Election time was 16 long months away, but Republicans as well as Democrats were already beginning to hear the call. Across the nation, in surprising numbers, Republicans were cheerfully spending $100 bills for a platter of chicken and a hard seat at a fund-raising dinner. The California party overflowed Los Angeles' Biltmore Bowl and took in $130,000. At Milwaukee a fortnight ago, the Wisconsin G.O.P. $100-a-plate affair, featuring Senator Robert A. Taft as speaker, drew 2,250 enthusiastic listeners. More dinners were on the way.
Almost all G.O.P. professionals seemed convinced that their opponent in 1952 would be Harry Truman, and...
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