REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 June 1936, Page 2

REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

HOOVER’S FIGHTING SPEECH

ENTHUSIASM AROUSED

[BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.]

CLEVELAND. June 11

The appearance of Mr. Hoover at the convention Hall introduced the first genuine ingredient of excitement to the convention, and, after the delegates had cheered him to the echo for 15 minutes, he launched into a harsh and bitter attack on the New . Deal, and. he made a solemn exhortation to Republicans “to come to the rescue of the nation.” He said: “In this room rests the greatest responsibility that has come to any body of Americans in three generations. To some people, the New Deal appears to be a strange interlude in American history; because it has no philosophy, because it is sheer opportunism; because it is a muddle of the spoils system, emotional economics, reckless adventure, unctuous claims to a monopoly of human sympathy, greed for power, and a desire for popular’ acclaim. That is not the charitable view! To other people, it appears to be a cold-blooded attempt by starry-eyed boys to infect the American people by a mixture of European ideas, flavoured with the old native predilection to get something for nothing. For the first time in the history of America, we have heard the gospel of class hatred preached from White House. That is human poison far deadlier than fear. Every reader of the history of demoncracy knows that it is the final rock on which all democracies have been wrecked.” It was evidence of a startling lack of either picturesque or vital leaders of the Republican Party that the convention rallied so strongly to Mr Hoover. It had not had anyone to cheer so far, and there remains but little prospect of its having anyone; for, all through the day and the night the strength of Governor Landon has continued to grow by additional State delegations indicating that it is their intention to vote for him. It is a commonly acknowledged fact that Governor Landon is virtually an unknown figure in his own party. He has said little, and has repeatedly declined to make any declaration of opinion on controversial issues; and, beside the fact that his personal fortune comes from the petroleum business, there is scant information available of his background.

As for Borah, he has not even appeared at the Convention so far, he being content to remain at his hotel room, “dickering” for support, oi’ making threats. Thus to the convention delegates, and even the spectators, Mr. Hoover represented a cause—even if it is a lost one. As he was completing his speech, a heavy thunderstorm outside caused the : steel rafters of the hall to crackle ominously, and to give a startling emphasis to his concluding words: —“Republicans and fellow Americans: This is your call to stop a retreat in the chaos of doubt, confusion, and fear. Your’s is a task to command the turning of the eyes of your fellow Americans to sunlight and freedom; to lead an attack to retake and retain the citadels- of liberty. Thus can America be preserved; thus can the opportunity, the inheritance, and, the spiritual future of your children be guaranteed; and thus you can win the gratitude of posterity, and be able to sing ‘Almighty God!’” After nearly half an hour’s cheering upon the former President’s leaving the rostrum, delegates from the floor began an impromptu chant, “We want Hoover!” This chant the chairman’s gavel was able to drown out only with difficulty. The Californian delegation then raised its banner, and begap an ecstatic march round the hall. Finally, the chairman made himself heard above the clamour, saying: “Mr. Hoover has left the hall! He had to catch a train to New York!” but the delegates w'ere not so easily satisfied. They continued to make a tremendous noise, and broke into “Onward Christian Soldiers!”

Mr. Fletcher, chairman of the Republican National Committee, bent down from, the official stand, and said to the pressmen; “This is enthusiasm!” After another half-hour’s enthusiasm, the stentorian voice of the chairman announced the adjournment of the convention for the night. No account of the day’s proceedings would be complete without recording the arrival of a number of members of the Oxford Group, under the leadership of Mr; Buchman himself. The Group has just concluded a long meeting at Stockbridge, in Massachusetts. They came to Cleveland to “put the thoughts of the delegates on God.” At an early hour this morning, the committee completed the draft of a platform that, ostensibly, is satisfactory to all sides. The draft was then transmitted by trunk line telephone, to Mr. Landon at Topeka, Kansas, for his final approval before its submission to the Convention, “as he, undoubtedly, will be the Republican candidate,” said a member of the committee.

MR. ROOSEVELT’S ADDRESS

NEW YORK. June 10

Mr. Roosevelt took some of the spotlight away from the Republican Party Convention to-day, when, in an address at Little Rock, in Arkansas, he reiterated his plea for a broader interpretation of the United States Constitution, and he obliquely attacked the Supreme Court for its decisions. The occasion was the centennial celebration of the administration of the State of Arkansas to the Union, and President Roosevelt gave a historical review of how the Mississippi Valley Territory was acquired by the United States. He pointedly remarked that the Missouri Purchase of 1803 was not “carried to the Supreme Court.” Without suggesting a Constitutional amendment, Mr. Roosevelt insisted that the Constitution was broad enough to allow “the legislation that is necessary to safeguard human welfare under modern conditions.”

As before he left Washington, the President declared that his Southwestern speaking trip would be devoted to non-political subjects, his remarks to-day came as something of a surprise. Several of the New York newspapers featured his remarks above the proceedings at Cleveland.