NAWSA SUBJECT FILE Stassen, Harold E. NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN National Bldg. * Minneapolis 2, Minnesota * GEneva 0328 December 5, 1947 Mrs. Maud Wood Park, 21 Ashmont Street, Melrose 46, Massachusetts Dear Mrs. Park: Thank you for your letter and for the list from Mrs. Dean. We will send Stassen literature to them and make Mrs. Dean a NEIGHBOR. You are doing just the right thing if you can't get names yourself, get your friends to send them to you and then you relay them on to us. NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN is growing by leaps and bounds. We now get approximately a thousand new names a week of men and women interested in Harold Stassen. But we must keep on working hard for the last Gallop Poll showed that Harold Stassen is known by only 50% of the people in the United States. It hardly seems possible. Let us hear from you. Cordially, Isabel Gale IG/mc Mrs. Richard F. Gale Daniel C. Gainey, Chairman Mrs. Richard P. Gale, Co-Chairman Mark A. Forgette, Executive Director Mrs. Mildred J. Coleman, Secretary NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN National Bldg. * Minneapolis 2, Minnesota * GEneva 0328 November 10, 1947 CALLING ALL NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN: The Stassen Campaign is steaming up. All the reports show a rising tide which justifies confidence that Harold Stassen can win - - and is increasingly likely to win - - the republican nomination for President. You know and we know that if he wins the nomination, he will be elected! To keep the tide moving, here are some things you can do to help right now: On November 13, or within a few days, buy Stassen's book, "Where I Stand." Buy a couple of extra copies and send to friends. (It will make a first rat Christmas gift). Send the enclosed cards to friends. (If you want more, ask us for them). Plan a Coffee Party the night of November 24th and listen to Stassen's Campaign opener at Milwaukee over ABC. (Of course, if you can be at Milwaukee, all the better). Also, be sure to keep writing and talking about Harold Stassen - - the man best qualified to be President. And send us the names of people interested. Keep up the good work! Sincerely, DANIEL C. GAINEY, Chairman Isabel Gale MRS. RICHARD P. GALE, Co-Chairman Milwaukee Kickoff American Broadcasting Co. Eastern Time 9:30 PM Central " 8:30 PM Mountain " 7:30 PM Pacific " 6:30 PM Daniel C. Gainey, Chairman Mrs. Richard P. Gale, Co-Chairman Mark A. Forgette, Executive Director Mrs. Mildred J. Coleman, Secretary NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN National Bldg. * Minneapolis 2, Minnesota * GEneva 0328 September 26, 1947 Mrs. Maud Wood Park 21 Ashmont Street, Melrose 76, Massachusetts Dear Mrs. Park: Thank you for your good letter. Talk to everyone you see and when you write your friends tell them about Harold E. Stassen. Then when you have time send us the names of those men and women who are interested and we will send them literature. Keep in touch with us. Sincerely, Isabel Gale IG/mc Mrs. Richard P. Gale Daniel C. Gainey, Chairman Mrs. Richard P. Gale, Co-Chairman Mark A. Forgette, Executive Director Mrs. Mildred J. Coleman, Secretary NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN National Bldg. * Minneapolis 2, Minnesota * GEneva 0328 September 15, 1947 Miss Maud Wood Park 21 Ashmont St., Melrose, Mass. Dear Miss Park: We have received the GOOD NEWS from one of our NEIGHBORS that you, too, are interested in Harold E. Stassen. More and more thinking Americans appreciate his simplicity, his honesty and his greatness. He not only understands, but is willing to discuss freely and openly the perplexing problems of the day, - a unique and refreshing approach to the White House. It's the atomic age. The United States is out in the world, playing in the big time - playing for keeps. Success or failure means life or death. This is a time, not for just another man, but for the very best. Thousands of men and women who feel as you do have banded together in the common cause - NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN. The simple and successful NEIGHBORS program is flexible and elastic as explained on the attached sheet. The originality shown by our members gives NEIGHBORS its effectiveness. Will you join us? Sincerely, Isabel Gale IG/mc Mrs. Richard P. Gale Enc. Daniel C. Gainey, Chairman Mrs. Richard P. Gale, Co-Chairman Mark A. Forgette, Executive Director Mrs. Mildred J. Coleman, Secretary HAROLD E. STASSEN For President Yours for Stassen, (Your Signature) HELP ELECT HAROLD E. STASSEN'S OHIO DELEGATES I—Vote for One Delegate-at-Large and One Alternate-at Large: X Carrington T. Marshall Columbus Delegate X Rufus S. Day, Jr. Shaker Heights Alternate II—Also vote for the 2 Delegates plus any Alternates listed IN YOUR DISTRICT: Dist. Name Home town 3 X Robert K. Corwin Dayton Delegate X Harold W. Jones Middletown Delegate X John Thomas Patterson Dayton Alternate X Dan M. Beckett Hamilton Alternate 6 X Dr. Charles E. Beatty Portsmouth Delegate X Cecil M. Burton Portsmouth Delegate X Albert J. Pleasant Portsmouth Alternate X Andrew Hardin Portsmouth Alternate 7 X Lloyd J. Wall Marysville Delegate X James E. Meals Springfield Delegate X Warren L. Widner Marysville Alternate X William E. Bailey Springfield Alternate 9 X Mrs. Henry D. Cossitt Toledo Delegate X Alex J. Arndt Toledo Delegate X Howard C. Cook Toledo Alternate X Clint D. Whitaker Toledo Alternate 14 X Dr. Roy V. Sherman