Evening star., 1936-06-12

the first ballot, when the great del
egations OF New York and PennSyl-
vania had caucused.
Held 70 3-Minute Talks.
All OF these retiring presidential
candidates were potential candida tes
for the vice presidential nomination
They were in effect on parade before
the national convention. Allowed only
three minutes in which TO speak, they
had to be quick about it.
Vandenberg and Knox received
great applause when they took the
rostrum. The Michigan Senator. who
had been accused Of joining "coaH-
ton" against Landon last week. said: {:
Il belong to that American coalition
which proposes 10 restore the Republic:
Roosevelt bloc"
Knox said. In q time OF grave
national crisis there is no room for
personal ambition: we must present
united front 10 the enemy. was
thrilled to the heart by the telegram
read by John Hamilton from Gov.
Lsndon."
1t was an suspicious start OF a cam
paign. which made promises to the
people.
Hamilton's address was an elo-
quent and mastery eulogy OF Gov.
Landon as man Of the people and
8 man of his word. Without using at
all the name Of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Hamilton drew a contrast
with the present occupant OF the
White House which his great audience
quickly recognized and applauded. His
speech proved a bitter indictment of
Roosevelt.
In kansas said Hamilton. Gov.
Landon has made State administration
not complex. but simple. He has not
sought to give the impression that 1t
Is task TO be assumed only by super
men"
He compared the record Of Lsndon
as Governor for the last three and a
half years to the record Of President
Roosevelt. They are, he said, very
different. and he continued:
There is nothing easier than to
break contract, once you have con-
vinced yourself that contracts can be
broken. There is nothing easier than
telling q half-truth to cover that
broken contract, once you have decided
that truth is out OF style. There is
nothing easier than to promise all
things to all men when your conscience
is sufficiently elastic. There is nothing
easier than to take any means at hand
to secure votes, once you have decided
that You value votes more than your
own Self-respect. There is nothing
easier than spending money you dc
not have to pay, and it is easy and
amusing to indict and condemn the
motives Of your opponents when YOU
have lost your sense of proportion and
have become convinced that you and
you alone are indispensable to the
people.
Adoption of the policies that have
ruled in Washington for the last -four
years would have been just as easy in
Kansas. except for one thing-that
Gov. Landon had not seen fit to take
the first steps toward unreliability. His
answer to emergency was different. He
decided that even If citizens were los
ing confidence in all else around them
at least they wouldn't have cause to
lose confidence In their new Cover
nor"
The first mention Of Landon's name
by Hamilton, which came early in his
nominating speech-another prece-
dent smashed-was the signal for Q
20-minute demonstration. The dele
gates marched around the hall. carry
ing banners. huge pictures of Landon
corn stalks, pitchforks, led by a couple
OF bands. The noise was deafening.
Before the other presidential csndi-
dates had withdrs wn from the race,
eight persons had been picked to Sec
ond the nomination Of Landon. They
were heard Immediately after Hamil-
ton had concluded. Among them were
Gsspar Bacon Of Massachusetts,, Gov.
Fitzgerald Of Michigan. MRS. Corrine
Alsop Of Connecticut, Perry w. How
ard. national committeeman from
Mississippi; Henry Duff Of Missouri,
Charles M. Day OF South Dakota,
and Mrs. Ruth Hanna Simms OF New
Mexico.
The convention completed con-
sideration of the platform last night
before 1t tackled the job Of nominat-
ing q presidential candidate. After
long day OF waiting, in which it
was necessary to take two Tecesses.
49, ~Ia kAn~~. w,aa Ann1Iu h~Oa,oht irt n