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This file contains:
Newy York contacts list. 2 pgs. [Memo], 5/10/1960
Preliminary schedule revision one for Richard Nixon in New York. 2 pgs. Attached to previous. [Memo], 05/17-18/1960
Syracuse Post-Standard article, Nixon States Labor Views, by Vicotr Reisel. 1 pg. Not scanned. [Newspaper], 5/19/1960
Handwritten note about Buffalo trip. 1 pg. [Memo], n.d.
Schedule for Richard and Pat Nixon on may 17 and 18, 1960 in New York. 3 pgs. [Memo], 5/17/1960
Letter from Bob Haldeman to Loie Gaunt. RE: Syracuse Trip List. 1 pg. [Letter], 6/1/1960
Unknown newspaper article, Nixon's Aid Calls Disclosure Appropriate, by unknown author. 1 pg. Not scanned. [Newspaper], 5/19/1960
Letter from Bob Haldeman to Advance Men. RE: New York trip. 1 pg. [Letter], 5/31/1960
New York Trip Information: Background and Critique. 13 pgs. Attached to previous. [Report], 5/17/1960
Schedule for Richard and Pat Nixon in New York. 3 pgs. Attached to previous two documents. [Memo], 5/17/1960
News Focus report about Nixon's first actions as a presidential candidate. 3 pgs. [Report], 0522/1960
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26127407
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WHSF: Returned, 48-23
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doc
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document
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1
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26127407
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document
title
WHSF: Returned, 48-23
description
This file contains:
Newy York contacts list. 2 pgs. [Memo], 5/10/1960
Preliminary schedule revision one for Richard Nixon in New York. 2 pgs. Attached to previous. [Memo], 05/17-18/1960
Syracuse Post-Standard article, Nixon States Labor Views, by Vicotr Reisel. 1 pg. Not scanned. [Newspaper], 5/19/1960
Handwritten note about Buffalo trip. 1 pg. [Memo], n.d.
Schedule for Richard and Pat Nixon on may 17 and 18, 1960 in New York. 3 pgs. [Memo], 5/17/1960
Letter from Bob Haldeman to Loie Gaunt. RE: Syracuse Trip List. 1 pg. [Letter], 6/1/1960
Unknown newspaper article, Nixon's Aid Calls Disclosure Appropriate, by unknown author. 1 pg. Not scanned. [Newspaper], 5/19/1960
Letter from Bob Haldeman to Advance Men. RE: New York trip. 1 pg. [Letter], 5/31/1960
New York Trip Information: Background and Critique. 13 pgs. Attached to previous. [Report], 5/17/1960
Schedule for Richard and Pat Nixon in New York. 3 pgs. Attached to previous two documents. [Memo], 5/17/1960
News Focus report about Nixon's first actions as a presidential candidate. 3 pgs. [Report], 0522/1960
citationUrl
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Richard M. Nixon's Returned Materials Collection
Returned White House Special Files
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26127407
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eb8e49cd03b05277
ocrText
Richard Nixon Presidential Library
White House Special Files Collection
Folder List
Box Number Folder Number Document Date Document Type
Document Description
48
23
05/10/1960
Memo
Newy York contacts list. 2 pgs.
48
23
05/17-18/1960
Memo
Preliminary schedule revision one for
Richard Nixon in New York. 2 pgs. Attached
to previous.
48
23
05/19/1960
Newspaper
Syracuse Post-Standard article, Nixon States
Labor Views, by Vicotr Reisel. 1 pg. Not
scanned.
48
23
n.d.
Memo
Handwritten note about Buffalo trip. 1 pg.
48
23
05/17/1960
Memo
Schedule for Richard and Pat Nixon on may
17 and 18, 1960 in New York. 3 pgs.
48
23
06/01/1960
Letter
Letter from Bob Haldeman to Loie Gaunt.
RE: Syracuse Trip List. 1 pg.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Page 1 of 2
Box Number
Folder Number
Document Date
Document Type
Document Description
48
23
05/19/1960
Newspaper
Unknown newspaper article, Nixon's Aid
Calls Disclosure Appropriate, by unknown
author. 1 pg. Not scanned.
48
23
05/31/1960
Letter
Letter from Bob Haldeman to Advance Men.
RE: New York trip. 1 pg.
48
23
05/17/1960
Report
New York Trip Information: Background
and Critique. 13 pgs. Attached to previous.
48
23
05/17/1960
Memo
Schedule for Richard and Pat Nixon in New
York. 3 pgs. Attached to previous two
documents.
48
23
0522/1960
Report
News Focus report about Nixon's first actions
as a presidential candidate. 3 pgs.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Page 2 of 2
5/10/60
H.R.H.
c/s
NEW YORK - May 17th, 18th
CONTACTS
S. 3. $
Buffalo -
Edwin Manning
WAS 4780 X 317 (b)
PAR 4842 (r)
WAS # 8044 (night)
Bob Powis
BED 2840 (r)
Syracuse -
Edward Daley
OR 47511 I 159 (b)
OR 28725 (r)
OR 40706 (night)
BUFFALO 1
Senator Walter Mahoney
CLE 6100
GRA 2622 (r)
(Aide - John Sullivan)
MOH 6821
County Chairman - Senator John Cooke
MOH 8700
(Buffalo)
MOH 1145 (Priv.)
#
XF 79891 (b) (Alden) REG 8423 (r)
(TC Buffalo - 716 + 21 + )
Party Secretary - Kevin Cox
TABER DINNER: Larry di Senso, A.A. -D.C
CA 43-121 X 2006
Auburn County Chairman, Robert E. White
35-395 (b)
39-361 (r)
Dinner Chairman - Everett Dungey
24-107 (b)
24-402 (r)
NATIONAL SALES EXECUTIVES #
Robert Cooper, P.R.
YU 69-300 (N.Y.C.)
MU 2-7464 (r)
Elmer LASK (Buffale)
GAR 5-334 (res.)
MON 4-811 (service) Ft. Erie, Ontario
Canada - 199
Hotel Statler - Thurston, Manager
Ed Murphy - Sales Mgr.
Frank Becht - Banquet
Mandis, Rea. Mgr
Robert Case, YR Erie County
MOH 2611 (b)
TAY 5340 (r)
SYRACUSE :
Herald-Journal - Alexander F. Jones, Exec.
Ed.
HA 2-0211
GI 6-0600 (r)
Congressman - R. Walter Richlman
CA 43-121 X 5861
(Aide in Syracuse - Doug Johnson
OR 64-201)
Country Chairman - Mr. Traister
HA 2-5297 (b)
OL 2-3002 (r)
P.R. Man - Bogardus
NE 7-3121
- 2 -
New York . May 17 - 18th
Contacts
STRACUSE (Cont.):
Press Club Pres.- Richard J. Hanlon, 165 Wolcott Avenue
Office - Hotel Onondaga
Notel Syracuse - Mr. Wilder, Manager. HA-25121
Don Williams, Asst. Mgr.
