(7 of 8)
Most of all, Kerner is vulnerable to the charge of being a Daley stooge, and that is the theme Percy has played endlessly in the campaign. So far, Percy has traveled more than 200,000 miles through the state, visited every one of the 102 counties at least once, and more than half of them several times. He has appeared at no fewer than 70 local fairs, attended more than 2,000 rallies, dinners and other functions. When Bar ry Goldwater turned up in Illinois last week, Percy was there to introduce him to a local audience, but took his leave as soon as he decently could.
The Federal Balance. The reason is fairly obvious to those who have observed Percy over the years: he and Goldwater are miles apart on many issues. Percy, for example, reflects the tone and content of the 1960 Republican platform, which is more moderate than the Goldwater platform. Though Percy opposes an open-occupancy law in Illinois, his position on civil rights is far more liberal than Goldwater's.
Just before the Senate voted on the 1964 Civil Rights Act last June, Percy announced that "if I were in the Senate.
I would vote for the bill." The 1959 committee on goals for Republicans that Percy chaired for Eisenhower took a view that was in general more moderate than Goldwater's; it endorsed low tariffs, cultural exchange and trade with Communist countries.
In his gubernatorial campaign, though, Percy has been sticking strictly to state and local issues. He has nailed Kerner for shortsightedness in planning state aid to schools (which runs about 20% of school costs v. a national aver age of 40%), for failure to cope with Chicago's notorious crime record, and for overall governmental inefficiency, with special emphasis on Illinois' outmoded tax programs. One recurrent Percy theme concerns the need for stronger state government. "For many years now," he says, "we have been hearing complaints about the erosion of states' rights and states' power, and the accompanying growth of national power. State government is everywhere in bad repute, in Illinois as well as in other states of the Union. The federal balance is in jeopardy because of the inability and the unwillingness of the states to assume their proper duty. I, for one, am ready to suggest that we stop begging for states' rights and begin fulfilling states' responsibility."
Typically, Percy runs a high-geared organization. It is directed by a young (35) Burlington Railroad attorney named Tom Hauser, consists of eight departments, each headed by its own chief. One department provides position papers and speech drafts. Another takes care of organizing "Businessmen for Percy" and "Doctors for Percy." Another handles liaison among state candidates, and still another, public relations. There is even a department called "The Office of Take-Over," which is working out details on jobs and legislative programs against the day that Percy moves into the Statehouse.