A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 280, 21 August 1940, Page 8

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Willkie’s Nomination WHEN PEOPLE’S WILL

PREVAILED

American Illes now to hand tell a stirring I ale of bow Wendell L. Willkie, whose speech accepting candidacy was published in Monday s Bsuo'of "The Dominion.” came to be nominated as Republican candidate for the United States Presidency. Accounts made it' dear that lie was so nominated because the wish of the people was strong enough to prevail over the wish of the professional politicians. From the beginning of the Republican convention nothing seemed to go the way things had always gone, That was the fault of the people, said the professional politicos. It was the fault, too adds “Time,” of another interloper —a’ big shambling bear of a man with tousled dark hair, great beefy shoulders, a long, determined upper np, a fast,’ tough mind. Willkie In Town

-Wendell Lewis Willkie was . in town. The convention had not invited him; the convention wished be were anywhere else. Ou that dark Sunday afternoon he was already a political phenomenon, without parallel or precedent, a new face, a new force, something powerful and strange, cast up from the sea. . “The situation was so simple tnat ic confused the politicians hopelessly. Well they knew the ancient political doctrine:' find out what the people want, promise it to them, then lead them in that, direction —but not too fast, for good leadership keeps but a half step ahead. But now the peop.e seemed to want only one thing, a leader. Stamp Of Leadership

“The politicos found that desire a perplexing simplification ot the tiadi tional problem. 11 was true that Wendell Willkie seemed to be a leader. Even now, after six short weeks oi campaigning, he was marked with the indelible stamp of leadership: fanatical friends, fanatical foes. ■ ■ ■ “■Willkie was not a leader in any sense that was politically recognizable In fact, the delegates told each othpr he was politically impossible, an amateur whose rankness you could smell. Nevertheless, they went to see him. In this cramped hothouse (his headquarters) every political mistake that, could be made was made. Nevertheless, somehow, the boom grew: it could be seen growing. . . . “With the third day of the convention came something like panic. Suddenly the newspapers were black with tall headlines, home-made advertisements, home-made editorials, an shrieking: ‘We want Willkie!’ Enthusiastic Supporters “Tlie delegates couldn’t understand it. The big bear-man’s face, life, family, swiftly became oppressively familiar. Most of the delegates wanted to lie left alone, to go about their ancient business in the ancient w<tj. “But rabid strangers, unlike any political ‘heelers’ they had ever seen, surrounded them on the street, gripped their lapels, argued bitterly, demanded (not; begged) their vote for this man Willkie. In this urgent., crusading atmosphere the delegates were incii-ns-ingly uncomfortable. ... •‘From the first; night the galleries had shouted ‘We Want Willkie’ over and over like a. college yell. Delegates could hardly get into their rooms past the bundles of pro-Wlllkie telegrams from back homo. Their suits came back from Hie hotel valet with Willkie buttons .pinned on. Longdistance calls came from their wives, pastors, bankers, luncheon clubs, saying with one voice, ‘Willkie.’ ” On the first ballot Dewey led by. nearly as much as expected, Taft was secomi ami Willkie third. On the second ballot. Dewey dropped back a little, a sure sign that, his chance was gone, Taft made a small gain, Willkie a big one. On ballot, throe Willkie picked up votes all along the line and supplanted Taft; in second place. The Massachusetts leader released, his delegates from their former allegiance and they went over to Willkie in a body the first big State to do so. Final Ballots On the fourth iballot Willkie took the lead, with 306 votes to Tafts 254 and Dewey's 250. Now the problem was whether he could increase his> votes to the 501 necessary for nomination. Next; ballot; screwed the tension to a point with few equals in United States politics. “The pros were in the last-ditch battle and knew It. They closed the ranks and moved together. Ou this ballot. Willkie ami Taft both went up 123 votes." After the fifth ballot, there remained only two phalanxes for tho Willkie supporters to break, the blocks of votes from Michigan and Pennsylvania. Finally Senator Vandenberg's campaign manager announced the release of the Michigan delegates pledged to support the senator. Thirty-live out of 38 voted for Willkie. He now had 499 voles. Then another delegate announced Pennsylvanian voles for Willkie. --. . . the story was over, the people had won. Hats sailed in the air ami Imnd-kerchiefs were ciiredded. For the lirpt time since Teddy Roosevelt, the Republicans had a man They could yell for aml m-cau 11.” Enemy Air Losses A good idea of the toll taken of enemy raiders over Britain is given when the figures are tabulated. The ollieial tally from July 10 is as follows: German British

General’s 111-Luck A .-nd act in the t’laj vf «:ir was mi i n rk-<l <ui Ihe Libyan boriler. not wit limit a happy i-niling, when an Italian Kcnc-fal was captured by British raiders on the Egyptian-Libyan frontier while he was tailing tils wife to a hospital, expecting n baby. The general w.-ik a eonuniandcr of engineers. but the raid penetrated so far bo tints was caught in the midst of difficulties even dm-p-:-r than military. The British treated his wife with every consideration and she is now safely in n hospital "somewhere in Egypt."— “New York ’Timos.”

1 ,<>sses Losses Julyio »7 o July 1 1 23 4 July12 1 1 July 13 13 1 July1l> 11 July 2. > 'j 1 J illy 26 ‘•'S 0 July2S 9 1 July *’!) 23 A nu'. GO 16 Auk. 11 4 >■ i 26 Auk. 12 01 13 Auk. 1 3 I s 13 Anu. 1-1 31 ■1 A U.K. 15 ISO 31 Auk. 111 «.» -- Auk. is 1 14 22 1> .... s."s 170