Evening star., 1936-06-12
Governor LandOn.

political phenomenon. 1t does not
consist, so much, in the choice OF
a man who until a few months
ago was virtually unknown outside of his
State. The mercurial temperament of
the American people and the universal
availability of the means Of rapid COM
munication of ideas have, in the past,
made household words overnight of un-
known names and unknown characters.
Little known men, in She past. have
emerged from the traditional smoke
filled rooms of convention cities to be
nominated as the standard bearers Of
their parties.
But in the case of Landon, the move
ment for his nomination started at
scratch. got under way unassisted by
some of the spectacular events or cir
cumstances that have added luster TO
other names. gathered force like
avalanche and finally ended with a tri-
umph that assumed, in its overwhelm-
ing completeness, the attributes OF spon-
taneity.
How is this explained? The American
process OF building up" . character is
sufficiently understood by a newspaper
reading, radio-listening public. 1t can
be applied with equal effectiveness to
channel swimmer, a prizehghter or q
presidential candidate. But this ex-
planation falls short in the case OF Lam
don. There we're Others in better posi-
ton as regards money. forums and skill.
to build up" themselves and to build
up others, who failed. Landon's own
attitude toward the nomination from the
beginning was passive. If those around
him were working like beavers. seeking
the office for him, he was himself giving
the perfect impression of the man whom
the Office is seeking. That might have
been mere smart politics But it does
not always work Why did it work in
the case OF Landon?
The answer may lie in the fact that
the rank and file of the Republican
party has felt the urge and the need to
cut loose entirely from those leaders,
and the school Of leaders, who were asso-
ciated with it in the devastating defeat Of
1882. Something of the adventurous
spirit of the New Deal has been infec-
tious. There has been the desire to cut
loose from the circumstances OF the
past. The ranks OF the old guard
offered nothing new. The old guard has
been associated with the East, which
also produced Roosevelt. Brsnd-new
names and faces we're demanded An
fndefnable spirit OF search for the right
man seemed to start with Landon and
never got beyond him. A fiickering spot
light first picked him out and never
seemed to waver, growing in intensity as
its beam Steadied and remained sta
tionary
What manner of man did 1t find?
Less than year after the Landon boom
really started there are few outside of
Kansas who know him or know much
about him. In Kansas he is regarded as
sound, capable, but unspectacular,
Governor. II there are hidden places
in his career that will mean bad medi-
cine politically his Kansas friends have
overlooked them and his enemies are
yet to reveal them. One of his oldest
friends and mentors, the lovsble william
Allen White Of Emporia, has described
his first political efforts as q speech
maker as terrible" His rare appear
ances before the microphone have indi-
Gated no great progress in the art in
which his opponent, the President, is
master He seems to be q plain man
without much color" q man who has
done we'll those things he has been called
upon to do, enjoying the confidence and
the respect of his neighbors and his
friends, well read without being bookish
and progressive without wearing the tag
of an intellectual. 1t may be accidental,
or 1t may be because the real building
up" process is not yet fully under way,
or it may be significant index of his
character that his nomination finds him
still the capable and somewhat unassum-
ing Governor OF Kansas, and not the
mythical superman clothed in all the
marvellous traits of quickly manufac-
tured tradition.
There is, however, a mysterious magic
in his name which made itself felt before
and during the convention at Cleve-
land It's lasting qualities remain to be
tested in the coming campaign. The test
is severe one, more exacting than that
of quietly awaiting the outcome of a
political convention. Landon has been
called to a role that will not be filled
by becomingly modest acceptance OF
a great honor. His role demands the Wig
crous leadership Of an enbattled party