Stevenson Turns Attack Directly on President As His Camp Demonstrates Increased Optimism

The Stevenson camp is a curious mixture of the exuberant, the hopeful, and the doubtful. But the only outright pessimists seem to be among the newspapermen, for the party workers with him generally appear to think "the Governor" has at least a chance to win.

They are most encouraged by his last two major speeches, speeches in which he leveled his fire upon President Eisenhower, and had the crowd so completely with him that it booed the President, a hitherto unknown reaction.

For the duration of the campaign, apparently, Adlai Stevenson will be running against Dwight Eisenhower and not against Richard Nixon. For while he may still feel that Eisenhower is only a front for his Vice-President, or "heir apparent" as he terms him, now his addresses recognize that he has not convinced the country of this, and that while he continues to score Nixon, he must also attack Eisenhower if he is to retain any hope of victory.

One experienced correspondent, who has been with him all the way, said yesterday that "there is no reason why he can't squeak through" if only he could maintain the audience control he had in Los Angeles. And while he held the crowd just about as well last night and drew a cheering mob yesterday driving through Boston, this is a difficult matter for Stevenson, for his speeches frequently range from the compelling to the dismal.

If he can be at his best in the next week, they say, he can win. The Governor himself said "We're ahead in the doubtful states," while rushing from a television studio yesterday. And his campaign manager, Jim Finnegan, said the race was going "remarkably well" with a "tremendous upsurge" in the last week.

But there are others than those who speak confidently and defiantly of "that phony in the White House," and they are the ones practically out on their feet after a campaign of about 35,000 miles. They are not giving up, but they seem to be carrying on feeling that if determination is enough to last them a week, they can do it.