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September 26, 1944 To - Chairman Eccles From - Elliott Thurston After last week, it seerp like Grant's Tomb around here. The weather is perfect. I understand John is going out to the State Supervisors* meeting which you spurned, but denies that he plans to make any speeches. T have had no word from Matt but begin to suspect the robot bombs really troubled him. I hope you heard the President just as an example of skillful political oratory. I never heard him do better, and the squawks from the other side indicate that he was effective. I listened to Dewey last night and thought he came back pretty strong but I doubt if it won any votes. -^ The Gallup Poll on Sunday, which you may have seen, shows F.D.P. leading 28 States, Dewey leading 17. It lists 19 States as safe for Poosevelt with a total of 194 electoral votes, with 9 more States learing toward him with 90 more, or a total of £84 (266 necessary to elect). It lists Connecticut, Missouri and New Jersey with a total of ?9 as being on the line, that is 50 - 50. Tt lists 1? States as safe for Dewey with 95, and 5 more as leaning to him with 115. The Crossley Poll in today*s-Star, which purports to be a nation-wide test up to September 22, gives Roosevelt 52.2$ and Dewey 47.8$, and Crossley says it "specifically excludes those who express a preference to the poll-takers but consider themselves quite possibly not voting on November 7.M It also attempts to compute the probable vote of the Armed Forces. The attached column by Tom Stokes might interest you. *\f" Enclosed also is a letter asking vou to make a speech after election. These people expect to have from 1,000 to 1,500 teachers \ present. I don't imagine for a moment that you will want to take this on but I said I would at least ask you. It would not be a bad forum at that excepting that it is in Cleveland and, as you know, the further west one moves the less notice the eastern press takes of speech making, / Preston Delano happened to tell me over the phone that he was going to the ABA Convention to make a speech. I asked him what he was going to talk about. He said he was going to admonish the bankers to take advantage of their position now and increase their capital. I pressed him to ascertain on what basis he thought this necessary and, as you mipht suspect, he had not looked into the subject and was a little let down to know that the capital ratios to risk assets are higher than ever before. Enclosures
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