Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-27
AIabama's Presidential Pos
sibiIity Prefers Quiet to
Mixing-CoId Logic Is His
Trump

BIRMINGHAM, Ala, Dec. o.
Talk with Oscar W. Underwood, or
listen to one of his speeches on the
floor of the senate, and you get an
impression Of an able, powerful ma
Theological and, above all, endowed
with a large share Of common sense.
Southern in all of his antecedents
educational, political and econom-
iCal-the senator from Alabama, now
that he has thrown his hat in the
1924 arena, represents the hope Of
the SOLID South" for a president.
He combines the manner of the
traditional southern gentleman with
the logic, poiSe and force of the
highly trained executive. Unfail-
ingly polite and friendly, he IS not
what could be termed effusive.
AS a United States senator, I'm
derwood has many friends but few
pals His closest companions are
his wife, who drives him to and from
his office in the United States cap
itol each day, and his German po-
lice dog, Otto Won Eidelweiss. Otto
is the senator's playfellow at home
and companion on walking expedi-
tons. These constitute Underwood 8
chief exercise.
Likes Plain Food.
Underwood is as democratic in his
mode Of living as he is in his poll.
tics. He is unostentatious, wears
business suits, and frequently bow
ties. He likes fried apples, fried ham
f..in -rS,1 o,,1 u IL
of a dog fancier.
Rarely, if ever, does Underwood
make q set speech. All his talks
are extemporaneous, yet when he
rises on the floor of the senate, his
colleagues and the press galleries
come to prompt attention. Here is
where his possession of cold logic is
demonstrated.
Oratorically others may be his SUI
perior. but his arguments are indis-
putable; time and again he has bat
tered Own the livery speeches t
others by the sheer force Of his rea-
soning. He has the faculty of mar.
shaling his facts and making them
march in ordered array.
In his senatorial routine, Under.
wood is most methodical. All the
mail and business Sreaching his Of
flee each day is cleAned up that day.
No questions are left hanging over.
This habit of maintaining a clean
desk leaves him additional time for
reading and study. He prefers the
quiet life to that of the political
mixer"
Few men in public have so even
a temper, so little of temperament.
He never gets ruffled I Hurried, never
exhibits pique or anger, never in
even the bitterest debates raises his
voice above the slow, suave, rather
nasal drawl in which he speaks. He
may be sarcastic, even cuttingly
caustic in debate, but his words will
come in the same slow calmly emo
tionless voice in which he would
present a statistical summary.
And for statistics, especially fl
nancial figures, the Birmingham
senator has quite a prediction. He
is equally fond Of newspapers. HIS
daily regimen calls for an early and
leisurely breakfast, and during the
meal he carefully reads and studies
the news Of the day.
Underwood has given his name
to a great tariff measure, which has
lived and will be remembered. He
did this in the house of representa-
tives, and it made him the famous
leader Of the Democratic party on
the floor. AS majority leader there
during the first Wilson administra'
ton, he was chairman of the ways
and means committee, which drafts
the revenue bills.
When he became senator he was
placed on the senate appropriations
committee. AS he put it:
when I came to the senate ]
stopped raising money and went to
spending it,"
Legal Training
Underwood is a lawyer by profes-
sion. For many years, however, he
has been identified with the Wood
wards, among the most successful
Independent coal and iron producers
of the south, and one of the Wood
wards girls became Mrs. Underwood
He was born in Louisville, KY, in
1852 and was educated there, com.
pleting his law course in the Uni
versity of Virginia. He practiced
I