Wallace & Precedent

Columnists, editorialists, Republican politicos last week made hullabaloo over Henry Agard Wallace in his dual role of Secretary of Agriculture and Democratic nominee for Vice President. The clatter did not so much disturb as astound Mr. Wallace. He saw no difference in himself before and after the nomination.

People who did see a difference questioned neither his integrity nor his capacity for non-political thinking. They worried chiefly about the influence of $900,000,000 of public money which Nominee Wallace's agencies will distribute to farmers this fiscal year, plus the well-known fact that Mr. Wallace's county and community committeemen were potent factors in the 1936 Presidential campaign. Honest, sometimes naive Henry Wallace brushed these considerations aside with the statement that they did not exist. Said he in Des Moines:

"I believe Herbert Hoover remained in the Cabinet when he was campaigning for the Presidency, didn't he?"

White House spokesmen took the same line, falling into a trap which Mr. Wallace had dug for himself. Republicans gleefully pointed out that Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was nominated on June 14, 1928, offered almost immediately to quit, stayed on at Calvin Coolidge's persuasion until August 21, when he resigned. Embarrassed Mr. Wallace quickly changed tune, said he would do whatever was "right, fair and just."

President Roosevelt, who is not easily embarrassed, smoothly confirmed that after he was nominated for Vice President in 1920, Woodrow Wilson had him quit as Assistant Secretary of the Navy as soon as he began campaigning. Cracked a reporter: "When does Wallace start campaigning?" Mr. Roosevelt laughed and dropped the subject. A few hours later Mr. Wallace picked it up, settled it after a fashion: ". . . I plan to resign or take a leave of absence without pay . . . as soon as I begin active political campaigning. This will be shortly after my notification ceremonies and acceptance in late August."

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