VOLUNTEERS:
Diek Michaels, Buffalo
MOH 0542, 6447 (b) IDL 5861 (r)
NEW YORK - May 17, 18
Preliminary Schedule - Revision #1
for RN Approval
Tuesday, May 17
2:00 P. M. Lv. D. C. via United Charter for Syracuse
(Cong. John Taber to accompany - on plane) ?
4:30
Arr. Syracuse Airport
AIRPORT GREETINGS
Large public crowd
5:00
PRESS MEETING - At airport
5:30
Lv. Airport by motorcade for Auburn
(Cong. Taber to ride a/ RN) ?
6:30
Arr. Auburn Inn - to Suite
7:00
Lv. suite for ballroom
JOHN TABER TESTIMONIAL DINNER
(Approx. 1,000 - plans for program not set yet)
9:30
Lv. Auburn by motorcade for Syracuse
10:30
Arr. Syraeuse
?
Hotel - to suite
(MENTING - CASEY JONES ? )
OVERNIGHT IN SYRACUSE
Wednesday, May 18
8:30 A.M.
BREAKFAST - PARTY LEADERS ?
or CASEY JONES 9
9:30
PARTY WORKERS - COFFEE & DONUTS
RN to give remarks to them on party pitch
10:00
Return to Suite
2 HOURS RESERVED FOR STAFF WORK
12:00 Noon
PRESS CLUB LUNCHEON
Q & A.
2:00
Lv. Hotel for airport
- 2 -
New York - May 17 - 18
Preliminary Schedule - Rev. #1
for RN Approval
2:30
Take off for Buffalo
3:30
Arr. Buffalo Airport
AIRPORT GREETINGS
Large public crowd
3:50
Lv. Airport by motorcade for Hotel
4:15
Arr. Statler Hotel - to Ballroom?
PARTY WORKERS RECEPTION
6:00
To Suite
6:30
RECEPTION - N.S.E.
7:15
Head Table in to dinner
NATIONAL SALES EXECUTIVES' DINNER
(Approx. 1600)
8:45 Program begins
9:00 RN Speaks
9:30 End
9:45
Lv. Notel by car for airport
10:15
Arr. Airport - take off for D. C.
Suffalo
blue -
trip
file
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MRS. NIXON'S SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 17, 1960
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
2:30 p.m. Both
Depart Capitol with Mrs. Nixon for Washington National
Airport
2:50 p.m. Both
Arrive Hangar #8, next to Butler Aviation for United
Air Lines Charter
3:00 p.m. Both
Takeoff on United Air Lines Charter for Syracuse, New York
5:00 p.m. Both
Arrive Syracuse Airport, Municipal Terminal - brief reception
Congressman Taber (and Possibly Mrs.) to ride withyou
to Auburn
5:20 p.m. Both
Depart Airport for Auburn by motorcade
6:30 p.m. Both
Arrive Auburn Inn
RN
Meet Press
PN
Proceed to Suite
6:45 p.m. RN
Proceed to Suite
7:15 p.m. Both
Depart suite for ballroom - JOHN TABER TESTIMONIAL
DINNER (approximately 1000 guests) - no reception
Bubiness suit -- (dinner in progress since 7:00 p.m.)
Both
Head table group enters
Invecation
National Anthem
8:30 p.m. Both
Program Begins
Charles Cusick, M.C. (Auburn Attorney)
Introductions of head table and distinguished guests
Presentations to Mrs. Taber and Mrs. Nixon
Presentation to Congressman Taber and acknowledgement
by him
INTRODUCTION OF THE VICE PRESIDENT by Cusick
Presentation of Eisenhower painting/by the Vice Presi-
dent to Congressman Taber
BRIEF REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT
10:00 p.m. Both
Dinner over -- Depart Auburn for Syracuse
10:45p.m. Beth
Arrive Syracuse Hotel, Syracuse . proceed to suite
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MRS. NIXON'S SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 18, 1960 -- SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO, NEW YORK
7:55 a.m. RN
Steve Regers will arrive to esdort you to Breakfast
He is Publisher of the Syracuse HERALD JOURNAL.
8:00 a.m. RN
Breakfast with Casey Jones Group and Syracuse Pre ss
Club (Steven Regers host). Q&A from the floor from
members of Syracuse Press Club -- Persian Terrace
of the Hotel Syracuse.
8:20 a.m. PN
Mrs. Norma Stone, Vice Chairman of County Republican
Women will arrive to escort Mrs. Nixon to her reception
8:30 a.m. PN
Guest of County Republican Women for coffee and donuts
(Mrs. Stime Hostess) -- Onondaga Hotel (one block travel)
Return to Suite after reception
9:30 a.m. RN
04 A Over -- return to suite
10:15 a.m. Booh
Depart for Airport
10:45 a.m. Both
Takeoff for Buffalo
11:30 a.m. Both
Arrive Buffalo -- Airport reception
11:45 a.m. Both
Depart Airport -- Senator Cooke, County Chairman, to
ride with you.
12:15 p.m. Beth
Arrive Lafayette Hotel
12:30 p.m. Both
Party workers reception at Hotel -- Buffet luncheon and
reception -- large crowd -- reception line RN & PN only
2:30 p.m. Both
Reception over -- proceed to suite in Lafayette Hotel
2:50 p.m. RN
Depart for AME Zion Conference, Memorial Auditorium
3:00 p.m. RN
Greet AME Zion Conference
3:30 p.m. RN
Depart AME Zion Conference for Hotel Statler
Pa to join you after comference
4:00 p.m. RN
Press Conference in Statler Hotel
PN
Meet Ladies of Press in Suite
4:45 p.m. Both
In Suite for Staff work
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MRS. NIXON'S SCHEDULE
2.
Wednesday, May 18, 1960 -- Syracuse and Buffalo
6:45 p.m. Beth
Reception of National Sales Executives -- in progress
since 6:00 p.m. (approximately 250 guests)
BLACK TIE
&:15 p.m. Both
Head table proceeds to National Sales Executives Dinner
(1600 guests approximately)
8:45 p.m. Both
Program Begins
Introductions and induction of new officers
9:00 p.m. RN
THE VICE PRESIDENT SPEAKS
9:30 p.m. Both
Dinner over
9:45 p.m. Both
Depart Hetel for Airport
10:15 p.m. Both
Takeeff for Washington
12:30 m.m. Both
Arrive Washington National Airport -- Hangar #8
next to Butler Aviation on United Air Lines
Charter
6/1/60
H. R. H.
c/s
June 1, 1960
TO: Loie Gaunt
FROM: Bob Haldeman
RE: SYRACUSE TRIP LIST
I am attaching letter from the Syracuse people listing those
who participated. This memo will serve to identify some of
them.