Akron Delegate X Charles A. Mosher Oberlin Delegate X John R. Kumpel Akron Alternate X Grover L. Severs Elyria Alternate 16 X Mrs. Olive G. Sponseller Canton Delegate X Malvin W. Hyde Alliance Delegate X John D. Morgan Canton Alternate X C. N. Burchfield Canton Alternate 18 X John E. Smith East Liverpool Delegate X Rev. Norman E. Nygaard Steubenville Delegate X Robert W. Sample, Jr. East Liverpool Alternate 19 X George L. Stowe Youngstown Delegate X Paul W. Brown Youngstown Delegate X Matthew Thompson Youngstown Alternate X Edward L. Williams Youngstown Alternate 20 X Chester K. Gillespie Cleveland Delegate X Walter I. Krewson Cleveland Delegate X Sidney B. Fink Cleveland Alternate 21 X Stephen Gobozy Cleveland Delegate X James S. Hudec Cleveland Delegate 22 X Robert A. Weaver Lakewood Delegate X R. H. Jamison Cleveland Delegate X A. R. Thomas Rocky River Alternate X J. B. Robinson Willoughby Alternate For Release 8:00 P. M. EDST September 9, 1946 KEYNOTE ADDRESS OF HAROLD E. STASSEN OF MINNESOTA TO THE REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION OF CONNECTICUT AT HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, 8:00 P. M. EDST, September 9, 1946. Your Excellency Governor Baldwin, Delegates and Guests at this Republican State Convention: It is an honor for a Minnesotan to respond to the invitation of Connecticut to speak on this occasion. It was a son of Connecticut, the adventurous explorer Jonathan Carver, who gave the original written first hand description of the Minnesota country at the headwaters of the Mississippi River over a century and a half ago. His accounts are still good reading for all lovers of history and of adventure. A half century later another native of your state, Horace Austin of Canterbury, came to Minnesota and played a part in the admission of the new state to the Union and in 1870 became our Sixth Governor. And your Marie Sanford of Connecticut Normal School, a remarkable woman of exceptional vision and energy, became one of the most beloved and unusual educators of our Minnesota history. In traveling East to Hartford today, I have backtracked the trail of these early pioneers; but, in a lighter vein, permit me to hasten to add that I came neither to explore, nor to govern, not to teach. Rather, I came to discuss with you briefly and frankly as fellow members of the same political party our current hopes and responsibilities. We meet at the opening of the first postwar nationwide election campaign in these United States of America. It is an election campaign of major significance which may in large measure determine the trend and policies of our government, and the future welfare and happiness of our people. We meet in one of the crucial areas of that election contest. The State of Connecticut, with its prominent industrial activity, its legion of skilled workmen, its hundreds of able managers, and its cosmopolitan nature, including citizens of all nationality origins and of background that range from those who just took the oath of citizenship last week to those who trace their ancestry to the Mayflower, is typical of the areas which will be decisive in this election. As you know, in four of your Congressional districts, the opposition won two years ago by very narrow margins. If you retain your present seats in Congress, reelecting your able Congressman Joseph E. Talbot, and electing a successor to that brilliant and exceptional representative, whose public service I am convinced is just beginning, the Honorable Clare Booth Luce; and if you win at least two of these additional seats; and if the Republicans in the other states in the Union make a similar record in the sixty seats which the opposition won by a narrow margin two years ago, then on – 2 – next January, for the first time in 14 years, a majority of the members of Congress will be Republicans. As you well recognize, this is clearly an attainable objective. In fact, it is my observation that with the outstanding leadership available to you through the personal sacrifice of the Honorable Ray Baldwin in responding to your request that he be a candidate for the Senate, there is excellent prospect that you will win all four of these closely contested additional Congressional seats in Connecticut.. It is with regret that I contemplate the conclusion of service in the Senate of the Honorable Thomas Hart, who in a brief span of months has become obviously as at home on the floor of the United States Senate as he is on the bridge at sea. And that's really being "at home". It is reported that he has already demonstrated the maneuvering ability in the Senate that characterized the United States Asiatic Fleet when Admiral Tommy Hart was in command. But my regret at the conclusion of his service is tempered by the prospect of the outstanding leader whom you contemplate sending to the Senate in his place. I had the opportunity to observe his service for a number of years as a fellow Governor and as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Governor's Conference. The exceptionally efficient administration which he has given to the people of Connecticut and the foresight which he has shown, in leadership in preparation for the tasks of war and the training of men in the skills that were needed, and in the preparation for the readjustments to peace, the emphasis upon job-making in the home communities and in the local factories, the stimulation to new businesses, the breadth of vision on national and international