New Faces in the Senate

The new Senate, on paper, looked like a definite improvement over the old. Not only had some much-thumbed old political jacks been thrown into the discard (see below); among the 17 Republicans and five Democrats newly elected there were many practiced legislators, some right-&-left bowers.

The U.S. public recognized a few. Handsome Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts had been a G.O.P. Senator before he went overseas in the Army. Alabama's able John J. Sparkman was Democratic whip of the last House. The white-thatched, placid face of Ohio's John Bricker--who had unseated down-the-line Democrat James W. Huffman--was already familiar.

A third of the freshman Senators had been governors. Pennsylvania's Ed Martin, a rasping preacher of regular Republicanism, was one of the seven. Conservative Democrat Herbert R. O'Conor had been a vigorous two-term governor of Maryland; conservative Spessard L. Holland was a former Florida governor. The G.O.P.'s liberal wing added popular ex-governors Ray Baldwin of Connecticut and Ed Thye of Minnesota.

In addition to Sparkman two other

Senators-elect had graduated from the House. The seat of Virginia's late Carter Glass went to veteran Democratic Representative A. Willis Robertson, a disciple of economy-minded Harry Flood Byrd. Idaho's conscientious, isolationist Henry Dworshak moved up a notch after four terms as a G.O.P. Congressman.

Young & Eager. Most of the freshman Senators are still young enough to train an ambitious eye on the future. Wisconsin's jovial Republican Joe McCarthy, ex-Marine aviation intelligence officer, is 36. At 38, smart Air Forces Veteran William Jenner is the fair-haired boy of the Indiana G.O.P. machine. Washington's 40-year-old Republican Harry Cain, a whirlwind campaigner, had twice been elected mayor of Tacoma before going overseas as a major in the A.M.G.

The brightest spot in the Democratic column was the victory in Rhode Island of promising, 43-year-old J. (for James) Howard McGrath, onetime U.S. Solicitor General and youngest governor in his state's history. A half-dozen others of the new crop of Senators are still in their 40s. Just 50 is New York's dogged, fair-minded Irving Ives, swept in by the Dewey landslide. Oldsters of the Group are 67-year-old Ed Martin and Vermont's bald, bespectacled Ralph Flanders, 65, a liberal-minded Republican Yankee businessman who had the support of the C.I.O. and knows his way around Washington from experience in WPB, 0PM, and the Economic Stabilization Board.

Other new faces, all Republican:

Nevada's George W. Malone, blustering, stocky Irishman, upset Democrat Berkeley Bunker with a two-fisted assault on OPA. "Molly" Malone, 56, an engineer and Legionnaire, has had previous experience in Washington as a lobbyist for the Industrial West Foundation.

Utah's Arthur V. Watkins, a 59-year-old, grey-haired lawyer who runs two weekly newspapers as a hobby, entered the Senate race without much hope, finished a surprise G.O.P. winner over incumbent Abe Murdock, a 100% New Dealer.

Montana's Zales Ecton, prosperous dirt farmer, became the state's first G.O.P. Senator in 33 years when Wheeler Democrats preferred him to left-wing Leif Erickson. An unimpressive campaigner and hesitant speaker, as a seven-term state legislator he was vigorously antilabor.

Missouri's James P. Kern, snow-haired, well-to-do Kansas City lawyer, will take over Harry Truman's former seat. A comparative newcomer in politics, he is a rock-ribbed conservative.

Kentucky's John S. Cooper, endorsed by the liberal Louisville Courier-Journal, was a G.O.P. winner in a normally Democratic state. The tall, 200-lb. circuit court judge, a veteran of World War II, campaigned as a supporter of U.N.

Delaware's John J. Williams, 42, unheard of politically before being nominated by the state G.O.P. machine, owns 19 farms and a lucrative feed business. Lanky, craggy-faced Williams is an avowed enemy of Government controls.

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