George L. Traister - County Chairman. Greeted RN at Airport.
Mrs. Norma Stone - County Vice-Chairman. Hostess at Pat's
breakfast deal. Also greeted Nixons at
Airport.
Clayton Andrews - President of Young Republicans. No direct
participation but had some people there for
the airport reception I guess
Grauer, Ward and O'Brien - I have no idea what they did and
would suggest either a general letter thanking
them for participation or none at all.
Doug Johnson - Very helpful in over-all arrangements and es-
pecially in setting up plans for the ladies'
breakfast for Pat.
Pittenger - Handled arrangements for use of airport
Ballard - Arranged for getting the cars .
The list of car people is self-explanatory.
The second letter lists five young men who are tied in with
Flanigan's Volunteer organization who worked on getting a crowd
to the Airport. They should be thanked for their participation
in the visit and encouraged to keep up the good work for the
campaign ahead in the Volunteer movement.
5/21/60
DETERMINED TO BE AN
ADMINISTRATIVE MARKING
E.O. 12356, Section 1.1
By RJP NARS, Date 4/10/87
TO: Advance Men
FROM: Bob Haldeman
RE: NEW YORK TRIP
In order to keep you posted on current activities and to
evaluate the appearances the Vice President is making now
in terms of Advance Man procedure, I am sending you a copy
of the Vice President's schedule for the New York trip,
together with a fairly detailed critique of the Advance
arrangement and actual operation on this trip. Any thoughts
that occur to you as a result of reviewing this, will of
course, be welcome.
The trip over all was a great success and we had good
crowds and enthusiastic ones at all the stops. It is im-
portant, however, to try to improve each of these
operations as we go along and this evaluation should aid in
doing SO.
Best regards.
CONFIDENTIAL
NEW YORK TRIP - May 17, 18th
Background & Critique
BACKGROUND:
This trip was advanced by Jim Murphy and Bob Haldeman and because
of the need for very careful planning of the over-all schedule,
several advance trips were made.
On April 16, Haldeman had a meeting in Buffalo with local political
leaders to go over the general plan for activities in Buffalo,
which at that time, was the only stop planned on the schedule. Later
the John Taber Dinner was accepted for the night before the
planned stop in Buffalo and this necessitated landing the airplane
in Syracuse to drive to Auburn for the Taber Dinner which then
added Syracuse activities to the schedule.
The detailed advance was made on May 4th, 5th and 6th by Haldeman
and Murphy with stops in all three cities - Auburn, Syracuse and
Buffalo.
Syracuse and Buffalo were also re-advanced on May 11th and 12th
and again on May 16th and the morning of the 17th.
The critique that follows is developed for the purpose of trying
to take advantage of the things we learned on this trip both
favorable and unfavorable so that we can capitalize on the good
points and correct the bad ones.
NEW YORK TRIP
- 2 -
CONFIDENTIAL
CRITIQUE
Airport Arrival - Syracuse: Location of parking spot for plane
and gathering of crowd was not good. The crowd was put in a large
field just adjacent to the Airport terminal area and consequently,
although there was a substantial turnout it did not look like a
big crowd (or at least as big a crowd as it might have) because of
the size of the field in which they were standing and the oppor-
tunity they had to string themselves along quite a lengthy fence
instead of being concentrated in a smaller area. This would have
been much better if the people had bean.concentrated in a smaller
lawn area within the Terminal grounds itself and could have been
handled just as well at that point.
The greeting committee was too large. There were probably 40 or
50 people on the field after the plane stopped in addition to the
Press. From now on, it should be clearly determined who is to form
the official greeting committee and they should be lined up in a
pre-determined order at the foot of the plane rather than allowing
a huge crowd just to descend on the party as they disembark. If
the greeting committee is lined up in a straight line extending
from the bottom of the ramp over towards the platform or the general
gathering of the crowd and is instructed to stay that way so the
Vice President and Mrs. Nixon can pass along the line, greeting
each of them, the photographers will have a much better opportunity
to get pictures and there will be a great deal less confusion.
Also, people will be able to see the Nixons better at all times
under this kind of a setup. The Press should be admitted to the
reception area, of course, but there should be some control of
what Press is let out into this area by a local committee member
who can identify working press. Then the press should be in-
structed to stand to one side so that there is an open area for
the receiving line, though which the Nixons will pass.
The Advance Man, while he is on the ground prior to the arrival,
should get this greeting committee lined up in proper order just
inside the fence and as soon as the plane has come to a stop,
and the propellers have stopped, he should lead the group out and
line them up in position. After they're lined up, the Press should
be brought out and asked to stand over to the other side so there's
a good clear aisle down the middle. As soon as the Nixons have
proceeded down the greeting line and the Press have had an oppor-
tunity to get the pictures they want, the Chairman of the greeting
group should escort the Nixons to the platform, if there is one
(which there was in Syracuse), and introduce Mrs. Nixon and then
the Vice President who will greet the crowd. After the Vice
President's greetings he will usually want to walk along the
fence and shake hands with the group that has assembled before
getting into the car.
The platform itself was good here. It was a very small wooden
stand with some steps going up to it and the mike was up on top of
it. There was a good speaker system and I think that that part
of the arrangements was worked out very well.
NEW YORK TRIP
- 3 -
CONFIDENTIAL
The location of the motorcade and the car lineup was not good.
From now on, the cars must be lined up in the actual order in
which they are going to move out and it's worth taking consider-
able time and effort to determine the best location of the motor-
cade so the cars can be lined up in proper order. In this case,
the staff and press cars were in one line and the Vice President's
car and the Secret Service follow-up car were lined up parallel
to them. This resulted in the second line having to swing in behind
the follow-up car and of course, other cars had an opportunity to
cut in at this point. Special attention should be given to the
motorcade location and lineup so that there is no opportunity for
cars that don't belong in the motorcade to cut in as it moves out.
It's also important to have the motorcade lined up in such a way
that the official party does not have to walk through the crowd
in order to get to the cars.
Baggage handling arrangements worked out very well. A baggage
truck was on hand and went directly to the plane as soon as the
party disembarked and then was sent direct to the Hotel while the
rest of the party went on to Auburn.
