Kup's Chicago - Irv Kupcinet [63]
Another theory has it that when Ike learned that Truman was being by-passed for the nomination, he decided not to become part of any move that would be disloyal to his World War II Commander in Chief. (At this time, remember, the admiration that the two men had for each other had not yet dissipated into the bitter feud which was to develop in later years.)
As soon as Arvey received the news that Ike was no longer available, he rushed to New York to meet with Mayor O’Dwyer and Jimmy Roosevelt. Arvey and O’Dwyer issued a public statement, pledging their support to Truman. (Roosevelt declined to sign the statement, because he still doubted Truman’s ability to win in 1948, and wanted to further explore the case for Justice Douglas.)
Arvey then returned to Chicago. To avoid the press, which was clamoring for more information on the Eisenhower story, he secluded himself in the Lake Shore Drive Hotel apartment of an old friend, Colonel Charles Baron. No sooner had Jack climbed into bed for some much-needed sleep than the telephone rang.
“The White House calling,” announced the operator. As no one except Baron knew where he was, Arvey suspected a rib. He was about to hang up, but there was something in the operator’s voice that prompted him to hold the wire.
A moment later, President Truman was on the phone.
“I just read the statement you issued in my behalf, Jack,” said the President. “I want you to know I’m very grateful, and that you never will have any cause to regret your support.”
From that time on, the Truman-Arvey relationship, which had for a time been so cool, ripened into a deep friendship that has grown with the years.
Arvey is in semiretirement now, and Mayor Dick Daley is Chicago’s “Mister Democrat” and the most powerful leader of the party in Illinois. As mayor he wields all the power that goes with being chief executive of the nation’s second-largest city, and this position is strengthened immeasurably by the fact that of Chicago’s fifty aldermen, at least forty-five are not only of his party but are also solidly in his corner. Alderman Thomas Keane, of the West Side’s Thirty-first Ward, who is City Council Finance Chairman and number two man in the organization, works as closely and harmoniously with Daley as any administration floor leader ever has with his mayor. Because of this, and because he is also Cook County Democratic Chairman, Daley is the dominant figure behind the scenes in the great complex of municipal and county functions, which includes the Cook County Board of Supervisors; the Circuit, Superior, and Criminal Courts; the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago; the Chicago Park District; the Municipal Court; and such important county administrative offices as those of the County Clerk, the County Treasurer, the State’s Attorney, and the Coroner. His commanding presence is also felt in the Illinois State House of Representatives, and in all but one of the major State administrative offices in Springfield – starting with the governorship. (Charles E. Carpentier, the Secretary of State, is a Republican.)
Daley has more power than any of his predecessors ever enjoyed. Were he other than the responsible public official that he has proved himself to be thus far, this fact might be cause for genuine alarm. But on the whole, Daley has used his position wisely, helping Chicago to achieve more efficient municipal management than ever before. Among the accomplishments to which he can point with pride are Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, the McCormick Place Convention Hall, the Hyde Park-Kenwood Renewal Program (in the area around the University of Chicago), and such public relations coups as the visit of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip for the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
“Good politics is good government, and vice versa,