Good evening everyone, this is Walter Cronkite speaking to you from CBS television election
headquarters here in New York City.
The big election night, 1952, the year when the United States picks its 35th president.
Bomby weather over most of the United States today and a record turnout apparently throughout
the United States.
We're going to be giving you all of the figures just as quickly as we can.
The national totals and then by states will cover the congressional races of course of
which there are many, 35 Senate races and of course all of the House seats, 435.
It takes some 266 electoral votes to win the presidency you know.
Electoral votes, the majority vote from each of the states, picks the electoral slate from
that state and they are cast on next December.
But we'll know the results sometime tonight or early in the morning.
Let's take a look now at the popular vote in the United States at this particular moment.
For Governor Stevenson, the Democratic candidate from Illinois, 265,000 votes for General Eisenhower,
282,000.
In the electoral vote, 266 votes needed to win.
Governor Stevenson is leading in 8 states with a total of 96 electoral votes.
General Eisenhower is leading in 15 states with a total of 144 electoral votes.
And now for perhaps a prediction on how this voting is going, what the vote that is in
so far means, let's turn to that miracle of the modern age, the electronic brain Univac
and Charles Collingwood.
This is the face of a Univac.
A Univac is a fabulous electronic machine which we have borrowed to help us predict
this election from the basis of the early returns as they come in.
Univac is going to try to predict the winner for us just as early as we can possibly get
the returns in.
Univac lives down in Philadelphia.
He's one of a family of electronic brains made by the Eckerd Mochley division of Remington
Rand and in a little while we'll go down there and take a look at it.
But first of all, let me tell you a little bit about the theory of this.
This is not a joke or a trick.
It's an experiment.
We think it's going to work.
We don't know.
We hope it'll work.
At any rate, for the last six weeks or so, some 25 mathematicians, statisticians, and
researchers, including some of the country's best mathematical brains, have been working
on the problem which we've given to this electronic brain to try to solve for us tonight.
You know, the theory is pretty simple.
It is that if you knew all about previous elections, if you knew how the votes came
in and so forth, then as the votes come in in this election, you ought to be able to
compare them with what happened in the past and judge what the result will be tonight.
However, if you were going to do that, it would take all the people in this room plus
a couple hundred more with pencils and papers adding up figures and there just aren't that
many people and that many good calculators to do it.
But this thing, this Univac, it can add 2,000 separate additions in one second.
It can make 500 multiplications, 250 divisions, and do all sorts of other complicated things.
So we hope, as the evening goes on, to get you a prediction from Univac based on statistical
principles of the result of this election as it happens.
Just a moment.
We are going to bring in Lowell Thomas who was here just a moment ago.
Everywhere where the news breaks, you find Lowell Thomas, of course, and election night
is no exception in CBS television headquarters.
I'm wondering what Lowell's thoughts are in this 1952 election so far.
I'll put on this gadget, is that all right?
Then I'll answer your question.
I'm not actually thinking about returns at this hour.
I'm more interested in what's going on around me here in this house of television.
It seems to me that television has certainly come into its own this year.
At the previous election night four years ago, why it was a case of television portraying
radio.
But this time, everything seems to be specially designed just for television.
And if those of you who are looking in will come along with me for a moment or two, I'd
like to take you on a tour of this establishment.
We'll leave Walter Trunkhite for a moment.
There are 14 of those teletype machines.
They get the reports that come in from all over America, from the Great Press Association,
and from every other source under the sun.
Anything that the teletype machines don't tell us comes in by telephone to these young
ladies who are sitting here just behind Mr. Little John and Mr. Mickelson.
And then, of course, the thing that you're perhaps most interested in is the big presidential
board.
Across the way, the senatorial returns are coming.
Let's glance at that for a moment and see what an amazing board they've rigged up this
time to take care of Congress.
You'll notice that the candidates all have their faces actually on this board.
And those that are marked with a little white square, they are the ones who are in office
at the present time.
There's a big map here at the far end.
And that big map indicates to you the black portions of it indicate where the Democrats
are in the lead.
And those are the stripes where the Republicans are leading so far.
And then the rest of that enormous area, that's problematical at the moment.
We don't know just what's going on there.
And now I think it's time to switch back to Walter Cronkite and find out if anything new
has actually happened.