Airport Arrival - Buffalo: When we landed at the Buffalo Airport,
we discovered that instead of a small platform for the Vice Pres-
ident to stand on to speak briefly to the crowd, the local people
had arranged for him to use the landing stairs provided by Capital
Airlines. This would have resulted in the Vice President being
about 8 to 10 feet off the ground way up over the heads of the
crowd and looking down on them like Mussolini from a balcony. We
had to remove this stairway quickly and pull up a little baggage
truck for him to stand on. It should be emphasized that any
platform or area on which the Vice President is to stand should
not be more than 2 to 4 feet off the ground. It should be up as
close to the fence where the crowd is gathered as possible.
The informality of using one of the little baggage trucks that
are available in considerable quantity around all airports is
good and this is probably the best way to handle the platform
situation in most airports.
Motorcade - Motorcade from Syracuse to Auburn and back to Syracuse
for overnight was handled by the Auburn people and we ran into
some problems because we did not have direct enough control of
the drivers and the overall motorcade lineup. This was because
the drivers and cars came from Auburn which is some 26 miles
away from Syracuse and there was not sufficient opportunity to
brief the drivers on the operation of the motorcade. Also, for
some political reasons, the Sheriff's Department got involved at
the last minute and a number of changes were introduced that none
of us were aware of until they actually happened.
One of the problems was that the drivers were not in their cars at
the wheel with the motor running at the proper time. From now on,
NEW YORK TRIP
- 4 -
CONFIDENTIAL
emphasize that the drivers of the cars are not to be out watching
the activities, but are to be sitting in the cars, ready to go
with their motors running, as soon as the plane lands. This is
extremely important because it is sometimes necessary to make some
shifts in motorcade locations, and so on, at the last minute. The
problem here in Syracuse was that we couldn't make these shifts
because the drivers were not at the cars. The details on motor-
cade instructions in the Advance Man's Manual should be carefully
reviewed and all of them followed out from here on. We are having
prepared some printed numbers to go in the windows of each car,
and from now on we will number all of the cars in the official
motorcade starting with the Vice President's car as No. 1, Secret
Service follow-up car as No. 2 and then the balance of the cars
marked in sequence. We will use Car No. 3 for Nixon's staff; Cars
No. 4, 5 and 6 and however many more we need, will be for the
traveling press. Then, if an additional staff car is needed, it
will be at the end. Car No. 3 should just have a number in the
window. Cars 4, 5 and 6 and so on for the Press should have the
number and the word "Press" in the window. We are having some
signs printed up saying "Press" for this purpose.
From now on, we will make it clear to the members of the traveling
partv what car number they are to get into so that there will be
no confusion on location of people within the motorcade. This was
a problem that arose at several points during the New York trip.
By having the cars numbered, we can also be sure they are lined
up in proper order at all stops along the way.
One major revision in motorcade procedure
from now on, we will
not use a lead car for any motorcade. If there is to be an escort
of motorcycle police they should have sufficient motorcycles to
insure that intersections are covered for the full length of the
motorcade
not just long enough to let the head car go
through.
As far as the lead car is concerned, the local police generally
seem to want to use one. However, this creates considerable con-
fusion because the people along the route think the lead car is
the one in which the Vice President is riding. By the time they
realize it isn't and start to look for him in the other cars, he's
gotten by them and they don't get a chance to see him. In order
to eliminate this confusion, the first car in the lineup will be
the Vice President's car. There will not be a lead car ahead of him.
It will still be satisfactory and actually desireable, to have
a police car at the end of the motorcade to make sure that the
lineup stays intact and that there is no cutting in of other
cars or one of our cars doesn't get left behind.
The normal procedure for a motorcade will be similar to that
used by funeral processions in most areas that is, as we approach
an intersection that is controlled by a traffic signal, if the
signal is red, the motorcade will stop and wait til the light
changes to green. If the signal is green when the No. 1 car
NEW YORK TRIP
- 5 -
CONFIDENTIAL
approaches the intersection, it will proceed through. There then
should be an officer, either motorcycle or on foot, in the inter-
section, to make sure that the entire motorcade is able to proceed
through the intersection safely, even if the light turns red before
the last car is cleared. Thus it's necessary that the intersection
be manned until the final car in the motorcade has cleared the
intersection. Then the motorcycle officer, if we're using motor-
cycles, can proceed to the next intersection but he should not
just swing into the intersection and signal the traffic to stop and
then cruise on, leaving the cars to get through as best they can.
This is extremely important and must be emphasized both to the
local Secret Service personnel and to the police.
It will probably be easier to do this if the Advance Man arranges
to meet with the police chief and the Secret Service Agent who is
handling the Advance arrangements during the initial Advance.
This is a revision of earlier instructions to some extent, in that
normally we do not get involved with police arrangements, but I
think it's important that the Advance Men explain, in the presence
of the Secret Service of course, to the police - the purpose of
a motorcade escort which is solely to assure that the motorcade
stays together and proceeds safely. It is not for the protection
of the Vice President and the occupants of the No. 1 car.
Under this type of an escort, there is, of course, no need for
sirens because the intersections don't need to be cleared. In
other words, we wait until the light changes to green before we
go through with the No. 1 car and once we have started through,
the officer in the intersection holds approaching traffic until
the entire motorcade has gotten through.
There is still some problem in driver instruction, in that many
of the drivers were older than they should have been and they
had not been sufficiently well instructed in their duties, so
that they knew they were to stick to driving the car and not to
engage the traveling party in conversation.
The new arrangement eliminating a police lead car puts a premium,
of course, on the selection of a driver for the Vice President's
car since he will be in virtual complete control of the motorcade
as far as route and speed are concerned. It's absolutely essential
that this driver be someone who is thoroughly familiar with the
local area and who has carefully dry-run the route several times
and he should do this for a final time just before the arrival
of the party so he is familiar with all road conditions, and so
forth on the route at that time. You should work out with him,
the speed at which the motorcade will travel on the various seg-
ments of the route and he should understand that instructions may
be given to him by the traveling Secret Service agent riding in
the No. 1 car, to speed up or slow down the Motorcade and he should
be prepared to do so. If there is a motorcycle escort, they should
take their directions on speed from the driver of the No. 1 car
merely by observing the speed he's traveling and gearing their
plans accordingly.
NEW YORK TRIP
- 6 -
CONFIDENTIAL
After the motorcade arrives at its destination and the party has
di sembarked, the cars should be parked in the proper order so
that the motorcade is ready to move out without any juggling of
cars, This was not done on the New York trip and created con-
siderable confusion and required the expenditure of a lot of time
trying to get the cars ready to go out.
We ran into a number of problems of local Sheriffs, etc., getting
into the motorcade act and this again emphasizes the need for
carefully and specifically working out the details of the motorcade
with the motorcade chairmen, the drivers, Secret Service and the
police, so that they all understand which cars and which people
are to be in the motorcade and make sure it is restricted to those
cars and people.
