Bigger & Warmer

Heading west from Illinois early last week, Adlai Stevenson had two major objectives--to fire Democratic enthusiasm in California and to undermine the threatening Democratic revolt in Texas. To meet this challenging assignment, the governor sat up night after night, working on his speeches until 2 or 3 in the morning. The result was speeches of a vigor and emotional appeal which Stevenson had seldom achieved before.

At Salt Lake City, he was greeted by crowds that were larger than those which had turned out for Ike the previous week. Stevenson discussed America's destiny and the pressures of cold war. Said he: "The first temptation is to be half-regretful, half-ashamed of our strength . . . Regretful (God help us!) in the face of the stirring truth that Lincoln's vision has come true, that now we are indeed the 'last, best hope of earth' . . . What a day to live in! What a flowering of the work and the faith of our fathers! Who in heaven's name would want America less strong, less responsible for the future?"

California & Korea. Next evening, after a quick sweep through Washington and Oregon, the Democratic candidate flew into San Francisco. Fired by the enthusiasm of the whistling, stomping audience which packed the Cow Palace, Stevenson assailed his opposition. "The general," said Adlai, "tells us not to worry. Government, he says, is just a matter of teamwork." But the Eisenhower team, as Stevenson saw it, would consist almost exclusively of members of the Republican Old Guard--"men who have had to be dragged, screaming and kicking, into the 20th century." Asked Adlai: "Does anyone think [Eisenhower] would really stand a chance against this team of isolationists and cutthroat reactionaries?"

In Los Angeles, the following night, Stevenson devoted the whole of a fireside chat to the Korean war. Dismissing alternatives to present U.S. policy in Korea as impractical or unwise, he offered no new ideas as to how the war might be ended. Nonetheless, he concluded his formal speech with a ringing declaration of optimism: "I do not say to you that tomorrow there will be peace. I say to you, though, that we are moving faster towards peace than mankind has ever moved before."

Texas & Tidelands. At Fort Worth, his audience was one of the most enthusiastic he has ever addressed. At San Antonio, Spanish-Americans greeted him with signs reading "Viva 'Adlai" and "Ole Adlai." And in Uvalde, he got a public blessing and breakfast (bacon & eggs, fried ham and red-eye gravy, roast pheasant, hot biscuits and honey) from 83-year-old ex-Vice President "Cactus Jack" Garner.

In Dallas, on the first of his two days in Texas, Adlai once again tackled the ticklish tidelands-oil issue. "I do not believe it is wise national policy to give such an asset to an individual state," he told his Dallas audience--then added that he did favor a compromise "which is mindful of the respective interests of the states and the Federal Government." "Governor Shivers," continued Stevenson, "once agreed wholeheartedly with my position . . . But, evidently, the governor has concluded that it is time for a change --of mind."

Flying back to Springfield at week's end, Stevenson and his staff were in high spirits. The big, friendly crowds which had turned out in Utah, California, Washington and Texas made them conclude that it was Adlai Stevenson's best week of the campaign to date.

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