THE NAME OF SMITH

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 150, 29 June 1928, Page 9

THE NAME OF SMITH

CONVENTION DELIRIOUS : POPULAR PANDEMONIUM Australian Press Association. HOUSTON, 27th June. When the convention resumed in the evening, Mr. Franklin Eoosevelt, a distant relative of the ex-Presidenc. was in evidence. He had offered. Smith's nomination in 1924, and rose again for the same purpose. Mr. Roosevelt, a tall handsome man seriously Crippled by infantile paralysis, hobbled to the rostrum. Referring to'- Smith's hon-: esty, he said: "I speak of that "hones ty that lets a man sleep well of nights, fearing no senatorial investigation." He attacked Republican corruption in a single' bentence —"The soul of our country,vlulled by mere material prosperity, has passed through eight grey years." .Mr. Roosevelt concluded with the promise that "Smith will do more for international peace than can bB done by mathematical reduction of armaments or pious declarations in multilateral treaties." ' . The ex-Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Josephus Daniels, delivered a eulogy on the late Mr. W. J. Bryan. UNPRECEDENTED SCENE. Senator George's name was offered in nomination, and the Prohibitionists staged a little demonstration, carrying a huge banner with the legend: "The Constitution will be Preserved." They were not noisy enough to be impressive. It was Roosevelt's nomination of Smith that produced a, true pandemonium. Thirty thousand persons had crowded into the hall and the gates were locked. Every mention of Smith's name produced such wild shrieks of joy as were never heard before at any convention. When Mr. Roosevelt had finished it seemed as if the multitude would tear the structure down. No little contrivance of either noise or colour was forgotten. Battles roared, and from the roof rained glittering balloons. It seemed impossible to doubt Smith's po,pularity. ■'.;■* SOME HEADS CRACKED. Mrs. Ross, ex-Governor of Wyoming, seconded Smith's nomination, and again the crowd nearly tore itself in' two with a delirium' of joy. One, of course, must not forget the fights. Many a reluctant head was cracked if its owner declined to march and dance with the Smith partisans. There were only a few State delegations, chiefly from diehard Southern States, that stubbornly declined to join the Smith,parade. It was.getting late. There was .a • literal plethora of speeches seconding Smith's nomination. It was a tiring; business, and imperceptibly ■ the' hail half-emptied .. itself. Some fairly unknown individuals were then placed in the nomination, and, worn out-by a day that r one noted writer compared climatically to a day in hell, the convention adjourned at midnight until 10.30 to-morrow morning. •./