Hotel Accommodations - In Auburn we ran into some Hotel problems
which probably couldn't have been avolded due to the nature of
the Hotel itself. They did not have a suite which could be used
by the Vice President and Mrs. Nixon; therefore they had to use
two bedrooms which did not connect. We were only there for a
short time prior to the dinner, but this was not a satisfactory
arrangement. Also, the rooms assigned to staff and press, to get
cleaned up and for working area, were not adequate and were not
clearly identified in advance so that the staff and press knew
where to go when they arrived at the Hotel.
From now on, at all stops in hotels where we are not staying
overnight but merely going in for a period of time prior to an
event, it will be nécessary to have, if at all possible, a suite
with living room and two bedrooms for the Vice President and an
adjacent room for the travelling Secret Service, five rooms for
the travelling staff all in the same area, and if possible, ad-
jacent or in a row from the Vice President's suite. These should
be identified as rooms for (1) Klein (2) Finch (3) Hughes (4) Woods
and (5) Office. There may be changes in this lineup on specific
trips and if so, you will be notified.
In addition to these rooms, for the Nixons and staff, there must
be an adequate work room for the press with table and sufficient
chairs on another floor in the Hotel. This room should be avail-
able to the traveling press for the entire period of the stop.
In other words, it should be open and available on arrival and
the press should have access to this room during all the time
the party is at this hotel. Adjacent to the press workroom
should be two bedrooms available for the press as a place to
refresh themselves and get cleaned up. These arrangements are,
of course, in hotels where we are not staying overnight. The
arrangements for overnight stops are the same as covered in the
Advance Man instructions.
NEW YORK TRIP
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CONFIDENTIAL
It is important that the specific rooms be assigned in advance
of the arrival and that a room list be prpeared by the Hotel
with enough copies so that one canbe given to each of the
following: Rose Woods, Herb Klein, Don Hughes, one of the
traveling Secret Service Agents and the Advance Man. This
includes the room numbers for both thestaff and the press.
On non-overnight hotel stops, the keys should be in the doors
of all the rooms being used by the party, both press and staff,
so that everyone can go in immediately upon arrival. This was
not done on this trip because the hotels resisted putting the
keys in the doors. It must be made clear to them that this is
our standard procedure and it is essential that it be followed.
Otherwise there is terrific confusion trying to get the keys or
get the doors open. They key should be in the door on arrival
and be left in the door during the time we are there unless one
of the rooms has to be locked by its occupant for some particular
reason.
The Auburn Inn did not have the proper facilities to make the
above arrangements and since the elevator was not adequate, we
had to put everybody on the same floor, press, the Vice President's
party, the room for the press conference, local dignitaries, etc.
This was not satisfactory but it was unavoidable in this particular
instance. Any possible way of avoiding this in the future should
be considered.
The room in the hotel in Auburn for the press conference was very
inadequate. It was too small and also had no ventilation. Con-
sequently, it was extremely hot. There may not have been any
other room available but it would probably have been preferable
in this case to have held the press conference at the end of the
hall in a secured area rather than to cram everyone into this
room.
There was also, as there is in many stops, insufficient briefing
of local security officers on identification of press and staff
personnel.
It is essential to have an IBM typewriter on a stand in the
office at all hotel stops whether or not they are for overnight.
Even if the stop is only a brief one, as far as the party is
concerned, it may be necessary for Miss Woods to remain in the
office during the actual event and a typewriter should be provided
at every stop.
Meeting Auburn - The meeting at Auburn was not supposed to be
preceded by any reception. But at the last minute the County
Chairman who was also Chairman of the dinner, worked in a stop-by
with a group of other County Chairmen for the purpose of taking
pictures and then a sort of head-table reception. This was con-
siderably different than the advance arrangements and it is al-
ways going to be a problem trying to keep up with last-minute
NEW YORK TRIP
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CONFIDENTIAL
changes. This emphasizes the necessity, however, of making it
clear to the local Chairman, when you are in on an Advance, that
the specific details of the plan and schedule as you work it
out must not be changed in any respect without prior clearance
with you. Otherwise, these changes create a great deal of
confusion on the part of the local group as well as the traveling
party. This is unnecessary and can be avoided if it is clearly
understood that the schedule and route and timing are to remain
as originally agreed upon unless changes are worked out with the
Advance Man. In case there are any changes worked out, be sure
to keep Don Hughes advised of the revisions as they occur so that
he can have the Vice President and Mrs. Nixon in the proper place
at the proper time with sufficient advance warning.
The meeting itself at Auburn was good in that they eliminated
having a large number of speeches prior to the Vice President's
speech. This is quite an accomplishment at a testimonial dinner
where the program often can include four or five feature speakers
in addition to the Vice President. The physical area of the ball-
room and the rest of the ground floor of the hotel was not good
for a banquet of this kind and on future stops an effort should be
made to have the event held in a more suitable place. In this
case, they oversold the dinner and this resulted in the room being
so overcrowded that there was insufficient ventilation and it was
most uncomfortable for those present. This should be kept in mind
when selecting a site for the meeting or dinner or whatever is
planned.
The dinner Chairman had not been instructed to ask the audience
to remain in their places until the Vice President and his party
had left the auditorium. This was an unfortunate oversight as
it was very difficult to leave the hall with the crowd moving
out at the same time. This instruction should be given in the
future.
There was a complete breakdown in the arrangement for seating
at the dinner for the Washington press. Sufficient table space
had been reserved and was clearly marked bysigns on the tables
saying "Washington Press" but the local people disregarded
these signs and seated themselves at the tables anyway so that
when our press group arrived at the dinner, there were no seats
for them. This resulted in a great deal of confusion and the
necessity of special handling of the press and taking care of
giving them dinner at another part of the hotel and getting them
in for the speech afterwards. This was extremely unsatisfactory
and it is going to be necessary in the future to have the local
committee assign a person specifically to the sole job of staying
at the tables or in the section reserved for the Washington
traveling press and not letting anyone occupy the seats reserved
for our press group except the members of our press group. This
must be done at all stops from now on. It's become a problem at
every stop and it is getting worse all the time. Please be sure
NEW YORK TRIP
- 9 -
CONFIDENTIAL
that without exception there is at every stop a specific person
handling this one job. This should not be the man who is hand-
ling the overall publicity or other press arrangements because
he is always getting called away. He should have a deputy who
has no other assignment than to protect the seating arrangements
for the traveling press. This deputy should be actually be at
the location and should remain there until all the traveling press
has arrived and been seated and he is sure that they are taken
care of.
