Whistle Stops: Adventures in Public Life by Wilson W. Wyatt Sr

Author:Wilson W. Wyatt Sr. [Wyatt, Wilson W. Sr.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General
ISBN: 9780813115375
Google: FyZ3AAAAMAAJ
Goodreads: 1328770
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 1985-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The Conscience of American Politics

Even though Stevenson had not triumphed in the Electoral College he had won an enduring place in the hearts and the admiration of Americans. Anne and I joined Adlai and Carl McGowan and his wife for a restful vacation at an Arizona ranch. On the second day we took a horseback ride across the border to the little Mexican town of Nogales, where a large crowd immediately gathered to greet Stevenson, who quipped in surprise, “Oh, I ran in the wrong country.” It was typical of the acclaim with which he was greeted on his later tour around the world—a tour that professional commitments prevented me from joining.

The four years between the 1952 and the 1956 elections passed quickly. To make up for the time spent in the 1952 campaign I concentrated on the legal practice and the continued growth of my Louisville law firm. Periodically I would go to Libertyville, Chicago, and Washington to counsel with Stevenson about his plans, his participation in public events, and position papers being developed on domestic and foreign policy. Often these sessions included people who had been active in the 1952 campaign. Of particular importance was a group chaired by Tom Finletter (later ambassador to NATO under President Kennedy). It came to be known as the Finletter Group. It undertook to develop Democratic positions on a wide range of issues and many outstanding authorities cooperated in the authorship of learned white papers that were to serve as background for the next presidential campaign. Adlai had an active interest in this effort and met with the varying members of this group as often as his crowded schedule permitted. He maintained an active speaking schedule in response to the flood of invitations from around the country. Everybody wanted him for their special events, and he felt a sense of obligation both because of all they had done in his behalf and because many occasions were for the purpose of raising funds to pay off the party’s 1952 debt. Federal financing had not been enacted at that time.

Although Stevenson became more optimistic during the actual progress of the 1956 campaign I, personally, do not believe that he felt before the campaign, or even in its early days, that it had much likelihood of succeeding. His willingness to run that year and his seeking the nomination came, in my opinion, largely from a sense of public duty and responsibility, as the leader of his party.

An incident that occurred in 1955 typifies, I think, Adlai’s approach to public life in general and to his 1956 decision to make the race. Following a vacation together in Jamaica, Adlai, Anne, and I flew to Puerto Rico, where we were guests of Governor Munoz Marin in his historic residence, La Fortaleza. One night while we were philosophizing together as we sat on the battlements sipping a refreshing drink, Munoz told us of an incident that had impressed him, as it did us. He said that at

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