Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-02-23
C. O. P. Possibilities Lack
Definite Air Personality
Country In for Much Political Speech Max.
ing, Although Surveys Show Compare
lively Few Are Listening In Now

Senator Borah Is undoubtedly q
consummate orator, and has been
compared to Henry Clay and Daniel
Webster. But like AL Smith he ap-
parently needs an audience to pep
him up, at least as indicated by his
recent talks. As trained, polished
orator he along with Charles Evans
Hughes was the radio speechmaking
bulwark of the first Hoover CAM
paign. But lately his voice has grown
somewhat cold, though his speeches
are clear and incisive, and loss of
old-time vigor is detachable. Senator
Borah, it Is said, intends to do nearly
all of mis- campaigning via the radio.
Herbert Hoover has at last added
human appeal to his speeches, is not
above an occasional quip and wise
crack and has generally undergone an
amazing metamorphosis from his dull
speechmaking as President and presi-
dental candidate. His friends say
that leisure has enabled him to relax
to his natural self, but the gossip Is
that he must have taken lessons in
speaking no less than he must be
accepting aid or advice in writing his
speeches He has become definitely
an interesting personality on the
radio.
GOVERNOR ALT LANDON has
been heard least on the air of all
the potential G. o. P. nominees, and
radio men are inclined to catalog his
speaking manner as being as color
less as that of Coolidge. Newspaper
men who know him say his CONVEX
sational voice is good one and pleas
ant, but on the radio it is high
pitched and strident and lacks
warmth. One observer called him a
'cornfleld speaker" who needs more
training and experience in the peculiar
technique of the microphone because
he has not yet accustomed himself
to the modern method of hinging
speeches so far and wide over the
land.
Frank Knox is another whose voice
does not sound natural over the radio,
who pitches his speech at high level
and stays there, and who let's himself
be carried away by flights of his own
oratory. He needs to relax-to attune
himself to the relaxed attitude of
auditors seated in the comfort of their
homes, which is the real secret of
the Roosevelt radio success. His is
not an unfriendly voice, but it is in
clined to be raspy and does not hold
attention readily.
Senator Vandenberg is reputed to
be a commanding platform orator,
who writes exceedingly well (from
long experience as an editor and
writer) yet who can ad lib or extem-
porize on his feet very readily. But
again he demonstrates that old-time
flights of oratory are not so effective
via the radio as from the platform.
His speeches are so well thought out
and prepared that some radio observ-
ers think he is losing much of his
potential effectiveness by failing to
take lessons in what they call micro
phone technique.
SENATOR DICKINSON, despite the
fact that he has spoken on the
radio perhaps more often than any of
the other Republican hopefuls, with
the exception of Hoover, is another
"cornfeld orator" who could stand
lot of training. His is a booming,
stentorian voice that the RADIO con-
troll engineers have to tone down too
much for his own good.
The foregoing are reactions which
may be disputed in many quarters, but
they are frank and honest reactions
of persons rather well qualified to
judge, who were asked for judgments
free from partisan bias. They are set
down on that basis only.
Some one has advanced a theory
that the frequent radio appearances
of the Republican possibilities in these
pre-convention days Is making them
so well known to the American pub
lie that there is little likelihood that
dark horse will be pulled out Of
some ones stall, brought forward un-
expectedly and nominated at Cleve-
land after Darkroom political par
leys, as was done in the case of Hard
ing. Some may not agree with this
conclusion, but the fact remains that
the American people. for better or
worse, are getting rather good size
up of the candidates right now, via
their loud speakers, far ahead of the
conventions.