In reserving seats for the traveling press, reserve enough seats
for all the members of the press that you've been informed are
coming, plus one for Herb Klein, plus two for members of the staff
who may have to sit in this section. These seats should be in
addition to those that are required by the Secret Service and it
is not your responsibility to worry about how many or where the
Secret Service will be located.
We also ran into a problem on the tape recording of the press con-
ference and the speech at the dinner. It must be emphasized
again that the tape recording of the speeches and press conferences
must be made for our purposes and turned over to the Advance Man
immediately at the end of the speech. Our problem on this trip
was that a tape recording was made but a number of different
people wanted copies of it and there wasn't a copy available for
us to take with us. We had to have it sent on later and this is
not satisfactory because there is frequently a breakdown in
getting the tape sent on. Therefore the local committee must
be informed that, regardless of what other tape recordings are
made of the meeting, they must retain someone to make a tape re-
cording for the Vice President's Press Secretary which is to be
turned over immediately at the conclusion of the speech to the
Advance Man and cannot be used for any other purposes. This is
extremely important and must not be overlooked in the future.
Meeting - Buffalo - At the Sales Executives Dinner in Buffalo
the entrance of the head table group had been carefully worked
out in advance as had the timing of the Vice President's arrival
at the reception. However, the local arrangements man had neg-
lected to pass this information on to the President of the Na-
tional Sales Executives and there was, therefore, confusion about
the time that the Vice President was expected to arrive at the
reception. There was also a major change in the method of bring-
ing the head table group into the ballroom.
This points up again the necessity of the Advance Man constantly
checking and rechecking with the local people to be sure that the
plans are going to proceed as originally arranged, or if there
are any changes, that he is aware of them and has passed them
on to Don Hughes immediately.
In this particular case, the arrival time at the reception problem
was handled by contacting the president of the N.S.E. and explain-
NEW YORK TRIP
- 10 -
CONFIDENTIAL
ing that the Vice President was detained on official matters in
his suite and would be along in a few minutes. This worked out
all right.
As far as the entrance of the head table into the dinner, the
revised arrangement was not a good one and at the last minute,
working with the Secret Service, we changed it so that the Pres-
ident of NSE and the Vice President and their wives entered the
hall according to the original arrangement while the balance of
the head table entered according to the revised plan. This
worked out very well but it could have created a serious problem
if it had not been discovered and dealt with ahead of time.
Television Arrangements - While there was fairly good television
coverage of some parts of this trip, the Auburn dinner was not
covered by TV at all. Arrangements should have been made with
the Syracuse television station or one of the TV news services to
cover this dinner with sound on film for later news release if at
all possible. Also, the press meeting in Auburn was not covered
by television and this, of course, should have been done. The
Advance Man should make sure that the local press and publicity
people contact all possible television outlets to be sure that
they are aware of the schedule and know that they can cover the
various events. Arrangements must always be made so that the
physical facilities are such that it is possible to cover the
event by television.
Press Arrangements - A number of items on press arrangements
have been covered above as far as the hotel and meetings are
concerned. One problem that seems to be constantly recurring
is that of Western Union coverage. We did contact the Western
Union offices and emphasized to them the necessity for covering all
stops on the schedule and so on. But there is still inadequate
service from Western Union. Steps are being taken in Washington
to try to correct this but the Advance Man ahould make sure that
local Western Union office is fully informed on the details of
the schedule and location of stops and they should be instructed
to have all stops covered and to be prepared to service the
press in the hotel press workroom at any time during the visit.
Arrangements should be made for twenty-four hour service during
the time we are in the area so that stories that are written late
at night can be filled immediately upon completion.
On airport arrivals and in other crowded areas, the Western Union
man should probably have about an eight-foot pole with a sign
saying "Western Union" at the top of it that he holds when he
is standing in the crowd so that the press can quickly locate
him and turn their material over to him. He should also wear
a Western Union badge so that he is readily identifiable by the
Press and he should make himself known to Herb Klein immediately
upon arrival of the party at any particular location. He should
NEW YORK TRIP
- 11 -
CONFIDENTIAL
be available in the press section at the meeting, near the
press area at the dinners, and in the press workroom at the
hotel.
General Security Arrangements - We ran into several problems
in connection with the local security people. These result from
an understandable overzealousness on the part of local police
and detectives to make sure that all security precautions are
properly carried out. This can be, of course, carried too far
and if it is, it creates some problems which could be avoided.
One situation that arose was that, in admitting members of the
press to the room in Auburn where the press conference was to be
held, the detectives insisted on searching their typewriter cases
(to be sure that they weren't smuggling any contraband into the
room, apparently). It should be made clear to security officers
that it's not necessary to search people but merely to check
credentials of some sort to be sure that they are authorized
to enter the room for the press conference. In this connection
it is all right to use a plain-clothes detective at the door
to the press conference to aid in checking people in. But there
must also be a local press chairman who is at the door and
can identify people and clear them in. They don't always have
the necessary credentials, at least to the police department's
satisfaction; but it is important all unauthorized people be
kept out of the press conference. The problem here, though,
is that someone with some judgment and discretion should be at
the door to clear people who arrive at the last minute without
proper identification.
Another situation arose with the detective who was assigned to
secure the Vice President's room at the Auburn Hotel. When the
party arrived he would not permit the Advance Man to open the
door to the room to let the Vice President in, even though the
Vice President and Mrs. Nixon were standing immediately behind
the Advance Man. Local security personnel should be advised
by the Secret Service that the identification badge worn by mem-
bers of the Vice President's staff entitled them to access to
any area at any time regardless of the security arrangements
covering that area. This is extremely important so that we
can avoid delays and embarrassment in moving from one place to
another. The Secret Service should have a meeting with the
police, which they generally do, and at that time should show
them the identification button currently being worn by staff
members so that they understand that anyone with that badge on
is a member of the staff and thus has access to all areas.
On the arrival in Buffalo and especially the drive through the
downtown area to the meeting place at the Lafayette Hotel, there
were quite a large number of police officers manning the various
intersections the motorcade was to pass through. They had
parked their motorcycles at the corner and then stood in the
intersection to clear traffic as the motorcade arrived. This
NEW YORK TRIP
- 12 -
CONFIDENTIAL
has a secondary advantage in that, especially in a downtown area,
the presence of the policeman at the intersection and his explana-
tion of his presence to passers-by that he is handling traffic
for the Vice President's motorcade, will result in people waiting
on the sidewalk to watch the motorcade pass by and this, of course,
is good.
The same old problem of too many police, especially uniformed
police, kept occurring during this trip. This is a hard one to lick
but we should keep working at it and it should be very carefully
and thoroughly covered during the initial advance and strongly
emphasized to the Secret Service as well as to the police in your
meeting with them. There is no need for uniform policemen to move
along with the Vice President nor is there any need for a large
number of detectives to move along with the Vice President through
the crowd. Local security personnel should be informed that their
job is primarily one of crowd control and that the Vice President
prefers to have freedom of movement around the area and that we
are especially anxious not to have a large uniformed body guard
around the Vice President.
