The Six-to-One Party Press

Out to the ten Hearst newspapers went a wire from the boss. "Following signed editorial is a must go for Page One in all editions," read the instructions to editors. "Please use signature cut of W.R.H. [Editor-in-Chief William Randolph Hearst Jr.] at end." And so, last week, the Hearst papers made their first Democratic presidential endorsement since W.R.H. Sr. put his chain in Franklin Roosevelt's pocket in 1932.*

If there is any surprise factor at all in the U.S. press's editorial posture this presidential year, it lies in the eagerness with which publishers who are normally Republican have tossed bouquets at Lyndon Johnson.

Last week Johnson also harvested the surprise support of the Saturday Evening Post, which has been Republican ever since the party was founded in 1854. "Barry Goldwater's tongue is like quicksilver," said the Post in a back-page editorial explaining WHY LYNDON JOHNSON MUST BE ELECTED. "His mind is like quicksand . . . changes 'convictions' almost as often as his shirt ... a grotesque burlesque of the conservative he pretends to be."

The New York Herald Tribune, which has not yet publicly made up its mind about the candidates, took a census of those papers that have, and reported that the President's newspaper endorsements outnumbered Goldwater's by more than six to one. Among Barry's most recent backers: the Boise, Idaho, Daily Statesman, which is traditionally Republican, and the Arizona Tribune of Phoenix--the only Negro newspaper in the state.

*An historic deal in which F.D.R.'s part of the bargain was to pick John Nance Garner for Vice President.

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