AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3888, 18 September 1928, Page 31

AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

THE PRESIDENCY. THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE. SUBJECT OF MALICIOUS GOSSIP. NEW YORK, September 12. A social whispering campaign which, through a system of malicious chain letters and word of mouth, has been spreading throughout the country malicious gossip about Governor Smith’s religion, morals, and personal life, sud denly took a dramatic turn to-day with the statement by Governor Smith which recounts'the efforts made to track down the slanderous statement that upon 'a recent occasion he was so drunk that he was unable to make a scheduled public address. The letter, which was written by one woman to another in West Virginia, gave this incident as coming from an eye witness, a well known citizen of that State. This was brought to the attention of the Democratic National Committee, which in turn secured a statement from a noted Republican who had been with Governor Smith that day, showing that it was a lie. Governor Smith made a personal effort to secure retraction from the writer of the letter, but so far has been unsuccessful.

The Republican National Committee recently issued a statement deploring the whispering campaign and saying that both candidates were being subjected to it. Governor Smith’s statement, however, with its consequent publishing of names, forces the whole matter into public attention and puts mud slinging and socalled bigotry talk into the ranks as an important presidential issue. ELECTIONS IN MAINE. NEW YORK, September 11. News from Portland announces that the State of Maine, which is normally Republican, and holds its State elections two months before the national elections, to-day—chose a Republican Governor and Federal Senator by a large majority. Early returns indicate that the majority may reach 60,000. There is an old saying that “ as Maine does so does the nation.” The Democrats had claimed that if the normal Republican majority in to-day’s election dropped below 35,000 it would indicate that the State would go 'Democratic in the presidential election. The Republicans claim that the victory indicates that the nation will go Republican. RADIO £ND TELEVISION. NEW YORK, September 11. A message from Schenectady states that the General Electric Company gave a demonstration to-day of perfectly synchronised simultaneous broadcast by radio with television of a dramatic performance. The experiment took 40 minutes, and was conducted between two rooms in the same building. The pictures broadcast were very small, and were sometimes blurred and confused However, the voices and the action were received in a natural manner. It was pointed out that it will be a long time before this form, of entertainment will be ready for practical use, but the engineers concerned predict that there will be television theatres in many places, receiving simultaneously single performances occurring at one distant spot. A TANKER EXPLODES. NEW YORK; September 13. At Stotumport, North Carolina, five seamen were killed and four injured by the explosion at sea of the tanker Shreveport, which was en route from Philadelphia to Gulf ports. Twentynine survivors were rescued by the Spanish steamer Aldecoa. 1 UNDERSEA CRAFT. .NEW YORK, September 13. At Baltimore, with a new submarine safety device known as a “ lung,” three navy divers proved that men entrapped in a sunken undersea craft can safely escape. The simple apparatus is an oxygen bag with a mouthpiece attachment. It is unofficially stated that the /United States may thus equip each member of the crews of 78 submarines. ‘ KINGDOM OF ALBANIA. WASHINGTON, September 13. ' The United States to-day extended recognition to the Kingdom of Albania, when President Coolidge sent King Zegu a congratulatory cablegram expressing pleasure at the latter’s accession to the throne and goqd wishes for the monarch’s and the country’s future.