The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-06-18

Washington, June 1s.-To Q con- siderable-and perhaps even conclu- sive-degree, the. presidential caTn- paign will be @ contest between the personalities of the candidates.
 Platforms will be much the same. Landon's campaign, managers are ct least as shrewd as Rooseyelt's.
 The Roosevelt record is'either .
 great asset or . net handicap, acc cording to your views, and you
 either prefer it to Landon's rec.
 ord as governor of Kansas or you
 don't.
 Under these circumstances, al- though it's to be remembered that the record of each man Is the best indication of what he would do in the White House from 1887 to l941, personalities become impor- tant.
 The infectious smile of the gay and glittering Roosevelt will be opposed to the winning, friendly grin of the folksy, small-town Landon.
 The wealthy, SatriCian back
 ground of the Squire of Hyde
 Park" will be opposed by the
 rugged setting of prairie, oil fields,
 and Main street from which steps
 "the Kansas Coolidge"
 This conflict with its possibili- ties for dramatization, plays Q large part in the plans of Landon strategists and 1t already IS caus- ing concern in the New Deal camp.
 The White House is being urged by close friends and advisers to tone down any further use by Jim Farley and Charlie Michelson, boss New Deal ghost writer, of such expressions as synthetic candidate,' "man nobody knows" and typical prairie state"
 Appeals to Small T0wner
 It seems there are many small towns in the country, and although Landon is several cuts above the average man, his appeal to the aver- age man is 50 direct that any per. sonal, derlsive attacks from Farley, who is widely regarded as Q Tam- many city slicker with no lofty eth- ics, aren't likely to do Landon any harm or Roosevelt any good.
 The country is rapidly getting the picture of Landon-old-fas toned and homely virtues, warm and friendly small.town manner, well-to-do family man who likes to go catflshing and walks down every day for lunch to a Main street cafeteria, commonplace but Shrewd, enough fard-headed com- mon sense--horse sense if you like.--to pay his own debts and his states, the boy who sold eggs to neighbors ct the age of 10, shirt sleeves and open collar on any hot day, oftlce door always wide open to the folks, honest, thrifty, mod est, kindly, tolerant, and 50 on. Cite Kansas Virtues
 All that, along with the alleged virtues of Kansas--with soft pedal on prohibition laws, anti.cigaret laws, and certain past or present peculiarities the bill of goods which Chairman John Hamilton and his host will be trying to sell the nation in the next few months.
 It may go over well or 1t may flare back. Much depends on the skill with which the New Dealers handle 1t, and no one can tell.
 The Landonites expect the can- didate's personality and back ground to draw in votes of mile lions of farmers, city workers, and Small-town business men every- where.
 On the other hand, Roosevelt has exhibited as popular and ap- pealing . personality as any man who ever parked in the hite House. His charm is famous and his direct method of appealing personally to the masses of the people has been his greatest poe liticaI asset.
 Landon, by contrast Athough he gets on well with small groups and has won the friendship of many visiting writers who have talked with him and perhaps raided the icebox at the governors mansion at midnight--dcesn' go well on the radio and has no gift for ap. pearances before large crowds.
 Play Up to Plain People
 The question is whether enough people will sour on Roosevelt's grin, glitter, and gusto to succumb to Landon by November.
 Many former Roosevelt support- CTS are no longer captivated by the my friends" technique, although 1t appears he still has the votes of most of the plain people" whom both he and Landon will seek to charm.
 Hamilton keyed part of the campaign in his nominating speech, when he pictured Landon as one who knew the worklngman