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It Is hardly surprising that
thousands of glowing tributes
have been paid Adlal Steven-
son since his unexpected death.
No one had to handle the truth
carelessly in order to say
something good about the de
ceased.
Stevenson was admired for
many things. This editor re
spected him most for the man
ner In which he accepted with
out bitterness his defeat In
two Presidential elections.
Few aspirants, and we’re re
ferring to Democrats and Re
publicans alike, have approach
ed him In this respect when
denied occupancy of the White
House by fellow Americans.
In marked contrast, for ex
ample, Richard Nixon behaved
quite childishly when the
coveted prize eluded him, and
his peevishoutbursttothepress
regarding the matter dwarfed
his stature to midget propor
tions.
Political history is cluttered
with the shadows of men who
couldn’t be philosophical when
they ended up on the short end
of a battle for ballots. To con
demn them is probably unfair,
since hating to lose is a hu
man frailty that Is part and
parcel of us all.
It would be ridiculous to as
sume that Stevenson failed to
feel keenly the pangs of dis
appointment. Recognizing this
fact, his behavior in the midst
of his personal Gethsemane was
all the more laudable.
Wise man that he was, he
undoubtedly realized his
chances for victory were poor
when he ran against a mili
tary hero who was in a posi
tion to get the nomination of
either of the major parties
he smiled upon.
The world will never know
how different the destiny of
all mankind might have been,
had Stevenson become Chief
Executive for our nation. Cer
tainly his later record as a
crusader for global peace and
good will Is Indicative of what
we may have missed in fall
ing to accord him the highest
elective office In the land.
Undeniable, Adlal Stevenson
was a great humanitarian. Un
fortunately for him, and no less
for us, he lacked the capacity
to step out of his shell of
unintended reticence and com
mune with mortals less Intel
lectual.
Scoundrels, and even simple
tons, have been elevated at
times to public office because
they were able to fraternize
the electorate on all levels.
It wasn’t In Stevenson’s nature
to be hall fellow well met,
and he was much too big to
pretend otherwise.
His reserved, dignified man
ner was In our belief a fam
ily trait. We realized as much
when It fell our lot to meet
and talk with his sister at
a social affair In Raleigh. She
was sincere but shy, and In
a room where others let their
hair down, so to speak, she
seemed almost out of place.
Campaigning for the Presi
dency, Stevenson used no po
litical gimmicks In an effort
to foster a false Image. To a
majority of the voters, he ap
peared stilted and standoffish,
and this Impression weighed
more heavily than the things he
said.
Althoucdi his phrases may
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