Well, thank you very much, Lola Thomas, for giving the folks a look at what we think are
pretty amazing headquarters for CBS television coverage of this election.
A quick look at the popular vote now at this moment, generalizing how we're leading, 933,000
to Governor Stevenson's 853,000.
Governor Stevenson leads in 10 states with 114 electoral votes.
General Eisenhower leads in 17 states with 154 electoral votes.
And a few moments ago, Republican National Chairman Arthur Summerfield said that it looks
like a Republican landslide to him.
Governor Harold Stosson, former governor of Minnesota said that it looks as if General
Eisenhower will be elected with the greatest popular vote in history.
Governor Stosson is in our studios here at CBS television.
You see him there as he's watching our election returns come in.
Welcome to our studio, Governor Stosson.
Well, now that we've had a look at the national election picture or the presidential race,
let's have a look at how the race is going in those congressional seats.
We'll get that story from our congressional tabulation board with Don Hollenbeck reporting.
First in the House, at this moment, 89 Democrats have taken seats.
18 Republicans, if our camera can show us that board.
Now let's move on to the Senate, where in the most complete race we have, that in Connecticut,
it seems pretty safe at the moment.
At least the Republicans claim it's safe to claim that they have two victories, Prescott
Bush and Senator, or Mr. Pertel.
The Republicans claim that the heavy Democratic vote is already in and that the outcome cannot
be affected by any more returns.
The latest bulletin we have, you know, is the report from the state of Connecticut where
we got the first concession so far, that from Senator Betten, the Democrat, who has conceded
his defeat in his attempt at reelection, he has been defeated by Senator William A. Pertel.
Senator Pertel having been named as a Republican to take the seat of Senator Brian McMahon
after his death a few months ago, and now Pertel has been elected to a full term, unseating
Senator William Betten, who is perhaps most famous for his feud with Senator McCarthy.
Now let's take a look at our election board again for the latest returns.
On the popular vote, General Eisenhower leading 2,156,000 to Governor Stevenson's 1,967,000,
but Governor Stevenson is leading in electoral votes.
He's leading in 13 states with a total of 195 electoral votes.
General Eisenhower leading in 22 states with a total of 188 electoral votes.
Let's find out how the situation is going on the congressional races now.
For that story, over to Doug Edwards.
Right, Walter, I tell you, before we get into the congressional situation, I think we should
sort of update the listeners and viewers on what's happening in some of the gubernatorial
races.
Let's take a look at our scoreboard down here.
In the state of Illinois, Stevenson's home state, you see Sherwood Dixon, his lieutenant
governor, leading 274,000 to the Republican Stratens, 208,000.
In the Ohio election, we'll pan right from left to right.
It is Loushee leading, the Democrats independent, or however you would label him, 20,000 to
Charles Taft, the brother of Senator Taft, 17,000.
In the state of Massachusetts, Governor Deaver has gone ahead, and the score, as you see
there, it looks a pretty comfortable lead at the moment in these pretty early returns
over Christian Hurt as a representative.
Our scoreboard shows that on the returns so far in, the Republicans are leading in eight
races, the Democrats in 11.
Now that's the situation to this moment.
In the governor's elections, we haven't had time to tell you very much about them so far.
Let's go now to the Commodore Hotel, breaking off from our election headquarters, generalizing
how we just arrived there.
Over to the Commodore Hotel.
I was particularly anxious to get to see you this evening before the final returns were
in because I wanted to tell you that the outcome of this election has nothing whatsoever to
do with the deep feeling of gratitude that I have for every single American who has felt
in his heart that I might be of service to our country in its highest office.
Lowell, do you mind sit down just a minute?
We're talking about old Univac here.
And as I was saying, that as a great believer in the machine, we're having a little bit
of trouble with Univac.
It seems that he's rebelling against the human element.
We've fed him some figures which were a little out of the line of the sort of thing that
he'd been expecting.
And so Univac came up and said he just wouldn't work under these conditions.
However, the people who operate him are so loyal to him that they say that it wasn't
his fault at all, that it was their fault and our fault for giving him the returns in
the wrong order.
Draper?
Yes, here.
Have you got a national prediction from Univac?
Yes, Univac finally come through.
Good.
Give it to us.
We've got Stevenson, 20 states.