We also had the problem in Buffalo of the local police camping
in the hotel room adjacent to the Vice President's suite
which had been reserved for the Secret Service. It must be made
clear that the room reserved for the Secret Service in a hotel
whether for a short stop or overnight is strictly for the use of
the two agents traveling with the Vice President. If any hotel
arrangements or accommodations are to be made for other security
personnel they are to be in an area of the hotel completely re-
moved from that occupied by the Vice President's party.
There were also a number of plain-clothes detectives and uniformed
police standing around in the halls of the hotel at most of
the stops. This should be avoided too. There is no need for
anyone other than one man to cover the checkpoint in the hotel
corridor. A group of people standing around creates a bad im-
pression and they make a lot of noise which makes it difficult
to work in the area.
Advance Man Procedure During Visit - It should be emphasized
again that the Advance Man's job is to be ahead of the party
upon its arrival at each stop during the visit. In other words,
once the Vice President is on the ground at the airport and the
ceremonies there are under way, the Advance Man should get in
the car he has arranged for this purpose and proceed to the next
stop to be sure that everything is in readiness for the Vice
President's arrival. It is not necessary for the Advance Man
to proceed with the Vice President and his party during the
various points in the visit with rare exceptions. On the con-
trary, it is important that there not be a lot of people around
the Vice President making it look as if he were carrying a huge
crew with him.
NEW YORK TRIP
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CONFIDENTIAL
The Advance Man should use any time that he has available
during the actual visit to re-check all details of motorcade
lineup and other arrangements to be sure that everything is
going to proceed smoothly and to make sure that all arrangements
are confirmed with the people on the ground who will be carrying
them out.
NEW YORK - May 17, 18
COPY
The Vice President and Mrs. Nixon's Schedule
Tuesday, May 17, 1960
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
2:30 p.m. Both
Depart Capitol with Mrs. Nixon for Washington
National Airport
2:50 p.m. Both
Arrive Hanger #8, next to Butler Aviation
for United Air Lines Charter
3:00 p.m.
Both
Takeoff on United Air Lines Charter for
Syracuse, New York
5:00 p.m.
Both
Arrive Syracuse Airport, Municipal Terminal -
brief reception Congressman Taber (and possibly
Mrs.) to ride with you to Auburn
5:20 p.m.
Both
Depart Airport for Auburn by motorcade
6:30 p.m.
Both
Arrive Auburn Inn
RN
Meet Press
PN
Proceed to Suite
6:45 p.m. RN
Proceed to Suite
7:15 p.m.
Both
Depart suite for ballroom - JOHN TABER
TESTIMONIAL DINNER (approximately 1000 guests) -
no reception - business suit -- (dinner in
progress since 7:00 p.m.)
Both
Head table group enters
Invocation
National Anthem
8:30 p.m.
Both
Program Begins
Charles Cusick, M.C. (Auburn attorney)
Introductions of head table and dis-
tinguished guests
Presentations to Mrs. Taber and Mrs. Nixon
Presentation to Congressman Taber and
acknowledgments by him
INTRODUCTION OF THE VICE PRESIDENT by Cusick
Presentation of Eisenhower painting by
the Vice President to Congressman Taber
BRIEF REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT
10:00 p.m. Both
Dinner over -- Depart Auburn for Syracuse
10:45 p.m. Both
Arrive Syracuse Hotel, Syracuse - proceed
to suite
- 2 -
The Vice President and Mrs. Nixon's Schedule
Wednesday, May 18, 1960 -- SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO, NEW YORK
7:55 a.m.
RN
Steve Rogers will arrive to escort you to
Breakfast. He is Publisher of the Syracuse
HERALD JOURNAL.
8:00 a.m. RN
Breakfast with Casey Jones Group and Syracuse
Press Club (Steven Rogers host). Q&A from
the floor from members of Syracuse Press Club--
Persian Terrace of the Hotel Syracuse.
8:20 a.m.
PN
Mrs. Norma Stone, Vice Chairman of County
Republican Women will arrive to escort Mrs.
Nixon to her reception
8:30 a.m.
PN
Guest of County Republican Women for coffee
and donuts (Mrs. Stone hostess) -- Onondaga
Hotel (one block travel) Return to Suite
after reception
9:30 a.m.
RN
Q & A Over - return to suite
10:15 a.m. Both
Depart for Airport
10:45 a.m. Both
Take off for Buffalo
11:30 a.m. Both
Arrive Buffalo Airport reception
11:45 a.m. Both
Depart Airport - Senator Cooke, County Chairman
to ride with you.
12:15 p.m. Both
Arrive Lafayette Hotel
12:30 p.m. Both
Party workers reception at Hotel -- Buffet
luncheon and reception -- large crowd --
reception line RN & PN only
2:30 p.m.
Both
Reception over -- proceed to suite in Lafayette
Hotel
2:50 p.m.
RN
Depart for AME Zion Conference, Memorial Aud.
3:00 p.m.
RN
Greet AME Zion Conference
3:30 p.m.
RN
Depart AME Zion Conference for Hotel Statler
PN to join you after conference
4:00 p.m.
RN
Press Conference in Statler Hotel
PN
Meet ladies of press in suite
4:45 p.m.
Both
In Suite for Staff work
- 3 -
The Vice President and Mrs. Nixon's Schedule
6:45 p.m.
Both
Reception of National Sales Executives --
in progress since 6:00 p.m. (approximately
250 guests) BLACK TIE
7:15 p.m.
Both
The Head Table proceeds to National Sales
Executives Dinner (1600 guests approximately)
8:45 p.m.
Both
Program begins
Introductions and induction of new
officers
9:00 p.m.
RN
THE VICE PRESIDENT SPEAKS
9:30 p.m.
Both
Dinner over
9:45 p.m.
Both
Depart Hotel for Airport
10:15 p.m.
Both
Takeoff for Washington
12:30 a.m.
Both
Arrive Washington National Airport - Hanger #8
next to Butler Aviaition on United Air
Lines Charter.
NEWS FOCUS -
file unspectipping
Charles Bartlett - editor
Walter Pincus
a look at the week
N.A. Steers
-NYtrup
1035 National Press Bldg.
Washington 4, D.C.