affairs, have long since stamped him as a man whom the Republican party and the nation needed in its national leadership. I am personally appreciative that he is willing to continue in public position with all its well-known vicissitudes and limitations and personal sacrifice. I trust you will also find an able leader to follow on in continuing an able Republican administration in your State Capitol for the benefit of all the people of Connecticut. I am pleased to report to you that taken as a whole through the country, from my personal observations, the Republican Party is presenting an outstanding group of candidates in these battlegroung districts. Many of them are veterans of this war. Many of them have backgrounds of public service and of civic support that is unique. They include men contesting for new Republican Senatorships, such as the Honorable Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, the Honorable Edward Martin of Pennsylvania, the Honorable Irving Ives in New York, the Honorable Tom Sweeney in West Virginia, the Honorable Harry Cain in Washington, and others, and a large number of Congressional candidates, such as Charles Kirsten of Wisconsin, A. L. Reeves and Claude I. Bakewell of Missouri, Walter R. Rankin of Montana, and Frederick A. Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania. With the conclusions of your convention, the list of – 3 – nominees of our Republican Party for this election campaign will be substantially complete. We can present them to the people of the country as a group of men and women who are worthy, not only of the vigorous and enthusiastic support of our Republican Party, but also of the backing of the independent voters and of the Democrats who have come to realize the inadequacy of the present administration as well. Of equal importance to the calibre and ability of the men and Republican Party is presenting to the people in these Senatorial and Congressional elections, is the question of the program of the Republican Party. Here too there is grounds for encouragement. We all recognize, of course, that there is a divergence of views within the Republican Party. This is not of itself a bad thing. Under a two party system, a political party must be broad enough to have room within it for a divergence of views. If we were to attempt to be narrow in our position and to exclude those who differed, the result would be splitting off of third parties and fourth parties and fifth parties and sixth parties. Such a fragmentation of political action defeats the very purpose of a representative government of free men. It borders on anarchy. It invites totalitarianism. It results in a situation in which no party has sufficient standing or prestige to successfully conduct a government. There have been ample evidences both before the war and since the war of the sad weaknesses of governments, beset by a multi-party system. Thus we should recognize that the process of debating through within a party of the variation of viewpoints, and the establishment of the majority position is in itself an essential phase of the functioning of our form of government. This process has been taking place in the Republican Party to a very marked degree since the end of the war. As I see it, the process has been wholesome, and as I view it, the results are encouraging. Gradually the Republican Party, through the speeches of its leadership in the candidacies for Senate and for Congress, through the programs of its State Conventions, through the actions of its State Administrations, is emerging as the vigorous, progressive, forward-looking, dynamic party capable of the leadership of this great nation in the important years ahead. Throughout America there are millions of young men and young women who have never yet taken as active part in political affairs. They came of age while serving in the armed forces or living in temporary wartime locations, and took no part in wartime elections. Now they are civilians again. They are stirring uneasily at what they see and hear of politics and government and peacemaking since V-J Day. They will respond to a clear call for definite, constructive measures in the interest of the America for which they served. Many of the recent primary results confirm this fact in a preliminary manner. I want to see our Republican Party give that clear call. And I emphasize that it must be forthright. No one can spot double-talk or weasel words faster than this war-reasoned generation of American Youth. The program and policy of the Republican Party is becoming increasingly significant as these months since the end of the war page by on our calendars. – 4 – Just a week ago, we noted the first anniversary of the day that General MacArthur stepped forward on the decks of the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay to receive the surrender of Japan, and thus officially end World War II. The people of the country have observed their national administration during this year, and they realize full well that it has failed tragically in the responsibility of its postwar leadership. It has failed in its domestic policy. It has failed in its foreign policy. It is extremely disappointing to reflect upon the deterioration between the relations of the United Nations since the end of the war. It is discouraging to recall the splendid anticipation of high production and good standards of living, and to recollect the leadership for a stable world economy which was