Eisenhower, 28 states.
That adds up to an electoral vote for Stevenson of 217.
For Eisenhower, 314.
The prediction on this basis is 24,456,000 in sum for Stevenson.
27,445 for Eisenhower.
Thank you very much, Mr. Draper.
In other words, it looks as though Eisenhower is going to get it as far as Univac is concerned.
Now back to Walter Cronkite.
And that's the prediction from Univac, the electronic brain.
Let's see what the actual totals are at the moment.
The popular vote, General Eisenhower leads with 4,841,000.
Governor Stevenson has 4,343,000.
General Eisenhower leads now in 29 states with a total of 300 electoral votes.
Governor Stevenson leads in 14 states with a total of 177 electoral votes.
We've had some report from every state now, it appears, even though very scattered from
some.
And a bulletin in New York, Democratic State Chairman Paul Fitzpatrick has conceded that
General Dwight D. Eisenhower would carry New York State with its 45 electoral votes.
The biggest package of electoral votes in the nation have been conceded to the Republicans
by the Democratic State Chairman, Paul Fitzpatrick.
Counting the break of the Republicans into the South, Virginia is already in their pocket.
Florida is leaning very heavily Republican at the moment.
The vote in Texas indicates there may be a Republican victory there.
With New York, another large state would virtually assure victory for the Republicans.
Well UNIVAC is rolling now.
UNIVAC is chewing up figures as fast as we can give them to them and turning out results.
It's down there, in its corner there, all the tubes working.
So let's go down to Philadelphia and take a look at UNIVAC as it works on the election
problem that we've been giving it.
The last UNIVAC report quoted the odds as four to one in favor of Eisenhower's election,
predicted that he'd get 314 electoral votes to Stevenson's 217.
We'll have a new report in just a minute.
Now let's see what the story is from Ed Murrow's desk.
I think it is now reasonably certain that this election is over.
Traditionally the Democratic strength comes from the big cities and they have failed to
deliver in this election.
In Chicago with half the vote in, Stevenson is leading Eisenhower by only about 85,000
votes.
In 1948, Truman carried Chicago by 201,000.
New York State Chairman Fitzpatrick has conceded the state to Eisenhower.
Only two men since the turn of the century have won the presidency without winning New
York State.
In Boston, with 60% in, Stevenson leads by 42,000, again a poor showing.
It's still a close battle in the president's home state, Missouri.
With 33% of the vote counted, Eisenhower has a lead of 23,000.
We've just a scattering of returns from St. Louis, a normally Democratic stronghold.
But in Kansas City, another Democratic vote getter with almost half the vote counted,
Stevenson leads by 12,000.
Here too, according to detailed reports from our correspondents, it will take a big increase
in Kansas City vote to bring Stevenson up level.
The Republicans are on the way to capturing Ohio's 25 electoral votes.
And at the moment, with 23% of the vote in, Eisenhower has 515,000 to 404,000.
It seems clear on the basis of the big city reports and on the general trend that General
Eisenhower has won the election.
Now back to Walter Cronkite.
Thank you, Ed Murrow.
The vote counts again.
The total in the United States as a whole, General Eisenhower, 10,311,000 votes.
Senator Stevenson, 9,062,000 votes.
Well, Texas, more than half of the state is reported.
As you see, the Republicans are holding on to the majority already built up for them
in Harris County, where Houston is located, and in Dallas County.
157 of the 254 counties reported in Texas so far.
In Utah, that state also seems to be going for General Eisenhower, by an almost two-to-one
majority.
Here's a bulletin down from Columbus, Ohio, where Republican State Chairman Ray Bliss
has claimed that Ohio will be General Eisenhower's column by at least 200,000 votes.
The state is leading for General Eisenhower now.
And now Univac.
Univac, our electronic brain, which a moment ago still thought there was a 7 to 8 chance
for Governor Stevenson, says that the chances are 100 to 1 in favor of General Eisenhower.
I might note that Univac is running a few moments behind Ed Murrow, however.
Ed Murrow, some 15 or 20 minutes ago, said he thought he was in the bag for General Eisenhower.
Now let's go out to Springfield, Illinois, find out what the situation is at Governor
Stevenson's headquarters.
Ed Morgan reporting.
