LANDON TO FIGHT ROOSEVELT

Southland Times, Issue 22915, 13 June 1936, Page 7

LANDON TO FIGHT ROOSEVELT

Presidency of U.S.A. THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE Unanimous Election (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 10.15 p.m.) • Cleveland, June 11. Mr Alfred M. Landon, Governor of Kansas, was elected as the Republican candidate for the Presidency. After a few moments’ approval of the platform the States, from Alabama to Illinois, deferred to Kansas, and Mr Landon’s campaign manager, Mr John Hamilton, rose and read a telegram from Mr Landon which caused a mild sensation. It stated that he disagreed with two planks of the platform; if necessary he would approve the Constitutional amendment protecting women and children in industry, and he interpreted “sound currency” to mean currency in terms of gold and convertible into gold, but the latter would not be sought until it could be achieved without injury to domestic economy and foreign trade. Mr Hamilton then put the name of Mr Landon for nomination, and the delegates began the expected demonstration. Headed by the Kansas ban-

ners, virtually all the State delegations, aided by every conceivable noise-mak-ing device, paraded the floor of Convention Hall. It was in the best manner of American conventions —noisy, and very artificial. Daughter At Convention.

Mr Landon’s daughter and his father were occupying a box in one corner of the hall. Two enterprising wireless men, walking apparently over the heads of the specators, hauled the microphone towards Miss Peggy Landon. She laughed, but aside from sending a “hello” to her father, who was listening in at Topeka, she would say nothing. No other State would offer a candidate. There were only seconding speeches by Mr A. H. Vandenberg and the other aspirants’ representatives, who announced their withdrawal, and the path was quite clear for Mr Landon. The hall was in tremendous excitement as State by State the voting started. One by one the leaders of the various delegations rose to cast their full voting strength for Mr Landon. It was an unbroken parade until West Virginia, whose chairman is Mr Bachman, Senator Borah’s manager, cast 16 votes for Mr Landon and one—his own —for Senator Borah. Sixteen of the Wisconsin delegates voted for Senator Borah and six for Mr Landon. At the end of the poll call, however, the Wisconsin delegation put forward a motion that its nomination be made unanimous, and this was carried with a thunderous burst of applause. Opponents’ Approval. After Mr Hamilton’s nomination speech there was a rush by previous opposition candidates to express -their approval of Mr Landon. In addition to the half-dozen scheduled addresses every candidate, with the exception of Senator Borah, who departed for Washington, spoke in seconding the nomination of the Governor of Kansas. These included Colonel Franklin Knox and Mr Vandenberg, whose strong pledge to Mr Landon was taken by many as an indication that he would accept the Vice-Presidential nomination, the voting for which was postponed until tomorrow. “In this convention I belong to but one block, and it has but one slogan: ‘Stop Roosevelt,’ ” said Mr Vandenberg. Even after he left Cleveland Senator Borah added something of a discordant note to the otherwise apparently harmonious Republican situation. According to reports from Akron he was stunned at Mr Landon’s interpretation of the currency plank as meaning a return to gold controvertibility when possible, and his insistence on support of the Constitutional amendment to allow the States to protect labouring women and children if other means fail to gain the desired objective.