Evening star., 1936-10-18
Lincoln
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Of Republican activity and hope. This
has been largely due to the declaration
the old-age pension movement, that
he intended to vote for Landon and
urging that his followers do likewise
His theory and that of the Townsend
ties generally is that the Roosevelt
administration has been entirely hos
tile to their movement. and for that
reason the President must not be re-
elected.
California, with its % electoral
votes, is prize for any presidential
candidate And California has done
strange things in presidential elec-
tions in the past. 1t gave its elec-
toral votes to Woodrow Wilson and
made him President in 1916. merely
because Charles Evans Hughes, the
Republican candidate, failed to walk
across the street to shake. Hiram
Johnson's hand. Its population is
politically volatile, the Republican
leaders here insist. They do not say
that if Landon came here and gave
an address the G. o. P. would carry
the State. They do not go quite that
far. But they do say that some
thing might happen"
California has more Of the so-called
'lunatic fringe" than any other State
in tho IIpinp-c,,nh hoe boo1 49,
characterization of the followers of
Upton Sinclair and his E. F. l. c., and
of the Townsendites. The E. P. /. C.
movement has almost dropped out Of
sight. But the Townsendites are
apparently made of Sterner stuff.
The Townsend Clubs, of which there
are 1000 in the State and 600 in
Southern California, continue to -four
iSh like the green bay tree In Los
Angeles the Townsendites run their
clubs on big scale And how they
are lambasting President Roosevelt!
Claim 10000, 900 Votes.
In their latest issue of the Town
send National Weekly, they claim TO-
100000 voters That, of course. seems
fantastic claim. They insist they
can elect a President if they all stick
together-and that the President will
be Landon. DR.. Townsend complains
bitterly in this issue of the movements
organ because, he says, he was denied
the right to speak over a Chicago
broadcasting station by the National
BroadcaSting Co., on the ground that
he was going to make an appeal for
funds to finance his radio program
The Townsendites charge that on the
same night Daniel j. Tobin, director
of the labor division of the Democratic
National Committee, was allowed to
make an appeal for funds in behalf
of the Democratic party. They, the
TownsenditeS also claim, will elect to
Congress on November at least 200
Townsend-indorsed candidates.
At Townsend headquarters here it
is said very few protests have been
received from members of the Town
send Clubs because DR.. Townsend
has come out for Landon-despite the
fact that very many members of the
clubs have been Democrats.
California for years has been a Mec-
ca for older people, who came here to
spend their declining years. Thou
sands of these old people met disaster
during the depression. Their savings
were wiped out. That is one reason
for the hold which the Townsend
movement for old-age pensions-at
5000 a month-immediatel obtained
in the State. There is something
fanatical in the way these old people
cling to the idea. BY no means are all
Of the Townsend Club members old,
but they. seem to be thinking of ap-
preaching years.
The Townsendites have reached the
conclusion-through a mental process
ali their own-that Landon, the Re-
publican nominee, Is less hostile to
their old-age pensions plan than is
President Roosevelt. They maintain
that President Roosevelt and the New
Deal Democrats have refused them
hearing and have attempted, through
the activities of "smearing commit
ICC VI tllC 11OuSc, W ulSCISOlt uCtS14y
their movement.
Landon Milwaukee Speech.
On the other hand, they refer to the
speech made by Landon in Milwaukee
in which he said he believed in old
age pensions sufficient to maintain
decent standard of living and that
the revenue for this purpose should be
collected by widely distributed tax
and should be earmarked specifically
for pensions" They say that this ut
terance certainly proves that Landon
is in favor of the very things the
Townsendites favor" And there you
have it.
In California the Republican State
Committee has adopted plank pledg-
ing q fair hearing on the Townsend
plan and pledging the Republican
members of Congress from California
to work with the members from other
States to that end. And the Townsend
ties are circulating widely the state
ment made By DR.. Townsend that "Ine