National Affairs: Off The Sidewalks

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Much depended on the Nominee's speech, he had been told. Only one of Oklahoma's seven Democratic Representatives had come out for him. Only one Oklahoma newspaper of any size was unopposed. Governor Henry S. Johnston, oldtime McAdoodler, had declared himself only grudgingly.

Governor Johnston redeclared himself by introducing "the next President of the United States." Then the Nominee went after Oklahoma and a lot of other territory. He said, in part:

"This is a rather unique campaign because of the apparent widespread attempt to distract the American people from the real issues and to fasten their minds on undemocratic and un-American secret propaganda. . . .

"I want to first direct my attention to the statement printed in the Congressional Record in the form of a letter from your own former Senator of this State* directed to Senator Simmons. [A voice: "He ain't ours"* laughter and applause.] "Well listen. That may be so, that may be so. But he has raised the issue and let us adopt him for tonight, no matter what we do with him tomorrow. ... I challenge the truth and the honesty of his purpose. . . .

"My name was before the National Convention in Madison Square Garden. John W. Davis was nominated. The night that he was nominated I said to him, 'What can I do for you? I am a Democrat. It makes no difference to me what took place in the convention, what can I do for you?'. . And he gave me the hardest task a man could give when he asked me to again run for Governor. Upon his urging I was nominated for the fourth time in 1924. Coolidge swept the State of New York by a plurality of 700,000, and the morning after election I was standing alone as the only Democrat elected. [ Applause.] †

''One of the most insidious the most stupid, the most deliberate and the most willful of lies spread out in the propaganda is my attitude to the public school system. . . .

"You hear them talking about the cost of the government of the State of New York under Smith. Well, the Republican Press Bureau of the State Committee is the busiest lie foundry that this country ever produced. They can turn them out there as fast as an electrically-controlled neostyle can print the copy. And all summed up it is about as complete a shower of bunk as was ever poured out upon an intelligent people. . . .

"As I said before, all of this [the Smith gubernatorial record] was accomplished in spite of a hostile legislature, seeking every political advantage that they could—and how? By direct appeal to the people, by the plain, ordinary, homely everyday method of coming out and talking about it and being on the level. And, incidentally this country needs some of that kind of talk. . . .

"Now can you think of any man or any group of men gathered together in what they call the K. K. K., that profess to be 100 per cent American, and forget the great principle that Jefferson stood for, the equality of man? . . .