REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22904, 11 June 1936, Page 9

REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

FIFTEEN THOUSAND PRESENT BRIGHT LIGHTS AND NOISE CLEVELAND, June 9. (Received June 10, at 7 p.m.) At the Cleveland Convention the opening session to-day simply organised itself and selected Mr Steiwcr as temporary chairman. Over 15,000 persons crowalcd into the vast auditorium, which was ablaze with lights and noisy with the blare of a half-dozen bands. The usual mixture of gravity and high spirits was displayed by delegates, and there were the over-present features, sublime and ridiculous.

The gathering was opened with an invocation by a Washington clergyman, in which he asked God “ to protect ns from greed and social irresponsibility,” and warned his listeners solemnly of the consequences of allowing the poor and the young to be ground down by depression, but he was immediately followed by a quartet which sang medleys, the principal ingredient of which was a bass voice, so low that the floor of the ball trembled and caused the audience to laugh. The crowd was colourful, most of the State delegations wearing articles of raiment for which their States are known. Women filled a great part of the auditorium, but their presence in such large numbers only emphasised the diminishing importance of the role of women in party affairs at this convention. They have been absorbed inereas.ngly into (he administrative machinery of the party, but apparently have loss voice in the determination of policy. The inconspicuous part played by women in framing the platform is indicative of this, as is the fact that the movement to get the Republican Party to approve a constitutional amendment to permit regulation of wages and hours for women and minors in industry is being led by men.

“NEW DEAL” CONDEMNED CLEVELAND, June 10. (Received June 11, at 1 a.m.) The severest condemnation of any feature of the new deal was the attack launched to-night by Air Sleiwar against President Roosevelt’s foreign trade treaty programme. The address was bitter in (lie extreme, but nowhere more bitter than in its disapproval of “ trade bargaining, which is rampant.” Under this head Mr Steiwar said; “One of the fundamentals of established national policy is tariff protection for efficient American production. America does not propose to destroy an opportunity for onr citizens by surrendering this protection. The Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act has increased the sale in our markets of goods produced by aliens and which our producers could have supplied. Agreements have been negotiated rigid and left with shrewd foreign traders who reduced the rates on articles which they desire to imoprt into their countries, whereas the Administration's pretended good neighbour policy lias resulted in American reduction of the duty on agricultural, dairy and forest products, of which we have already had a surplus. The net result is a downward revision of the tariff which has seriously impaired onr American system of protection. We must realise that the administration’s wishful hope to rescue the world at our expense lias injured American industries and agricultue, and added to unemployment, destitution and want. The combined effort of reckless, uninformed trade agreements, plus tbe Administration’s monetary policies, are fast putting our nation under foreign control.

The speaker, whose appearance on the dias was greeted with tremendous cheering. immediately cried, “Over three long rears we have had a Government without political morality.“ He then demanded an honest money Government run in a businesslike manner, with no importation of goods which can be made or grown in the United States, prosperous agriculture, competition in business, reduction of taxation, elimination of Government competition in business and avoidance of all foreign entanglements. There was brief applause at the eonelusion of the speech, and the convention promptly adjourned to to-morrow morning.