Not a Knockout

POLITICAL NOTES Not a Knockout

New York State's battered, bruised and divided Democratic organization met in Manhattan last week to select a new leader, and quickly decided that for all its sickness it was still faithful to the memory of Harry S. Truman.

As state chairman, the central committee chose Richard H. Balch (pronounced bawltch) a wealthy and genial fishing-tackle manufacturer from Utica. Behind Balch was the Fair Deal wing of the party, led by ailing Bronx Boss Ed Flynn, Mutual Security Director W. Averell Harriman and Representative Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. Behind the loser --one William H. Morgan of Cortland--was the conservative wing, led by former National Chairman and Postmaster General (1933-40) James A. Farley. After his election, Balch promptly demonstrated that his organization is still seriously divided: he hinted broadly that he didn't even consider Old Headmaster Farley a "real Democrat."

Some political pundits thought all this a serious setback for Jim Farley's effort toregain a position of power in the New York organization. They thought it meant that the Democratic nominee for governor in 1954 will be Harriman or Roosevelt, and not Farley. However, a close look at the vote prompted some second thoughts. With most of the organization's wheels against him, Farley had managed to get 104 votes for his man to 181 for Balch. Farley's side got more votes than Balch did outside of New York City. This was not a bad showing for a man who has done little but shake hands in the back of the hall for the past eight years. Big Jim had been knocked down in an early round, but he could not be counted out.

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