In July 1934 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch relieved its liberal chief editorial writer, Clark McAdams, of his writing job, kicked him upstairs to the executive desk of an associate editor. The following year Clark McAdams died. Many a friend of his believes that Editorialist McAdams' death was hastened by his sorrow, in the face of Franklin Roosevelt's promises and policies, at the more & more conservative editorial stand of the Post-Dispatch which has been called "an American Manchester Guardian." Last September, the Post-Dispatch jumped the political fence outright, joined the majority of the nation's dailies in favoring the election of Alf M. Landon. Solely responsible for the switch were sardonic Managing Editor Oliver Kirby ("O. K.") Bovard and Owner Joseph Pulitzer, a rich, respectable member of the rich, Right-thinking St. Louis Country Club.
Last week from the offices of the Post-Dispatch leaked the story of a unique post-Election gesture to Clark McAdams' memory. When the Presidential returns were all in, tall, grey-haired 0. K. Bovard rose from his desk on the open floor of the Post-Dispatch city room, slowly stalked into the editorial room where Mr. Mc-Adams used to write, chalked on its bulletin board a succinct message:
Dear Mac—
The final score:
Country—523
Country Club—8