ours at the end of the war, and to view the dissipation which has occurred. It is, of course, true that this failure of the present national administration has made it easier for the Republicans to win. But I should like to emphasize that it has also gravely multiplied the responsibility of the Republican Party, because it has increased the need for constructive leadership of this nation to rise to the hard challenge of the world facts in the wake of this tragic war and at the threshold of the atomic age. It can well be said that one of the most important questions now before the nation is whether or not the Republican Party will have the stature to meet the great issues of this historic time. Will the Republican Party be big enough so that out of the wake of war might come a new birth of freedom of men, and a deeper respect for the dignity of man, and a forward surge based on the remarkable discoveries of science? That is the question! It means that we must come to grips with extremely difficult economic and political problems. A new and forthright national labor policy to fit the needs of modern mass production industry must be developed. The overwhelming majority of our people, including those who labor, know full well that there have been too many strikes since the end of the war, and that production has been handicapped, that inflationary pressures have increased, that prices have surged upward. It will not be an easy policy to evolve. It will require pioneering. It will be necessary to avoid the extremes on both sides. We must reject those who would clamp down upon labor and take away its power of self-protection, and of legitimate advancement of its status, on the one hand. And we must also turn down those who would oppose all new legislation and seek to continue conditions of anarchy. Careful analysis makes it clear that neither the emergency measures proposed by the President last May, nor the extreme restrictive measures presented by the Southern Democrats is the answer. Somewhere in the careful moderate application of the basic principles of the rights of the individual worker to his job and in his union, with the development of secret ballots within unions, of the accountability of union officials to their membership, of regulations in the public interest, paralleling the development of corporate regulations to correct excesses on their part, and the development of labor jurisdictional courts of high standing, with the avoidance of all measures totalitarian in nature or increasing the authority of government or moving away from individual freedom and enterprise, must be the course. – 5 – It is also clear that excessive governmental regulations extending detailed bureaucratic restrictions to the smallest business, with inefficient and political favoritism in its administration have been a very serious handicap to the productive resilience of our economic system in the wake of war. Here again there is the challenge to the Republican Party to develop those clear, fair "rules of the road" for the conduct of business, to prevent abuses in the public interest, and to avoid a short-sighted casting off of all regulations which would simply lead to excesses of a new type. In fact, this relationship of government to enterprise has been one of the continuing problems since the foundation of our system of government and a real challenge to the genius of the administration of free men. The basic concepts of a fair over-all administration, with simple and well-understood rules, with the prevention of administrative caprice and whim, and the avoidance of detailed direction is still the answer. The Republican Party must also develop a sound fiscal policy to prevent the inflationary squeeze on the white collar salary workers such as the teachers and stenographers, and on the pensioners and others receiving moderate steady incomes, and who must furnish much of the financial stability for a successful economy. We must also set forth a new agricultural program to meet the situation that will confront us as production rises, and to do so without returning the unsound economy of scarcity with which the last threat of over-production of agriculture was met. The development of our world policy is an even more grave aspect of our Republican responsibility. We view with deep regret the day to day headlines of dissension and differences between the United Nations. There has been a sad deterioration since that thrilling afternoon at San Francisco when the delegates of fifty nations arose to indicate their concurrence in the United Nations Charter for peace and for progress together. It is clear that the unyielding and the intransigence of Russia has been a major cause, but it is equally clear that our administration has not been blameless. It was not blameless in the tragic failure of the London Conference of Foreign Ministers last September which was the first serious deterioration. It was not blameless in Winston Churchill's Fulton Speech, which tightened the very curtain that we needs must part for world peace. It was not blameless in the unilateral cancellation of the Rio de Janiero Conference. It is not blameless in the delays in our dependent peoples policy. It was not blameless in the early careless handling of the question of atomic energy. It was not blameless in the unsound agreements at Potsdam. This nation is a great nation because of certain very fundamental concepts of individual human liberty and the dignity of