New National Chairman

For two weeks, Adlai Stevenson kept the Democratic Party guessing about his choice of a national chairman. The pols, including Cook County's Jack Arvey, urged Stevenson to keep Frank McKinney on in the job, or pick some other pro. But Stevenson, acting entirely on his own, chose a new face: Stephen A. Mitchell, Chicago lawyer. Like the choice of Wilson Wyatt as campaign manager (TIME, Aug. 11), the move was designed to reinforce the impression that Candidate Stevenson is independent of the regular Democratic organization.

The Operators. Slim, serious-looking Steve Mitchell said he was in a "state of shock" over the appointment (although he had known for days that Stevenson was considering him) and described himself as a "complete amateur." However, Mitchell's amateur standing is open to question. Although he has helped to raise campaign funds for Chicago's Mayor Kennelly and for Stevenson, he is certainly not a professional politician in the old sense. The line of the old pros is running thin as the power of city and state machines declines. Present-day pros of the Bill Boyle-Frank McKinney type tend to have the look of the breed without the depth of experience or the skill of their forerunners; they have, so to speak, the ears and the appetite of the bloodhound, without the nose. Meanwhile, a new kind of pro has been growing in the shadow of the New and Fair Deals. He is usually a smart lawyer who learns his way around the Washington bureaucratic labyrinth and who can, from an obscure post, exercise more power than many an old-style boss. These men, known admiringly as "operators" in Washington, are usually both able and honest, although the Washington experience frequently pays off in subsequent law practice. First of this breed was Thomas ("Tommy the Cork") Corcoran (1932-38), and the present generation is an improvement on the parent stock.

Stevenson himself has been an "operator," albeit a somewhat low-pressure one: many of the "operators," including Mitchell, are strongly attracted to Stevenson and vice versa. During the war, Mitchell worked for Lend-Lease and the State Department. Last March, he was appointed chief counsel for the House Judiciary subcommittee investigating the Justice Department (the Chelf Committee) and has used his powers in a very adroit way.

Mitchell is a Roman Catholic, which is almost a requirement for the job of Democratic national chairman. He was born 49 years ago in Rock Valley, Iowa, son of a well-to-do banker ("We had ponies," recalls Mitchell) who lost his money, became a dairy farmer with young Steve's help. By janitoring and chauffeuring, young Mitchell worked his way through Creighton University prep school at Omaha. Later, he worked in the credit and sales promotion departments of General Motors Acceptance Corp. in Washington, studied law at Georgetown University at night. In 1932, he moved to Chicago, set himself up as a corporation lawyer, soon had a lucrative practice. (Best-known client: Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago.) Mitchell became friendly with Stevenson in 1945, when the two men would sit up late at night talking law. Mitchell helped persuade Stevenson to run for governor in 1948.

Behind the Scenes. As counsel for the Chelf Committee, Mitchell set out to do a major cleanup job on the Justice Department, but failed to make some of his cases stick. When the investigation began to fizzle, he used his authority as committee counsel (plus his friendship with Cardinal Stritch and Stevenson) as an effective political gun stuck into Attorney General McGranery's ribs. In this way, Mitchell has taken a hand in the running of the department, pushed through certain appointments. His behind-the-scenes operation raised the level of the department and protected his party; whether this is the function of counsel for an investigating committee is another question.

Before the TV cameras last week, Mitchell said: "I'm just a journeyman lawyer, and here I am with the lights on .. . I'm eager to be helpful in any way..."

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