Secretary Chapman, what do you say, just very briefly, about the trend?
It seems to be Republican.
Will it go the other way?
It's not any more Republican than it was in 48 at this time.
And a matter of fact, at 48 at 1 o'clock, you had additions to the newspapers on the
streets saying Dewey was elected.
In other words?
Does this small number of votes count at this time?
I wouldn't think of anything but wait until they finish.
In other words, you're not conceding anything?
Nothing.
The totals now show on our board General Eisenhower 10,758,000, Governor Stevenson 10,129,000.
On that important electoral vote, General Eisenhower has already won 10 states, including
New York with its 45 electoral votes.
He leads in 25 others, for a total now, in what states, which he's leading, of 408 electoral
votes.
And Governor Stevenson leads in 13 states, with a total of 123 electoral votes.
The Bulletin New Jersey Democratic officials have now conceded their state to General Eisenhower.
That's New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Indiana, all definitely in the Republican column by
concessions by Democratic leaders.
Our big board up at the end of the room with the crosshatches showing the states which
are already for General Eisenhower or in which he is leading.
The solid states show Governor Stevenson's strength and you see what a solid victory
this has been so far up to this moment for General Eisenhower at least.
So let's go down to Philadelphia and see whether we can get an explanation of what happened
to UNIVAC from Mr. Arthur Draper, who is the head of the new products division of Remington
Rams Laboratory for Advanced Research.
Art, what happened there when we came out with that funny prediction?
Well, we had a lot of trouble tonight.
Strangely enough, they were all human and not the machine.
The sort of prediction like this, you have to assume certain facts about past trends.
When UNIVAC made its first prediction with only three million votes in, it gave five
states for Stevenson, 43 for Eisenhower, 93 electoral votes for Stevenson, 438 for
Eisenhower.
We just claimed didn't believe it.
So we asked UNIVAC to forget a lot of the trend information that we had put into it,
assuming that that was wrong.
So UNIVAC worked on a smaller margin of knowledge.
This won't give a wrong answer that it'll throw the odds to the extent that you saw.
Because the prediction as more votes came in, the odds came back and it was obviously
evident that we should have had nerve enough to believe the machine in the first place.
It was right.
We were wrong.
Next year, we'll believe it.
And just chatting here for a moment with the Griff VanCroft, our Washington correspondent,
Griff, without dealing in personality, how's the Senate and how's it going?
Well, the interesting thing to me in the Senate, Doug, is that if all the candidates who are
now leading in their races go on and win, the Senate will be equally divided, 48 Democrats
and 48 Republicans.
In the House, there have been three changes.
The Republicans have picked up two seats but lost one in Pennsylvania.
So that's still a net gain of one in the House for the Republicans.
And that's about sums it up.
That's a beautiful nutshell, Mr. VanCroft.
And now I want to take care of remaining over in this part of the shop.
Word or two about the governors.
We've been neglecting them just a bit at this point in our show.
The Republicans are leading in 10 races, Democrats in nine.
The way the returns are running, it's at least possible that the Republicans will see 27
governors to 21 for the Democrats, a net gain for the GOP of two state capitals.
John Ibbolitan from Springfield, Illinois, one of Governor Adley Stevenson's aides, has
just told newsmen outside the governor's mansion, it's all over now but the concession to General
Eisenhower.
The advisor said that there was no doubt that Eisenhower had won.
There wasn't much use, he felt, of hanging on to the outside possibility.
Stevenson still had a chance for enough electoral votes to win.
There's the governor's mansion.
Out in Springfield, can we shift out there?
There's the stage.
Governor Stevenson, we understand, has just left the mansion.
Harris Stevenson coming in to the Leland Hotel headquarters, his election headquarters in
Springfield, Illinois.
Here he comes, ladies and gentlemen.
Governor Stevenson has entered the hall.
He is facing me now.
He is getting up on the platform.
He is stopping the talk through some of the correspondents.
He's dressed in a suit.
In the red side there's a big smile on his face.
And he just winked at one of the reporters.
He's taking his speech out of his pocket.
There's a large, as you can obviously see and hear, there's a large round of applause.
His lips are pressed together.
He is looking now over at the organist who is making the noise.
My fellow citizens have made their choice and have selected General Eisenhower and selected
General Eisenhower, and have made their choice.