man. Whether our national leadership knows it or not, these concepts loom large in what millions of men fought for during the years of the war. They cam closer to being expressed in the Atlantic Charter than – 6 – in any other document in recent decades. It is time, high time, that these principles were re-emphasized and were used as the basis of our world policy. It would appear that it will be for the Republican Party to give the forthright leadership needed in the development and implementation of these principles. But in the development of this broad and considerate policy toward the peoples of the rest of the world, we should not confuse our thinking in relationship to the duties of our own citizens to their country. To be considerate of the needs and objectives and progress of other peoples does not mean that we should condone treason at home. To be specific, anyone who treasonably follows the lines of some other country to the exclusion of the duly established policy of our own, whether that other line be communism or fascism or imperialism, should not be permitted in an appointed public position in our government and should not be in position of leadership in either business or labor or politics. I am convinced that with a firmness of policy toward any elements that are subversive within our country, we can then be more understanding and more confident in our fair and friendly relations to other nations. These great issues and the failure of our present administration to meet them since the end of the war present these grave responsibilities to the Republican Party. May I say to you in closing, that I am confident that our Republican Party will rise to this challenge. I see coming forward throughout the country the leadership of the quality and the calibre needed to meet great issues. I see gradually taking form a program and a policy that is equal to the needs of America and of the World. I see developing a Republican Party that is worthy of being the majority party of these United States, supported by workers and farmers and business, fair to each and dominated by none, earning the support of the veterans of this war, of the youth and of the women, a party complex and diverse in its membership and its leadership, but unified in the great fundamental issues, and unified in the leadership of a great nation in a crucial period in the history of the world. STASSEN VICTORY NEWS CITIZENS FOR STASSEN * 1000 PILLSBURY BUILDING * MINNEAPOLIS 2, MINNESOTA There's real thrill in being on the Stassen team these days. It's a great team, with everybody helping. What an amazing record since our last Victory News: Nebraska -- After Wisconsin the experts were sort of bewildered, couldn't quite figure out what was happening. So with the Stassen victory in Nebraska the most cynical of them have to count him the No. 1 man in the race. Taft had Senator Butler's machine with him, Dewey had won in Nebraska in all previous efforts, and was supposed to be very tough to beat in spite of Wisconsin. On top of that, with seven men on the ballot, it was no easy contest. RESULT: HAROLD STASSEN IS NOW TOP MAN IN THE RACE Wisconsin - - It was fun getting the returns from Wisconsin last week, because all the experts figured MacArthur the big winner, and they all remembered that Dewey had swept the state in 1944 and in 1940. So the score sheet of Stassen 19, MacArthur 8 and Dewey O really was terrific. Iowa - - Just ahead of that we won Iowa, with at least 12 of the 23 delegates. The poll of Iowa convention delegates demonstrated the Stassen strength: Stassen 405; Dewey 172; Vandenberg 118; Taft 85. Maine - - At least seven of Maine's 13 delegates are on the Stassen team, and probably more before it's over. ALL THIS IN TEN DAYS. No wonder Harold Stassen says he will have at least 300 votes on the first ballot. BUT WE'RE NOT STOPPING In the Stassen crusade we never look back. We keep going. So next it's OHIO - - The Ohio primary May 4th is a mighty important one. Stassen has one delegate at large on the ballot, and delegates in 11 of the 22 districts. Get working on it, friends of Harold Stassen. Contact every person you can, think up bright ways of selling Stassen in Ohio. We ought to win a batch of delegates in Ohio, and we can if everyone helps. And then there is West Virginia May 11 and Oregon May 21. Besides, we must win more friends in every other state, to show the delegates that the people are for Harold Stassen. Lots of people responded to our previous appeals for contributions and for help. Thanks a million. HOW TO ORGANIZE A CHAPTER OF CITIZENS FOR STASSEN A. The Idea Behind Citizens for Stassen. A vital part of the campaign for the nomination and election of Harold E. Stassen for President is the formation of a nationwide network of Citizens for Stassen volunteer organizations. These chartered groups, in small units of 25 members each, have the mission of broadening the public support for the campaign. Final result of every effort will be the decision of delegates to the Republican National Convention in June. By showing great popular support for Harold Stassen, delegates will be influenced to support him in the convention. B. How to Organize a Chapter of Citizens for Stassen. Get a group of your friends or associates together -- any number of them up to 25. Elect a chairman and a secretary. Send the charter application blank to National Headquarters, with the list of members. A charter will be issued as soon as it has been approved. C. What Does a Chapter of Citizens for Stassen Do? Here are some of the things a chapter can do as a group: Some chapters will think up other ideas on the basis of their own contacts and abilities. Select those activities which you can effectively carry out. 1. Sponsor the formation of at least four other chapters. This means guiding the steps of the new groups, helping them organize and advising them. Each chapter will be an independent and autonomous group. 