Evening star., 1936-06-11
"STOP ROOSEVELT"
CAMP PA|GN SLOGAN
War to Be ''DireCt, Frontal
and UnceaSing," Dele
gates Say.
BY SAMUEL G. BLYTHE.

convention is the quiet, calm, unani-
NOUS determination to defeat the
President.
The defeatists have been routed,
and the defiants are in control. Now
that the slogan stop Landon" has
become nothing but the echo of sound
and fury, the Republican party has
lined up behind the battle cry, Stop
Roosevelt"
The whole spirit of the convention
Is set forth in those two words. There
is no diffuseness in the resolution.
There is no inclusion of the Demo-
cratic party, as a party, nor in any OF
the individuals of it, save the Presl-
dent. The delegates say he is the
Democratic party and the assault Will
be made on that decision.
This is the summary and the sum-
nation of what is going on in Cleve-
land. 1t is the stand the Republicans
will take it; it will be the plan of cam
paign, the order of battle.
Aware of Desperate Fight.
There is no disposition among the
delegates to think they have under
taken an easy task. They are fully
aware that they must fight a most
desperate fight, with the odds against
them. I have moved about among the
delegates today and talked to scores
of them from all parts of the country.
The sentiment is unanimous. The
President himself is to be the object OF
attack, not personally, of course, but,
as these delegates say, as the leader
the perSonification, the commander in
chief of the opposition. They do not
intend to waste any time on the Dem
ocratic party of itself. They hold the
party is now the Rooseveltian party
so the attack is to be direct, frontal
and unceasing.
Inasmuch as the matter of the nom-
ination for President by this conven-
ton now has been disposed of in a
rather peremptory manner and
awaits only the usual ratifications
combined with the usual tumult, the
attention and interest of those present
now is centered on that burning topic:
Who will be nominated for Vice Presi-
dent? That is to say, the topic that
is burning the candidates. and is
mildly febrile in its effects on the
delegates.
Answering that query in the broad
manner, we quote, with few amend
ments, the famous words Of Roscoe
Conkling when he nominated Gen.
Grant for third term
"When ask what State he halls from,
Our sole reply shall be:
'He comes from some good section
"Of the right geography"
Field Always Wide Open.
It is impossible to catalogue the
various aspirants for the second place
on the ticket. New ones bob up every
day, and many who do not do their
own bobbing are bobbed by admiring
friends, the ones who do their own
bobbing being in the majority. 1t
isn't much of a trick to become
candidate for Vice President. The
field always is wide open, and there
are no rules or restrictions.
All depends on the ideas of the cam
didate. He may decide to run because
he feels he will add strength to the
ticket, because he would like the Job,
because he can get some publicity
out of 1t no matter what eventually
befalls, or for any other reason that
occurs to him.
However, the publicity yearn is
usually the chief inciting cause. After
a convention has been in session for
a few days the photographers have
taken miles of reduplicated pictures
of the big shots, and vice presiden-
tial candidate can break into the
picture pages.
1t is matter of timing. For eX-
ample, il a vice presidential candi-
date offered himself for a news pic
ture on, say, the Sunday before the
convention opens, the photograph
and the reporters would shoe him
away and tell him to go and get a
reputation. But if he appears late
in the proceedings in full regalia,
equipped with press agent and black
sheet copies of ringing statement.
he probably can get into both the
pictures and rate a paragraph in the
dispatches.
Word went out quite a time ago that
this convention would not be domi-
mated by the professional pickers of
vice presidential candidates who hith-
erto have been the dominating bosses.
and that spurred many an ambition,
and added great number of members
to the why not?" club.
Put in Three Classes.
They can be classified thus: Men
who legitimately have claims for con-
sideration; men who are promoted by
ambitious politicians of their own
States, and men who seek such
ephemeral publicity as they can OBJ
tain.
Ordinarily. in these conventions, the
leading candidates, either by their own
efforts or by the efforts of friends,
are men who have had votes for
President. Many a man shooting for
vice presidential nomination has
wangled nominating speech and a
few votes for himself from the dele
gates Of his State. That is an old
device.
Conversely, many a man who has
had such votes in the presidential
balloting becomes a candidate by the
force Of this circumstance. President
Coolidge, for example, was MaSsachu-
sets candidate for President in 1920.
with small outside support, and be-
came the partyS vice presidential
candidate. Favorite son nominations
are great breeders of vice presidential
nominations.
Copyright. 1885. BY the North American
Newspaper Alliance. Inc)