The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-10-02
GOVERNOR WALTON
A UNIQUE FIGURE
SPECTACULAR FIGHT ON KU
KLUX GIVES HIM NATION
WIDE PROMINENCE.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.-Gov.
mo. Galloway Gron jack Walton is in
the way of becoming national 1g-
ure as the result of his spectacular
fight on the ku klux khan in Oklaho-
ma He is strong and courageous
man. His enemies say he is unscrup-
ulous and dangerous.
Ten wears ago Walton was a Ran
sas CITY electrical salesman. He did
business with the state departments
here and in 1913 moved here and
opened an office as consulting engl-
neer. He became city Commissioners
and in 1919 was elected mayor tie
was known as a union labor man, and
ALWAYS has been associated with the
radical wing of the democratic party
During his reign as mayor he saw
the rise OF the khan to political pow
er. One of the largest limitations ever
held was while he was mayor lie
took no stand on the matter. There
was a strike on and a strike-breaker
was 1vnched. The city police did little
10 stop the mob The town was Wiae
open for awhile, but Walton tred his
chief of police and personally led raid
ing SQUADS into saloons and dives I'm
til he had cleaned the town,
Thus he balanced his record.
Took Police to Church.
He used to march with his police
into the Christian churches to attend
services He always had an eye Tor
the spectacular and in politics was
u1ick TO seize upon the current nos
trum that appealed to the magma
ton of the crowd.
In 1922, while he was still mayor,
he was made the nominee OF the re-
construction league of the state tor
governor. This organization, led by
the Oklahoma Leader, a radical pub
LEGATION, had sensed in Walton Win
ming political figure after his city sue
cess against the conservative demo
Gratis. They were formed on the lines
OF the non-partisan league OF North
Dakota. capitalizing the discomfort OF
+he farmer and the union labor sent1-
ment. Their tactics were to bore into
the old party. The Shawnee conven-
ton of this organization in 1921 in
dorsed Walton on a radical platform.
He went into the campaign, and al
though he lost in the capital and had
most of the big state papers against
him he won in the state by the big
gest majority that any governor ever
received.
Failed to Keep Promises
He jumped into the limelight with
his famous Inauguration barbecue
where all the farmers were invited to
come in their overalls. He turned out
the militia and gave the state three
DAYS of the widest kind of picnic.
He was the idol of the plain people.
their governor and friend. He was
going to turn the agricultural and me
chanical college back to them, take
out the classics from college courses
and get back to dirt and greases. He
was going to clean out the bank
thieves from the state, reform the
budget and get down to economlclcs
to relieve the farmer from tax bur
dens.
Today, despite his failure to do any
OF these things, he can still draw
great crowds on a new issue. Though
he has broken away from the recon
struction league and led them into the
camp of the enemy he is rebuilding
a powerful state machine. On the ku
k1ux khan issue he is planning to be-
come politically impregnable, become
senator or vice presidential candl-
date