2. Promote special groups such as Students for Stassen, Veterans for Stassen, Teachers for Stassen, etc. They will be so recognized and urged to utilize their particular talents or activities. 3. Regular meetings are not essential but you should have occasional meetings, invite guests, discuss issues and activities. Keep up on current topics, follow Stassen's speeches and views, keep thoroughly informed. 4. Activate a speakers bureau, seeking opportunities to be heard before other groups and to participate in discussions of political matters, including of course Stassen's candidacy. 5. Pledge every member of the group to collect contributions for the campaign, to be payable by check to Citizens for Stassen National Headquarters. 6. Organize a canvass in which each member will call on his neighbors and tell them why he is for Harold Stassen. Hand out literature in making such contacts. 7. Talk over possible contacts. Work out specific plans for getting in touch with them by letter or in person. Remember particularly the importance of reaching people in states with primary elections (listed below). 8. Form a political contact committee to visit local Republican leaders, tell them you are supporting Harold Stassen and offer the services of your group in any of its activities. –2– 9. Appoint someone to handle publicity, getting stories and pictures of your organization and activities into the papers. 10. After delegates to the National Convention have been selected in your state, let them know that your group is backing Harold Stassen. VOTERS IN SOME STATES HAVE A DIRECT CHANCE TO VOTE IN PRIMARIES FOR HAROLD STASSEN OR FOR PLEDGED DELEGATES. THERE THE TASK IS TO GET PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR STASSEN OR FOR STASSEN-SUPPORTED DELEGATES. IN STATES WHICH DO NOT HAVE A PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY, THE PROMOTION OF HAROLD STASSEN'S CANDIDACY IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT. IF THE DELEGATES KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE WANT STASSEN FOR PRESIDENT, THEY CAN BE INFLUENCED TO VOTE FOR HIM. D. OTHER SUGGESTIONS Contact local Stassen Headquarters. Offer the services of your chapter and its members for volunteer service in headquarters. Find out what other chapters are organized and keep in touch to exchange ideas and increase your strength by combined efforts on some projects. Have some of your members write letters to the editors occasionally, particularly on current issues Mr. Stassen is discussing. Organize the initiative, special talents and resourcefulness of the members of your group to carry out any suitable activities to advance Stassen's candidacy. See that individual members do their best to carry out terms of their individual pledges to enlist at least four others as Citizens for Stassen. Primary Election States in which Stassen delegates are entered (watch for announcements of others): April 6 Wisconsin April 13 Nebraska May 4 Ohio May 21 Oregon Keep National Headquarters informed on what you are doing so we can pass on the ideas. Keep a record of activity for use of the party organization in handling the campaign after the convention. CITIZENS FOR STASSEN NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 1000 PILLSBURY BUILDING MINNEAPOLIS 2, MINNESOTA STASSEN TOPS DEWEY IN LATEST POPULARITY POLL By GEORGE GALLUP Director, American Institute of Public Opinion PRINCETON, N.J., April 24-Following his victory in Wisconsin and Nebraska primaries, Harold E. Stassen for the first time heads the list of Republican hopefuls in national popularity within the ranks of G.O.P. voters, the latest Institute survey finds. Stassens's margin of lead today is however a narrow one, with Dewey close on his heels, followed by General MacArthur, Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg and Senator Robert A. Taft. Stassen's victory in these two primaries has boosted his national popularity rating in much the same manner as Governor Thomas E. Dewey's popularity as a presidential candidate soared in November, 1946, when he was re-elected governor of New York by a 700,000 vote majority. The latest Institute survey on candidate popularity covered the period from April 9 to April 17. Since some of the interviewing was done prior to the Nebraska primary April 13, the present poll results do not reflect the full effect of voter reaction to Stassen's victory in Nebraska. The coast-to-coast standings of the various candidates were found to be as follows among voters who classify themselves as Republicans : Stassen --------- 31% Dewey ---------- 29 MacArthur ------ 16 Vandenberg ---- 10 Taft ------------- 9 Warren --------- 2 Martin ---------- 1 No choice ------ 2 The last previous poll, reported March 28, showed the candidates as follows in terms of popularity among the G.O.P. rank and file : MARCH Dewey ---------- 34% MacArthur ------ 19 Stassen -------- 15 Vandenberg ---- 13 Taft ------------- 12 Warren --------- 3 Martin ---------- 1 Saltonstall ------ 1 No