The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-09-17
r. o N T I n u E ID
~ from page one'
Innate Weaknesses
Bother Republicans

ticket from president to dog catcher
Under the convention system the line!
were tightly drawn. A man wht
sought Republican honor of endorse.
ment for office was loyal or he was
eliminated for the good of the party
There was party discipline in the good
old days which is sadly lacking now
If every Republican candidate in the
various middle west states were mill
family behind the national ticket,
such solidarity would count for much
On the contrary, the Republican ma
chine, national and in states, is bat
tered and functioning like a wheezy
model T Ford.
Strategists gathered here from
many quarters freely admit this OBJ
vious trend and admit that, while
they can put their finger on what is
wrong, it is impossible to cope with OF
check the tendency until the primary
is wiped out. They see little hope OF
reverting to the convention system
under present political conditions.
X X X
Old political war horses shake their
heads in disgust over the style of
campaigns being waged now. The
chief criticism seems to be that there
is too much participation in campaign
activities by bureaucrats such as
Secretaries Hurley and Mills as well
as other cabinet members. They re-
gard them as Eyes men" of the adj
ministration who do not understand
the psychology of the political crowds
as did the speakers who used to be
drafted from the farm, the office or
from other than official circles.
This is poor year for bureaucrats,
they contend. Men with fat federal
jobs, travelling about with secretaries,
secret service attendants and expen-
sive airplanes do not impress rural
audiences.
Senaor Borah. had he not been
sulking in his tent. probably could
have brought the Huron crowds to
their feet. Old Jim" Watson once
held power as spell binder in the
sticks" Thousands in the middle
west have thrilled to the we'll rounded
periods of the late Senator Beveridge
These men could paint the lily and
get applause that rocked the rafters.
Instead today the Republican win
dow-dressing is all different. Hoover,
nominated at a convention composed
largely of federal office holders, has
allowed the campaign to drift into
the hands of the same Eyes men"
Undoubtedly these men are fine ex-
ecutives. excellent bureaucrats, but
in greeting the farmers they are as
effective as the usual "city slicker."
In twenty-five words at Huron, Sen
ator Norbeck, unschooled and of the
rough-and-ready type OF the open
spaces, got closer to the crowd than
the neatly-groomed Hurley, who could
not make the westerners visualize hin,
las riding the range or busting q
broncho" He told them that he had
sprung from the soil, struggled along
on the old homestead, but you've got
to look the part to put 1t over effec-
lively. Senators Bulow and Norbeck
look the part and they got the hand
Why not send speakers out into the
west who know its lingo? ask the poll.
ticians who have to corral the votes
\ X \
There is another political slant t
Hurleys speeches which do not reg.
lister with the western people. The,
have and are now facing the hardes
kind of conditions. Gate-keepers al
the fair told the Writer that the,
noted the few farmers that attended
this year. They simply did not have
the price. Farmers enjoy these fairs
TO many it is the annual outing--th'
only play-time. They crowd into TIT
bleachers for the races and the nigh
spectacles. At the Hurley speech no