New Chairman

Without fuss or strain, Adlai Stevenson last week proved that he is in charge of the national Democratic Party. His followers had little trouble, at the Democratic National Committee meeting in New Orleans, in putting over their candidate to succeed Stevenson's friend, Steve Mitchell, as national chairman.

They thus bested the Northern city bosses: Tammany Hall's Carmine DeSapio, Chicago's Jake Arvey and Pittsburgh's Dave Lawrence. The bosses' candidate, Philadelphia City Councilman James A. Finnegan, was absent, recuperating from gall-bladder surgery. Lawrence explained with the sincerest form of flattery: "Why, he just had the same operation that Adlai Stevenson had." Later, at a meeting of committeemen from the Western states, Lawrence tried again. Said he: "I won't ask you to raise your hands, but I just wonder how many men in this room haven't had gallstones."

Harry Truman's candidate was fat, witty Michael DiSalle, former mayor of Toledo and Office of Price Stabilization director. Truman was not at the meeting, and it was apparent that his influence was weak and that neither DiSalle nor Finnegan had close to the 53 votes needed to win.

The third candidate was Indiana Committeeman Paul M. (for Mulholland) Butler, a 49-year-old South Bend attorney, a faithful Stevenson backer, and a long-time enemy of Truman's friend, former National Committee Chairman Frank McKinney. Like DiSalle, Finnegan, and all Democratic chairmen since 1928, Butler is a Roman Catholic.

Sam Rayburn arrived late at the meeting, found Butler in the lead, and urged that the election be postponed for two months. DeSapio, Arvey, Lawrence & Co. applauded this suggestion. But the committeemen, feeling their oats, resented it and pressed for a vote.

On the first ballot Butler won easily, rolling up 70 votes. DiSalle got 18 votes, Finnegan 16.

At the $100-a-plate dinner after Butler was chosen, Adlai Stevenson told the Democrats he planned to devote more time to earning a living* and less to politics in the next two years. Certainly he would not need to work hard to stay in front of rival Democrats. His man Butler had won despite the fact that Butler was almost unknown to some leading Democrats. At the dinner Georgia's Congresswoman-elect Iris Blitch rose to praise the new chairman and said: "Mr. Paul--what is your name?"

*For news of Lawyer Stevenson at work, see PEOPLE.

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