Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-23
SPEECH
OF NOTIFICATION
Senator. in Address. Halls
Smith as Leader of
Party.

Senator PIttHdn or Nevada Notifying
Gov. Smith of his nomination for the
presidency:
Gov Smith: / have the honor. sir,
as chairman Of the notification COM
mlttce of the national convention. 10
convey to YOU an official message from
the Democracy of the United States.
Our people, at all times. irrespective
Of party Affiliations, have been adj
hercnts of the great principles Of
Democracy prOcla lined by Thomas JEFF
fersOn Only unusual events and the
vicissitudes and confusion attending
our swift progress, have led some of our
people into the train Of false gods
Only periodically have we paused. faced
the facts. and reset our cOurSe-aligned
our votes with our minds and our
hearts.
such a time We hold now to be upon
us The World War. Notwithstanding
the glory OF our arms left us daZed and
disturbed. The postwar period proved
to be an suspicious occasion for the
forces Of reactiOn-thoSe greedy groups
which have cOntrlved by tenuOus
threads to tie themselves together under
the label Of Republicanism. Govern
ment reaction, and inactiOn, were the
orders Of the day. Faced by the de-
structive results OF war. We permitted
The White House to become coollng-of
place for cur emotions. We kept cool
while brigapdry waxed warm. We Kept
cool. while, as Nation, we renamed
morally impotent.
Forgot Need of Honest Action"
"Unctuous and meaningless phrases
became our political fetish. We forgot
the need of courage. We forgot the
need of honest and uncompromising &C
ton. 1t became heresy to the prevailing
faith of man to speak what ne
thought to act as he believed. we
could rant about the Constitution and
we were termed statesmen. however
much in practice we trampled upon the
tenets of our fundamental law.
I'VE permitted stark hypocrisy to
have unprecedented sway. We were
stepped in Self-delusion. We uncon-
sciously sinned. Our worst sin was the
sin against ourselves, the sin OF not be-
ing ourselves. We had lost the old grit
that Jackson gave us
Against these abject tendencies OF
the time we fought. Our cause was
eight We did not hesitate to fight, and
vet we met defeat. We realized that
RepublicaniSm has the cohesive power
Of selfiShness, whilst Democracy Is
sometimes divided through the indie
pendence of lndiyiGualiSm. We mad
seen diSSenSior among our generals We
had witnessed rebellion in our ranks:
We had seen our great cause obscured
and belittled by petty issues and local
contentious. We understand now that
even a superior army. with many great
generals. cannot prevail unless there is
universal cause under the leadership
OF great and supreme commander. We
determined that never again should
these mistakes happen. You. sir, stirred
our patriotism and brought back TO our
minds the realization of our higher
duties as citizens CT the National Gov
eminent.
Holds Sectionalism Abandoned.
And so. sir, our people. in every city
and hamlet Ill the marts OF trade, IN
the mines in the bowels of the earth,
while following the pillow. or driving
their herds ON the Western mountain
plateauS awakened to this realization.
and i'll their minds was born the deter
mination to select commanoer-ln-cnlet
who. under one banner. with
united party, would lead them back 10
| Democracy.
I'VE abandoned SeetonaliSm and let
| our vision search out every part OF our
| broad country to find Democracy's ma
| tional leader. In our search, our eyes
| in1oluntarily, and with peculiar unanim-
| ltv, turned TO the chief executive OF
! he great State of New York-a State
| that contains one-tenth of the popula-
| ten of the United States. and where
| exists every character OF business, IN
| duStry and occupation; State with
cosmopolitan population.
There We saw Democrat who, Tor
fO,,r tav,,aS haeIf picefNG Governor.
Our wonder grew that man born
among the masses laboring in his youth
to educate himself and support MS
mother, unaided by wealth or influence.
could have been elected four times as
chief executive of State that hereto
fore has given the Republican national
ticket a vote of 900 600 majority.
we studied your record as Governor
of the State of New York. We mar
veled ut the economies you had &C
compliShed. and the constructive works
YOU had wrought. We saw. sir. that
yon had practiced the just and humane
principles of Thomas Jefferson; that
YOU had lived and fought III the ranks
of the common people, while co-operat-
ing with and receiving the commenda-
ton of the Nations recognized states
men. We saw your acts OF justice
tempered with mercy.
we witnessed a plain, simple man,
contending with most powerful oppo-
aents III the adjustment of the grave
problems that affect human life and
happiness We saw a happy man. a
liberal man of broad vision. man OF
courage, without intolerance, prejudice
or hatred, man morally and mentally
honest, who has the courage to express
and act upon his convictions, a man
who loves his country, his fellow man.
his family and his God.
Convinced of Impartialitv.
"Your appointment of able. honest
and efficient men and women To the
highest offices solely by reason of thei,
qualifications, and without regard To
influence. Affiliations or associations
convinced lis of your impartiality. toll
france and SinglenesS of purpose, Your
refusal to give your support to the am
aitions of individuals or to causes which
you considered unworthy. even when
urged by your friends and supporters,
SaS conclusive proof of your indepcnd-
ance and courage.
We discovered. sir that YOU mad Won
the confidence OF the people OF the
state of New York by Your able, Im-
partial independent aud courageous
public service IN the many public offices
YOU had filled before YOU became n can
didatc Iur governor We discovered
hat your administration as Governor 81
the state OF New York. from your flrst
inauguration until the present moment
has been SO manly, brilliant. fair and
constructive that YOU have maintained
the confidence of the people in every
walk vt life. irrespective of political
business or religious Affiliations
We understand then why YOU,
Democrat mad been elected four times
chief executive Of the great state oi
New Work We recognized and knew
sir that YOU possess those great char
acteristies that marked Jefferson. Jack
son Cleveland and WflSnn We realized