<--PREV Doc #913  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #915 Document #914; November 1, 1958 To Justin Whitlock Dart Series: EM, AWF, Administration Series The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIX - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part VI: Setbacks; November 1958 to February 1959 Chapter 14: A "dreary election result"   Dear Justin: I am of course highly gratified that even in retrospect you feel that my Los Angeles trip was successful, particularly from the point of view of the finance luncheon.1 After the sound and fury of November fourth die away, I shall see what can be done about your suggestions. During the last month I have met with the finance people of both Chicago and New York, but I have never approached them with the specifics of your plan.2 The trouble will be, of course, that everyone is going to be tired of politicking and will resist what is obviously the necessity of starting now to work for 1960. The first sentence of your final paragraph reflects my feeling, as well you know.3 But if I can, through renewed efforts, leave office in 1961 with a revitalized Republican Party I am perfectly willing to devote whatever energies I have to the task.4 Once again my thanks to you, and, as always, my warm regard, As ever 1 For background on the President’s campaign trip to Los Angeles and his involvement with the California gubernatorial election see nos. 826, 900, 902, and the preceding document. In September Eisenhower had convinced Rexall Drugs President Dart to assume responsibility for raising funds for William Knowland’s gubernatorial campaign. In turn, Dart had persuaded the President to meet privately with California business leaders at a luncheon on October 20, during his trip to the West Coast (Ann Whitman memorandums, Sept. 27 and [Nov. 2], 1958, AWF/AWD; see also Dart to Eisenhower, Oct. 7, 1958, AWF/A, and no. 880). On October 27 Dart had written Eisenhower (AWF/A) that his efforts had generated a "magnificent response" and had made "a tremendous start . . . in the direction of awakening our sleeping giants." 2 On Eisenhower’s conferences with Republican finance leaders, meetings which Dart had advocated as a means of pushing the party toward "solvency and virility," see Ann Whitman memorandums, October 6 and [November 2], AWF/AWD. Dart had given Eisenhower a copy of an undated "Long Range Plan for the Preservation of Personal Freedom and a Free Economy"; a copy is in AWF/A, Dart Corr. It was premised on the assumptions that the "free economic climate" in the United States was "being destroyed by a Labor Monopoly," and that excessive labor costs were endangering economic security; the plan urged business leaders to convince "the workers of America that they may become pawns and slaves of Labor Leaders." Dart recommended that business heads personally establish an annual subscription program to solicit contributions from their associates and employees. The fund-raising quotas for each company were to be based on a percentage of corporate profits. 3 Dart had written: "I am sure you are saying to yourself that certainly this log jam could be broken by somebody other than yourself." He had added: "You may be right but I surely don’t know who it is." 4 On November 4--election day--Dart would send a telegram to Eisenhower saying that "All funds necessary to cover Knowland’s campaign are on hand or committed." He would give partial credit to the President for this accomplishment and, in anticipation of a Republican defeat, would add that he was sure that Eisenhower would "provide the fire to get everybody off the bloody carpet tomorrow morning determined that this tragedy will not happen again in 1960" (AWF/A). For developments see no. 926. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Justin Whitlock Dart, 1 November 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 914. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/914.cfm <--PREV Doc #913  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #915

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