choice ------ 2 Published April 25, 1948, in daily newspapers in many parts of the country. THOUSANDS BACKING STASSEN WITH CASH BY EDWIN A LAHEY Staff Writer MINNEAPOLIS--The air of confidence at Harold E. Stassen's headquarters is based on something more than primary votes. The mailman brings an increasing number of financial contributions in each delivery. The Wisconsin and Nebraska primary victories of the G.O.P. presidential hopeful have impressed a lot of people. The Stassen campaign is financed by a thing called the Minnesota Fund, of which Alfred D. Lindley, 40-year-old Minneapolis lawyer, is treasurer. Lindley now is out on the road, putting the tap on the live ones. His assistant, George Crosby (one of the flour family), says about 10,000 people have contributed to the Minnesota Fund to date. The financial reports of the Minnesota Fund are not made public, but Crosby's estimate of 10,000 contributors is revealing. This is four times the number who had made contributions last November. Stassen himself told me six months ago that there had been about 400 contributions ranging between $100 and $1,000 and about 20,000 contributions ranging between $1 and $100. Ceiling of $1,000 The average contribution in the higher bracket was about $200. The average in the $1 to $100 bracket was $14.60. A ceiling of $1,000 is placed on individual contributions. If the contributions have maintained the same averages in the last six months, while the number of contributors has increased four-fold, it would mean that close to $500,000 has been contributed to the Stassen warchest. Whatever the Stassen campaign costs from month to month, it is peanuts compared to the cost of a similar campaign run on a 'professional' basis. The vast majority of the Stassen workers, at the general headquarters and in the field, are volunteers, mostly women. 'Chief of Staff' Warren Burger, a 39-year-old St. Paul attorney and an old friend of Stassen, is 'chief of staff' at the Stassen headquarters. Like most of the others in the office, Burger maintains an amateur standing in politics, but the professionals could take lessons from him in organizing techniques. Bernhard W. Levander, the 32-year-old Republican state chairman of Minnesota, is the only man around the Stassen headquarters with formal party position, but even he claims amateur standing. He is a St. Paul attorney, but devotes most of his time now to the Stassen cause. 23 Salaried Workers There are only 23 full-time and salaried workers in this vast spread of the Stassen general headquarters. The volunteer staff totals 900. They don't all show up at once, of course. They sign up for specific hours. At the peak of the Wisconsin campaign, the volunteer work at C.H.O. ran about 400 hours per day. Right now the Stassen organization is flooding the country with 90,000 letters soliciting funds. They have a mailing list of about 49,000 'Citizens for Stassen' in the United States and its possessions. In addition to these citizens,' the Business Men for Stassen, a committee of nine of Minnesota's most eminent industrial and financial leaders, has a mailing list of 40,000 business and professional men throughout the country. Postcard Campaign The 49,000 'Citizens for Stassen' are receiving this week, in addition to a plea for funds, an urgent request to write to everybody they know in Ohio, asking their friends there to vote for Stassen delegates in the 11 Ohio districts where Stassen has chosen to contest Taft's strength in the May 4 primary. While I was talking with Leif Gilstad, a former St. Paul newspaperman in charge of organizing 'citizens' groups, a local 'Citizen for Stassen' telephoned to ask for 20 postal cards. He had that many friends in Ohio whose votes he wished to solicit. Marvelous to Behold The main boiler room of the Stassen-for-President movement is marvelous to behold. It takes up the entire 10th floor of the Pillsbury Building in downtown Minneapolis. It swarms with energetic and vivacious young people who call visitors heartily by their first names. Strictly speaking, these people are amateurs. But professional politicians should be so good. These Stassen 'amateurs, who have been polishing a political star for more than two years, all have the innocent look of people out for a civic-minded lark. But one suspects that even this Sunday-evening-club look is part of the act. They're sharp as a razor. From the Chicago Daily News, April 16, 1948. NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 801 Northwestern National Bank Building Minneapolis 2, Minnesota BUTTONHOLERS FOR STASSEN OFFICERS A. HERBERT NELSON MINNEAPOLIS President SIG. BERTELSEN SAINT PAUL Secretary Dear Friend: "Buttonholers for Stassen" are spirited Americans who, like the Presidential candidate they support, want people to know where they stand. They feel that they can best accomplish their purpose by wearing Stassen buttons henceforth until he is nominated and elected; and as their organization name implies, by buttonholing others and urging them to wear Stassen buttons. It is easy to become a BFS booster and in a colorful manifestation join the thousands who are swinging to Stassen. FIRST- SELECT A UNIT The unit can be a club, union, fraternal group, alumni association--to name a few, or any political, civic or voluntary organization. BUTTONHOLERS FOR STASSEN SECOND - FORM A COMMITTEE The committee for the BFS unit should consist of two or more members. Its responsibility is to design and select the