Your panel took the floor.
made their choice and have selected General Eisenhower
and the Republican Party as the instruments of their will
for the next four years.
The people have rendered their verdict
and are gladly accepted.
General Eisenhower has been a great leader in war.
He has been a vigorous and valiant opponent
in the campaign.
These parties will now be dedicated
to leading us all through the next four years.
It is traditionally American to fight hard
before an election.
It is equally traditional to close ranks as soon
as the people have spoken.
From the depths of my heart, I thank all of my party
and all of those independents and Republicans
who supported Senator Sparklin and me.
That which unites us as American citizens
is far greater than that which divides us
as political parties.
I urge you all to give to General Eisenhower
the support he will need to carry out
the great tasks that lie before him.
I pledge you mine, we vote as many, but we pray as one.
With a united being, with faith in democracy,
with common concern for others less fortunate
around the globe, we shall move forward with God's guidance
toward the time when his children shall grow in freedom
and dignity in a world at peace.
Come on!
We want to hear from you!
There's General Eisenhower as he comes into the ballroom.
The cheers go up from his supporters.
He has a Secret Service guard for the first time.
As he steps up to the platform, and in a moment
you'll be hearing from him.
Down to the Commodore Hussle ballroom microphone.
I am not certain, my friends, whether or not
you have read or heard the telegram
that Mr. Stevenson just sent to me.
It reads,
The people have made their choice, and I congratulate you.
That you may be the servant and guardian of peace
and make the day of trouble a door of hope
is my earnest prayer.
Best wishes, Adlai Stevenson.
Just as I came down to the ballroom,
I replied to that telegram as follows.
I thank you for your courteous and generous message.
Recognizing the intensity of the difficulties that lie ahead,
it is clearly necessary that men and women of good will
of both parties forget the political strife
through which we have passed and devote themselves
to the single purpose of a better future.
This, I believe, they will do.
Sound signs with my name.
Now, my friends, it is trite to say
that this is a day of dedication rather than of strength.
But I am indeed as humble as I am proud of the decision
that the American people have made.
And I recognize clearly the weight of the responsibility
you have placed on me.
And I assure you that I shall never, in my service in Washington,
give short weight to those responsibilities.
We love you!
Ed Murrow and Eric Severide are here with us now
for summing up also how this matter has gone,
what we can look forward to in the future.
Ed, I would like to thank you for your courage
and for your courage in the future.
Ed, how does it look to you?
Walter, it seems to me that this was the end of an era
in American politics, a great exclamation point
in our national history.
Because tonight after 20 long years,
the traditional concessions of defeat came not from Republicans,
but from Democrats.
And for those millions of Americans who have voted
for the House, they have got it.
They have assured the return to the White House
of a Republican president.
It was a great moment of triumph for them, of vindication.
The tangible proof that now, after two decades
through the use of the ballot box,
the American people have finally agreed with them
that it was time for a change.
Millions of people in their homes, in their living rooms,
perhaps living rooms that they bought and paid for
during a Democratic administration,
you have heard a gallant winner and a gallant loser.
It was universally said in Chicago after the conventions
that both parties had chosen men who were worthy of the nation.
One has been chosen, General Eisenhower.
To me, the most impressive thing about tonight
is again the demonstration that the people of this country
are sovereign, that they are unpredictable,
and that somehow in a fashion that is as mysterious to pollsters
as it is to reporters, the great normal majority in this country
made up its mind as to the man that wanted to lead it.
Eric Saburaj, what's your summing up?
Well, Walter, after those eloquent words of Ed's
that we've just listened to, it isn't a great deal,
and it isn't a great deal that I really feel much like saying.
I think that it's been rare in American history
that one individual has had such overwhelming endorsement
and vote of confidence from the American people,
obviously of all classes and of all sections and of all creeds.
I think this places upon him personally
the magnified degree of responsibility in the presidency,
such as few presidents have exercised.
I hope that he understands in his deepest recesses of his mind
that the presidency in this system of ours is something
that is as strong or as weak as the man who occupies the White House
wants to make it.
He is going to have most enormous problems,
as Ed suggested, beginning with his own party.
And the history of our various administrations
has seemed to me shows that no one has been really
a successful president unless he's been first a very successful
party leader and party politician and manager.