Once More, with Moderation

Louisiana's Democratic primary for Governor was full of candidates and--for a while--of calumny.

There were ten men running, and several of them had seemed to be vying with one another over who could say the unkindest things about President Kennedy. Not so deLesseps Story ("Chep") Morrison, four-term mayor of New Orleans (1946-61), who resigned as Kennedy's Ambassador to the Organization of American States to make this year's gubernatorial race.

Said Morrison: "You can put me down as last in any hating contest." Kennedy was unpopular in Louisiana, as he was in most of the Deep South. And because Morrison, although a lip-service segregationist himself, was unwilling to inveigh against Kennedy, he was a distinct underdog.

But after the President's assassination, denunciations of him became a very poor political pitch. Most of Mor rison's opponents tried to climb back off their limbs, but it was too late. When Louisiana Democrats went to the polls Dec. 7, they gave Morrison 299,702 votes, a whopping 140,000 plurality over the runner-up, Louisiana's Public Service Commissioner John J. Mc-Keithen, 45.

The two will face each other in a Jan. 11 runoff primary, which Morrison has a chance of winning. If he does, and goes on to be elected Governor, it will be a tribute to persistence. Widower Morrison, 51, a Catholic, has tried twice before for Governor. In 1956, he was walloped by Ol' Earl Long. In 1959, he led the field by 65,000 votes in the first primary, only to be drowned out in the runoff by guitar-twanging Songwriter Jimmie Davis, who is Louisiana's current Governor.

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