The Men Who Did It

The man who masterminded the Eisenhower convention tactics last week never got to the convention hall. Herbert Brownell Jr., a quiet, precise Manhattan lawyer who is an old hand at political campaigns (Republican national chairman in 1944-46, Dewey-Warren campaign manager in 1948), pulled his strings from an office in the Conrad Hilton Hotel.

Brownell picked Ike's floor manager, New Hampshire's Governor Sherman Adams. Brownell chose Ike spokesmen on key committees and in floor fights. Brownell kept the master list of delegates, and spoke with the most authoritative voice on what arguments should be presented by whom to which delegates.

Up the Stairs. Once a day Brownell went to see Ike, usually ate with him. So that the press would not herald his daily visit, he went from his office on the eleventh floor of the Conrad Hilton Hotel to another Ikeman's room on the fourth floor of the Blackstone Hotel. Then he would slip up the stairs to the Eisenhower quarters on the fifth floor.

Another Ikeman who played a key role got to the convention just once--the day Ike was nominated. He is Charles Wesley Roberts, a tall, relaxed Kansan, a former country editor turned publicity man. It was Wes Roberts who engineered one of the best Ike maneuvers: the statement from the Republican governors taking Ike's side in the contested-delegates fight. Roberts knew that the politically sensitive governors were strong for Ike. In late May he telephoned ten governors he was sure of, got them to sign a joint statement for Eisenhower.

"More Sensitive." In the two weeks before the Governors' Conference in Houston, Roberts was on the phone again, talking to 15 governors, suggesting that some kind of joint statement be issued. By the time they got to Houston, 18 governors were ready to go. Tom Dewey at first opposed the plan, fearing unfavorable publicity if some governors refused to sign. But the other governors talked him out of that fear. Nebraska's Val Peterson explained why the governors set to work with such a will: "The governors are more sensitive [than national committeemen] to the political situation, and they certainly do want to win."

One excellent play was hatched in the mind of a rising Republican who was not on the Ike GHQ team. California's Senator Knowland, publicly committed to Governor Warren and no other candidate, heard Brownell's plan for the Monday fight on the "fair play" amendment and proposed a change. Brownell wanted to bar all contested delegates from voting on other contests. Knowland suggested barring only those delegates whose seats were contested by at least 20% of the national committee. This would take care of the Taft argument that the "fair play" amendment would encourage future contests and might make it impossible to hold a convention. Brownell instantly accepted Knowland's change, but amended it to 33 1/3%.

Last week, as the exodus from Chicago began, Herbert Brownell didn't seem to be taking much credit for what happened. Said he: "Well, they [the Taft forces] had it in their fingers and threw it away."

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