(2 of 2)
Ventured Witticism. The rest of the Wallace tour continued through an atmosphere of smoldering but restrained hostility. There were lapses. In Monroe, La., a tomato sploshed on his car. In Shreveport, he ran into a barrage of eggs and tomatoes. One egg struck his car in Memphis. But at his last speeches in Tennessee, in the heart of TVA territory, he was cheered. Wallace plucked up his spirits, ventured a witticism. He declared that he was trying to develop an egg of higher viscosity. "It won't scatter so far when it breaks—a sort of non-spattering egg."
What had he achieved? He had thrown a harsh light on the problem of racial segregation—a problem which the U.S. as a whole cannot continue to shrug off. He had shown that there are a few hooligans in the South and also responsible statesmen who deplore hooliganism. He had found material for future demagogic campaign speeches, although it was unlikely that he had changed many votes.
Wrote the Charlotte, N.C. News: ". . . he mortifies us. There are men in the world who are bothered with neither Henry Wallace's confusion nor his extensive good will. They are trading on him, and he, the poor sap, is peddling his wares of doubt, uncertainty, and confusion, scourging himself and singing psalms."
In Rexburg, Idaho, two ex-G.I.s tossed peaches and eggs at Senator Glen Taylor, Henry Wallace's running mate. In West Frankfort, a southern Illinois mining town, a gang of young toughs broke up a meeting and stoned Curtis MacDougall, Progressive candidate for U.S. Senator. MacDougall was hit by ten stones as he retreated to his trailer with his wife and children. At week's end, Tass's New York Bureau gleefully cabled Moscow that an organized reign of terror conducted by "fascist hooligans" was under way against Wallace and his Progressives.
* St. Matthew 10:14