Plentywood herald., 1936-10-29
GETTING DOWN TO
''BkASS TACKS"
CLOSING THE BOOKS"

"Finis" is about to be written. The
closing chapter is being recorded this
week on one of the most bitterly con-
tested campaigns in our nations his
tory And when the last word is spok-
en-, the records will undoubtedly Show
that 1t has been one of the costliest
battles ever waged. Hundreds of
thousands have been spent bv botf
major parties 1t has been said that
William Randolph Hearst, the dema-
gogue OF yellow journalism, has given
a. fortune In actual money to help
elect Landon, to say nothing of other
thousands spent in publicity for hi.
drafted and ''favorite" candidate.
Oddly enough much of Hearst's dona-
tions went to FIR. Coughlin and Bill
Lemke to boost the latter's candidacy
in the hope of detouring enough of
Roosevelt's votes to let Landon in
Many other wealthy contributors
counted their donations in the tens OF
thousands-some generously giving to
both sides.
In the closing hours speculation be-
comes more rife. But quite generally
there seems to be growing feeling
that Roosevelt will be reelected. the
famous Digest poll Notwithstanding
Loyds in England, the noted banking
house booking agents, are reported to
be posting II to on the president. II
you don't think Landon is the under
dog, try to get "even money" that
Roosevelt will win. Surely and impair
TALLY the trend is to the president Re-
publican columnists have even surren-
dered Illinois to Roosevelt since his re-
cent visit there which was attended
with such tumultuous demonstration.
In Ohio Landon made what sorle re-
cord as the biggest blunder of his en-
tire campaign when, speaking on the
relief problem, he urged the return OF
poor benefits to agencies of the state.
Ohio had just come through one of the
bitterest struggles of its history when
a grating governor attempted TO build
his own relief agency and the federal
government had to step in to save the
day. It was ,Yatimeiy, 70 say the lepst,
for the Republican candidate 10 advo-
cate a return to the very system from
which the state had just been un-
mired, and as result, Ohio is report
ed to have definitely swung into The
Democratic column.
New York city is SO overwhelmingly
Roosevelt that predictions are conhd-
entity made now that lie huge MAORI
ity rolled up ii. the metropolitan areas
VII more thar overcome any advan-
tage that might accrue to Landon up
state" 1t is genel ally conceded that Al
Smith of brown derby tsn,e is not in
Iurjng the presidents candidacy to any
material extent. In no place where he
has held meetings has he been free
from boos and Jcers, and in some this
has been so pronounced thar If was on
ly with considerable effort that the
warrior" was able to proceed The
lotion has literally fallen ou. OF Lem
ke's campaign. This may ba Judged by
press reports alone. A few weeks back
practically every days issue of daily
papers carried long accounts of the
harangueing candidates a il pl n e
jaunts across the country and his ii,
rades on the gold dust twins Or as
he liked to refer to Roosevelt and Lam
don-"same breed of cats" For our
part, we like to think that people OF
America just didn't relish that sort of
campaign tactics by any candidate nL
matter whether he be the champion
of Townsendites, the "embattled far
mer," or whatnot. There are even
those in Lemke's home state of North
Dakota who see chance of his losing
his seat in Congress-which would be
irony indeed for a man seeking two
offices at one time.
And so we come nearer and nearer
to the payof. All kinds of wagers will
be paid from those running into ths
thousands of dollars to the man who
will permit the winner to wash his face
in dozen eggs, or the one who will
carry an umbrella evtry day for one
solid year. SHY, isn't it? And yet, its
America-the grandest country on the
face of the earth, with the grandest
form of government. Trouble isn't with
our government It's more with our
selves in making or failing to make Il
responsive to our own sociai md &C.
onomic needs. The ballot is the start
ing point. 1t is the privilege and tn,
duty of every American citizen to vote.
We should exercise it, and, failing To
do so, should be slow to criticize if re-
suits do not please us. But, however
the election turns out, the country is
not going to the bow-wows tomorrow.
Whomever the people choose next
Tuesday to make their president, no
one is going to starve, just as much
rain will fall next year, and we shall
all be grateful-not that we are Re-
publicans or Democrats-but that we
are just plain Americans
They say that politics make strange
bedfellows," but sometimes it only
takes a good dose of it to really learn
to know someone. Just during the past
week the parishless exponent of the
gospel who is trying for the second
time this year to elevate" himself
from preaching to a seat in Congress
demonstrated to the Herald one of the
reasons why he will never get there
He is a "chiseler" The ex-reverend
Stockdal has been going up and down
the state asking newspapers to publish
Continued on page d.