Evening star., 1935-10-28
LANDON TO STAND
UPON HIS RECORD.
Kansan, Rock-Ribbed in
Economy, Keeps Busy
"Hoeing Own Row."
BY JAY G. HAYDEN.

LIle pTOpOSdI GO peIlSlOl LIle NdIlOIl
out of depression and reputedly mar
shall Of more fanatical followers than
any other American. had just dropped
| In for an unexpected visit. At the
moment Of my arrival, DR.. Townsend
could be seen through the wide open
door of the executive Office, expound-
ing his plan to the Governor, while
a horde Of newspaper reporters waited
outside to learn the result Of the con-
| ference.
| The general assumption was that
DR.. Townsend was offering to sup
port Gov. Landon's candidacy for
President in return for an indorse-
ment Of the pension proposal.
Part in Friendly Manner.
When the meeting was over, Gov.
Landon parted with DR.. Townsend in
most friendly fashion and loaned his
car to take him to the Topeka air.
port. Then the Governor turned to
the reporters.
II told DR.. Townsend that I could
not go along with his plan" he said
Il believe in the principle of old-age
pensions. and an old-age pension sys-
tenn will be established in Kansas as
soon as we're able to work out legal
| questions with the Federal Social Se-
curity Board and obtain further in
formation"
1t was the sort of thing those
closely associated with the Governor
have learned to expect of him. He
does not truckle to special interest
groups, nor does he dodge thens He
listens to each Of them patiently and
then he states his position. simply
and incisively.
DR.. Townsend was not the only
caller at the executive Office that dav.
| The waiting room was crowded with
groups and individuals-lesser State
officials, farmers, business men, poll
ticians and. last but not least, a man
from Seattle who had a great idea
for consolidating all the tourists maps
Of the country and was travelling from
one State capital to another. seeking
to persuade the Governors to COOP
crate in its production.
| Handles Detail Rapidly.
Gov. Landon has the faculty of do
ing a dozen things at once without
getting flustered. He moved from one
person to another quickly and easily,
lntermittently answering long-dstance
telephone calls. He did not appear to
be in a hurry with anybody, but in
a half hour he disposed Of a multi
tude, seemingly sending all of them
away contented
For Is years Mr.. Landon worked as
an independent oil producer-as pre-
carious and hard-bitten a business
game as can be found anywhere in
America. To succeed at it, and Mr..
Landon did succeed. requires keen and
accurate knowledge, quick thinking,
hard dealing, both with the big oil
distributors, who squeeze the little fel-
lows as hard as they can, and with
oil wells.
After this experience. Mr.. Landon
found very little in politics to get ex-
cited about. Troubles. plenty of them,
what with depression and drought and
many people running around. each
claiming to have the only true and
bloWn-in-the-bottle solution for ev-
erything. But Mr.. Landon had learned
to take his difficulties in the days
stride.
Gov. Landon, for the moment. is
not discussing national issues for pub
Hcation. His position Is that he has
enough to do in meeting the problems
Of his State. He is smart enough to
know it is much easier to talk your
self out Of the presidency than to
talk yourself into it.
Clear on National Issues.
It should not be assumed from this,
however, that he Is not interested in
Federal affairs, or that he is without
views regarding them. During three
hours I spent with him in his study
he opened his mind on every subject
I could think to present. The impress
sions that loomed largest in my mind
at the end of the day were the practi-
| cality Of his approach to public ques-
tions and his peculiarly detached and
non-partisan attitude toward them.
He may have been thinking about the
presidency. but he didn't act that way.
Mr.. Landon doesn't go in much for
high-flown theories. He has a positive
dislike for sweeping solutions. Push
up to him one of the crucial govern
mental problems Of the day-such as
agricultural or unemployment relief
and his first step Is to take it apart
and lay 1t out piece by piece. Then
he analyses each Of these pieces in its
relation to every other piece and to
the national welfare generally.
The result Is not political work Of
the sort that can be described in a
l0-word campaign slogan. It may
seem little muddled in spots because
the objects he is aiming at just natur-
ally tangle one with another. But his
talk displayed a remarkable grasp Of
the subjects in hand, both as to the
needs Of the people affected and the
| functions and limitations of Govern
ment in dealing with them
Would Balance Budget.
Also, he does not condemn the New
OCdI AL tOtO' 81lo ca 10 "Atll tliC
methods employed at Washington
rather than with the ends sought to
be attained. How to save the good
things In the New Deal and still bal
ance the budget is the big problem
as he sees 1t.
On the latter point it is significant
that Gov. Landon, although a Repub-
ncan, has got along better with the
Federal relief authorities than q great
majority of Democratic Governors.
Not once has 1t been charged that
Kansas was not doing its fair share
in providing relief funds. Relief Ad-
ninistrator Hopkins fixed the ratio be-
tween Federal and State contribu-
tions, and Gov. Landon accepted it
without question.
The contrast, which probably has
contributed more than anything else
toward making Gov. Landon formid-
able as presidential candidate, arises
when a comparison Is made between
his financial showing. while meeting