colors for the button. The design appearing in the corners of this letter is considered standard. The slogan thereon is a two-fold expression meaning "Stassen for Us" and "Stassen for United States". However any other appropriate design or slogan bearing the name STASSEN will do. The colors of your state are suggested unless your unit has its own recognized colors, in which case, if used, the button will take on added significance. Some units lacking distinguishing colors have found that a symbol or insignia inconspicuously displayed on the button is satisfactory identification. THIRD - COST Undoubtedly your local badge or novelty concern can fill your order promptly. The cost will vary with the size of the button and the quantity purchased. When the cost is shared by each member of the committee it is not burdensome, particularly if the committee is large. FOURTH - DISTRIBUTION The buttons should be divided among the members of the committee for distribution. The important work begins at this point. Each committee member can immediately become an effective campaigner by "buttonholing" his friends and acquaintances and asking them to display a Stassen button. FIFTH - FOLLOW THROUGH Encourage the formation of other BFS units in your community and state. WIN A PRIZE A button board will be on display at National Headquarters upon which will be posted the button of each unit. We therefore urge that as soon as the buttons of your unit are in circulation that you send us several of them together with the names and addresses of the committee members of the unit. Judges have been appointed to select the most outstanding Stassen button appearing upon the button board. The cost of one round trip fare to Philadelphia or $100.00, whichever is greater, will be awarded to the unit whose button is selected by the judges. All buttons entered in this contest must be at National Headquarters before June 15, 1948. DISPLAY BUTTONS - DISTRIBUTE BUTTONS - AND LET'S BUTTON UP THIS ELECTION!! A. Herbert Nelson, President WE'RE ON THE WAY! Harold Stassen is now the No. 1 Contender for the nomination. Do you realize what leadership means? It means new operations, new expenditures. So now... THE HOME STRETCH VICTORY DRIVE That's why we're calling on you again. 1. Send in another contribution for the victory stretch. 2. This is your authority to solicit live contributions. Set yourself a quota now. Try for contributions from $1 to $100. That's the way most of the Stassen Fund has been raised... an average of $14. (Every dollar will help). THE NEXT 10 WEEKS ARE CRUCIAL Let's Raise the Money now for Victory in June DANIEL C. GAINEY, Chairman Citizens for Stassen SEND CONTRIBUTIONS TO: PAUL D. SCHRIBER, TREASURER 1000 PILLSBURY BUILDING MINNEAPOLIS 2, MINNESOTA NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN 500 National Building, Minneapolis 2, Minnesota HERE'S YOUR CHANCE REALLY TO DO SOMETHING TO ASSURE THE NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF HAROLD STASSEN AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1948. A NEIGHBOR TALKS About Harold Stassen and his courage in facing current issues. WRITES Personal letters to friends, first within one's own state and then all over the country expressing belief and enthusiasm in Harold E. Stassen and inviting an expression of opinion. SENDS to this office immediately all names of Stassen supporters on the report blank or card enclosed. On receipt of these names facts about Stassen will be sent to them with your name on the envelope. A NEIGHBOR FOR STASSEN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HELPING FRIENDS BECOME WORKERS FOR HAROLD STASSEN. THIS WILL BE A CONTINUAL JOB UNTIL ELECTION IN 1948. SPEECHES AND ARTICLES NOW AVAILABLE AT NEIGHBORS FOR STASSEN OFFICE (Sent Upon Request) SPEECHES Candidacy Announcement Kansas Day Address (Small Business) Statement on Labor Lincoln Day Address (Tariff) Stalin-Stassen Interview Production for Peace (Foreign Policy) America Versus Communism in One World ARTICLES Printed and Illustrated Booklet Stassen's Accomplishments Don't Count Stassen Out by Ralph Cessna Stassen of Minnesota by Roscoe Drummond Stassen and the Importance of his Stalin Interview by Arthur Krock One Person's Opinion of Harold Stassen by Marguerite Wells Your Friend and Neighbor HAROLD E. STASSEN For President STASSEN FOR PRESIDENT WISCONSIN DELEGATES Vote for ALL 7 Delegates At Large: Joseph R. McCarthy Appleton X Walter J. Kohler, Jr. Kohler X George Greeley Oshkosh X Melvin J. Olson South Wayne X Wilbur N. Renk Sun Prairie X Arthur Lenroot, Jr. Superior X Loyal Eddy Wauwatosa X Also vote for your 2 District Delegates below: District Delegate Town 1 Charles E. Lyon Elkhorn X John H. Matheson Janesville X 2 Mrs. Helen Eby Madison X Richard C. Smith Jefferson X 3 Everett Yerly La Crosse X Foster B. Porter Bloomington X 4 James T. Guy Wauwatosa X Edmund G. Olszyk Milwaukee X 5 Harold E. Bernadickt Milwaukee X Dr. Ralph P. Sproule Milwaukee X 6 John S. Tolversen Neenah X William K. Van Pelt Fond du Lac X 7 Mrs. M. R. Laird, Sr. Marshfield X George C. Landon Wausau X 8 Austin F. Smith Manitowoc X Urban Van Susteren Appleton X 9 Connor T. Hansen EAu Claire X Warren P. Knowles New Richmond X 10 Mrs. Mabel Gross Stone Lake X Harry Simon Ashland X Yours for Stassen (Your Signature) PREPARED AND CIRCULATED BY THE WISCONSIN STASSEN FOR PRESIDENT COMMITTEE, PFISTER HOTEL, MILWAUKEE Place One Cent Stamp Here Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.