. to elect a President ... If every Republican voted for the Republican candidate ... he would get 31% of the vote . . . You can't win by going around shaking hands with yourself."

For Taft & Co., the bad news did not stop in Massachusetts. Two days later, four district conventions in Missouri named eight delegates, all for Eisenhower. With that, the Republican campaign of 1952 passed a milestone: Ike pulled ahead in the number of committed delegates (see box). This week, with the naming of Ohio's delegation, Taft will again take the lead, but Ike will not be far behind.

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