Brown for President?

The booming state of California, Democratic Traveling Man John Fitzgerald Kennedy discovered last week, is a political hotel where beds are soft and the rates are right, but the manager doubles as house detective. Ranging from Sacramento to Los Angeles on a three-day visit, Presidential Hopeful Kennedy got such VIP honors as breakfast with Governor Edmund G. Brown and an invitation to address the legislature. But wherever Kennedy wandered, stern-eyed Detective Brown watched lest Kennedy set up an organization to slip into his valise any of California's convention votes. Reason: "Pat" Brown himself has developed high ambitions about the 1960 convention, has announced as a favorite son and needs control of California's delegation to keep his leverage.

Brown can scarcely be blamed for yearning. Touted as a do-little attorney general (TIME, Sept. 15) before he swamped Republican William Fife Knowland for Governor last fall, Brown as Governor is doing a lot. He was barely in office before he forwarded a 30-bill liberal plan of action to California's newly Democratic legislature, pointedly marked the bills "by request of Governor Brown." Passed to date: Brown's recommendations for a fair employment practices bill, curbs on installment buying to stop credit rackets, a measure ending California's odd cross-filing primary system.

Still ahead, with Brown optimistic, are two major measures. One would raise $200 million in additional tax revenue (including $60 million more in income taxes) to help balance a $2 billion biennial budget. The other, equally basic: a development program calling for $1.13 billion initially to ease southern Califor nia's water shortage by piping in northern California water.

Scare the Guests. As the bold Brown strategists see things, Brown must, as a minimum, keep the Golden State's massive delegation in hand until the right candidate comes along, or until Brown can dicker for the vice-presidential nomination. But when they let their dreams balloon, they note that 1) the Democratic convention will be in Los Angeles, Brown's front yard, 2) the Democratic convention is threatened by deadlock. So why not California's Pat Brown for President? Brown has agreed that he would accept a draft.

From their rose-tinted window on the West, Brown's lieutenants see their rivals thus:

Massachusetts' Kennedy is ahead. He is confident of winning primaries in Wisconsin and Oregon, but is loath to tangle in California unless he must. On the other hand, there is no room on Roman Catholic Jack Kennedy's ticket for Catholic Brown. In Los Angeles last week Kennedy pooh-poohed the notion that he would oppose a favorite son. But Kennedy is aware that he will have to win the nomination early to win at all, may be tempted to change his mind, and go after California's 76 votes.

Minnesota's Hubert Humphrey, who checked into the Brown hotel fortnight ago. Humphrey visited long enough to portray himself as the only Fair-Dealing, New-Dealing Democrat available. He left with good wishes and the suspicion that he could get California support when and if Pat Brown steps aside.

Missouri's Stuart Symington, growing favorite of the Truman forces, who has a California speechmaking reservation for the end of May. Defense Expert Symington has slight strength in California outside Truman Democrats and good friends in the airplane industry.

Lyndon Johnson is little liked in California in normal times, liked even less now by liberals who suspect he tried to cramp Kennedy's moderate labor-reform bill.

Adlai Stevenson, who, if he visits at all, will come as a tourist rather than third-time traveling salesman. Stevenson lacks his organizational support of '52 and '56, has refused political speechmaking invitations. But significantly, in Indiana last week, onetime (1952-54) Democratic National Chairman (and Stevenson campaign adviser) Stephen A. Mitchell invited Democrats to join a grass-roots movement modeled after last campaign's "Volunteers for Stevenson."

Brown may improve his position up to primary time by playing happy host to all visitors, dropping pointed reminders that he swamped Knowland by a record California vote and could easily repeat the feat in a presidential primary. The approach so far is succeeding. Winding up his California stopover last week, front-running Jack Kennedy was saddened and impressed to discover that, for the moment at least, Pat Brown is the front runner in California.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.