The Washington times., 1936-06-17

Iicdn nominee for President, the
tolIotDing story ShotOS:
BY ROBERT HUMPHREYS
TOPEKA, Kan, June II d.N.SO
Thirty.three years ago this month
O lad of is waded into the waters
Of Pennsylvania's Lake Conneaut
and struck out for the opposite
shore, two and one-half miles dis
tant.
A youngster who never before
had done more than three or Tour
hundred yards along shore, ne
swan steadily, alternating a crawl
with an awkward side stroke.
Before long word spread among
the cottages that Mrs. Landon'S
boy, ALI, was trying to swim the
lake. Somebody told his mother.
CONSERVATION became general
Mrs. Landon's anxiety acute.
But there was not much any
one could do. He was now lar
past the halfway mark.
Broke Shoulder at Football
It's a mater of record that Al
fred Landon swan the lake that
afternoon. It's also in the records
that he has been a fierce competl-
tor since boy hood, whether chal-
lenged by the breadth of lake
or the Steepest political odds.
The annals of the Marietta
(Ohio) Academy reveal that Al
fred Landon, a 114-pound end,
broke his shoulder in a football
game against Parkersburg (W.
Va High School in 1902. 1t was
also mentioned that the acad-
emy's blow was double since the
future Presidential nominee was
regular left fielder on the baseball
team.
Because Landon's shoulder was
never properly set, his athletic
career came to an abrupt end. In
later years it was to cause him
to forego golf and bowling, two
sports he admired.
Liked to "Argue"
But his indomitable competitive
spirit was not to be easily
quenched.
Alfred Landon chose to study
law because, as he explained, he
''liked to argue" His Kansas Uni
versity law school dean, Uncle
Jimmy" Green, had years earlier
been instructor to William E.
Borah, a promising youth on the
K. U. campus, who later migrated
to Idaho.
Landon was to choose the rocky
precipices of the Gil business be-
cause the monotony of a bank
Stifled him.
He thrilled to the scent of battle
in 1914 as progressive party
county chairman, not alone for
the reason he greatly admired
Theodore Roosevelt, but also be-
cause Of the challenging odds
against victory.
When, following Americas en-
trance into the World War, a
more realistic battle called him, he
enlisted in the chemical warfare
division and became a first lieuten-
ant. His regret was that he saw
no overseas service.
Philosophical Decisions
In 1920 he twice refused profit
able bids from major oil compa-
MES for his leases and the accom-
panying offers of a high-salaried
executive position, because he
preferred to stack his own wits
against the field.
He told friends later that his
own independence meant more
to him than an assured future"
It was big decision for a young
man Of 80 to make but Landon's
decisions have many times had
philosophical angles.
He once had drillers on a site
and, after a study of his maps,
had them move overnight to a
point three miles away. The
original lease later became one
of the biggest producers in Kan
saS history.
He said:
81 missed a fortune of four or
five million dollars by that de-
CisiOn, but don't particularly
regret it. Four or five million
dollars have ruined the peace
Of mind of many a man."
But it has been the field OF