VOL III - 19
(PREPARED IN WASHINGTON FOR SUNDAY NEWSPAPERS OF MAY 22, 1960)
-NIXON MOVES INTO GEAR-
-KHRUSHCHEV AND THE U. S. CAMPAIGN-
-THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE - A HISTORY-
-NIXON'S RUNNING MATE-
-WASHINGTON PERSPECTIVE-
RICHARD NIXON - BACK ON THE STUMP
BUFFALO, N.Y. This was Richard Nixon's first week of intense public
exposure as a presidential candidate and it augured well for the long
ones that lay ahead.
Many felt that the Vice President would lose his platform impact
when he began to talk for Nixon instead of Eisenhower but in visits to
Syracuse, Auburn, and Buffalo, he proved that he can pull crowds of
surprising magnitude and spark them with enthusiasm for his cause.
To some veteran observers, he appeared calmer, more relaxed and
assured as the candidate in his own right.
An innocent bystander, noting the large crowds, the aggressive
Republican atmosphere, and Nixon's earnest salesmanship, might have
concluded with justice that the presidential election was in full cry.
The fact is that Nixon has been pressed by John Kennedy's early option
on the Democratic nomination, by the lagging spirit of Republican or-
ganizations across the country, and by the pleas of his own supporters
that he get going into advancing his timetable ahead of his original
plans.
The exposure began dramatically with a gruelling television
session on Sunday night in which he fielded hostile questions for
three hours and forty five minutes. Nixon was jubilant when he fin-
ished because he knew he had done well. The response which poured in
from exhausted viewers next day bore him out.
The New York response was equally reassuring in demonstrating his
impact upon varied groups including a dinner of staunch Republicans in
Auburn, a huge press breakfast in Syracuse, a national conference of
Negro church leaders in Buffalo, and a huge convention of sales execu-
tives in the same city. In each case the reaction to Nixon was in-
tensely favorable.
Women, leaving the halls where he had spoken, tended to describe
him as "wonderful" and the men as "down-to-earth" and "sincere." The
feeling was invariably stated in superlatives and there was little
criticism, even among the Negroes who seemed undismayed by the pros-
pect of voting for a Republican. They cheered long and loud when the
presiding bishop declared, "We have loved you for using the power of
your office in our behalf."
This deep penetration into New York gave assurance to the feeling
of the Nixon camp that Nelson Rockefeller is no longer a serious threat
for the nomination. Nixon lieutenants have discovered no signs that
-2-
anyone significant is moving toward the governor in any state and even
here in New York, the trend is clearly toward the Vice President.
Traveling GOP politicos report that the Governor's name is rarely
mentioned in their discussions and at last week's GOP convention in
Michigan, where the party is dominated by the liberal wing, there was
no talk of Rockefeller.
The only tender of his candidacy that Nixon encountered in up-
state New York was the jolly presence of the state chairman, Judson
Morhouse, at Auburn. Morhouse is the agent keeping the door open for
a Rockefeller move if the winds should suddenly turn propitious.
Morhouse will have the staff and the telephones to do the job at
Chicago if the opportunity emerges. But the prospect has been
severely dimmed by the showing of the primaries that the Governor
has no broad following in the country. In Pennsylvania, for example,
Nixon attracted more write-in votes on Democratic ballots than
Rockefeller received from Republicans.
Stumping in his own name for the first time since 1950, Nixon
drew heavily on his high office and close relations with the mighty.
His placards carried the word "experienced" above his picture and he
adverted frequently in his speeches to the responsibilities he has
borne and the problems he has faced. "I have just talked by tele-
phone to the President in Paris," he said several times in Buffalo
and his speeches were laced with direct quotations from the mighty.
"As Adenauer told me when he was dining at my home last month," he
would begin. Some will call it name-dropping but the net effect,
when Americans want a president who can match the primacy of their
nation, is inevitably enhancing.
Touching on domestic affairs, Nixon's emphasis leaned heavily on
the cornerstones of Republican philosophy - the need to slow the drift
of power into central government and to inhibit spending; the crucial
role of free enterprise. His strategy is to use this time to harden
his Republican support, get the conservatives solidly behind him, and
then as the campaign moves toward its climax, to embrace the more con-
troversial programs that will bring him independent votes.
He laid heavy stress on his loyalty to Eisenhower and on the
close concurrence that exists between them on most issues. He made
a virtue of his support for the administration's less popular pro-
grams, particularly mutual aid. He told the sales executives in
Buffalo that he was going to speak to them for a moment of something
on which many disagree and gave an eloquent defense of the foreign
aid bill. The convention interrupted him to clap its approval of his
stand but Nixon went on to conclude: "I could say many more palatable
things but this needed to be said and I wanted to say it."
The Nixon entourage exudes an aura of quiet professionalism even
in these early travels. Mrs. Nixon knows the game well. She wears
pastel clothes to match any corsage that may come her way and when
she receives a bunch of roses, she is apt to distribute them one by
one to the ladies around her. In every gesture and expression she is
the perfect candidate's wife.
The chief aides, Robert Finch, Herbert Klein, and Robert
Halderman, are bright and alert and they perform with all the effi-
ciency and none of the bustle which brought acclaim and a certain
measure of disaffection to Thomas Dewey's campaign team.
Nixon has been compared to Dewey by some including Dewey himself
for a lack of ability to generate warmth and human appeal on the
stump. If this comparison was valid once, it exists no more in the
Vice President's relaxed and smiling manner among the crowds. In
contrast with Dewey in 1948, he is patient in the hands of the local
-3-
politicians, relaxed in dealing with those who want to talk, and ap-
parently happy in the banter of cliches with the kids.
His own speeches were laden with humorous inserts at which he
smiled more than anyone and with homely tributes to the food and hos-
pitality. "They've done a wonderful job of preparing this dinner,"
he said in Auburn. "Let's all stand up and give them a hand." He
often alluded to local teams or sports figures.
Televiewers last Sunday night saw a slightly nervous, formal,
and deadly serious Vice President but the grass roots see a buoyant
and almost gay personality with a full deep voice that often runs on
a bit. Nixon has plainly schooled himself well against the abrupt,
gruff word, the partisan reaction that will lend validity to the
hostile image which his opponents are anxious to keep alive.
This image is one of the two toughest burdens that Nixon carries
in going to the nation. It appears in signs like the ones in Syracuse
that read: "Two faces are better than one. Ask Tricky Dick Nixon."
Or it appears in the taxi driver, a Republican, who says, "They'll
never elect him. The people are afraid of him."
The other problem is the Republican lassitude, the failure of
the organization to perk up for what will inevitably be one of the
liveliest elections in history. Reports from all over the country
to the Nixon headquarters tell the same story - the Republican regis-
tration totals are going down while the Democratic registration rises.
The organizations are simply not doing their job. "When conservatives
think things are going well," sadly observes one of Nixon's strate-
gists, "they don't give a damn about politics. The others work all
the time."
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