The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-08-20

as chairman Of the Campa
 Some of the boys thought 1t was a great joke that the gentle, soft spoken little Texan should be giv- en the tough job of riding herd on electioneering funds.
 But the guffaws were unfair to Sheppard. It is true that in man ner and personality he is the an- tithesis of the hard-boiled, whip cracking prober But there is nothing soft or weak about him. In his unobtrusive way, Sheppard is one of the most resolute men in Congress.
 He has no flair for circus stunting or headlines. No com mittee he has directed in his many years in public life has in- dulged in ho0p-la stuff. Shcp- pard is not built that way. He works methodicaIly, deliberately, and with unyielding perscver- ancc.
 The Campaign Expenditures Committee will produce no pyro- technics, but neither will 1t be a carnival of buffoonery or Q stcnch of underhand partisan intrigue and skullduggery. The report Sheppard will make next January will be an honorable and forth right statement of facts as have been his few informal ob- servations to date.
 MettIe of the Man
 An evaluation of the true mettle of the man can be found in his stand on the prohibition issue.
 Sheppard was first elected to Senate on a prohibition platform. He was the father of the 18th amendment. He believed in it then and he believes in 1t now. Regularly, on the anniversary of the amendment, he rises from his seat in the senate and in his quiet manner defends the dry cause and predicts it's eventual triumph.
 And his colleagues listen to him with respect and courtesy. They may question his judgment, but not his sincerity.
 Former Senator Jim Reed, un- reIcnting and vitri0Iic foe of prohibition, once voiced the views of the Senate toward Sheppard with this observation: There are only three men In this chamber who really believe in prohibition. One is Senator Wesley Jones Hate of Washing tom and the other two are Morris Sheppard"
 Up for reelection in 1036, at the high tide of repeal, Shep- pards' friends begged him to soft pedal his dry convictions. But he flatly rejected their pleas.
 "I am no hypOcrite and I won't be one to save my seat" he said. I'm dry because I believe In 1t and not because there arc or are not votes in it."
 He campaigned the length and breadth of Texas blunty affirm ing his adherence to the dry cause and was reelected by the largest majority of his career. RcsOlutc New Dealer
 He has demonstrated this same quiet resolve on other equally controversial issues
 Years ago he sponsored the bill that became known as the Shep- pard-Towner Act, which provided for federal-state cooperation toward maternity and infant well fare. It was violently assalled as scheme for bureaucratic med ding in private affairs. Shep- pard wrote that measure into law and today it is universally &C., cepted as principle of legitimate government activity.
 Despite his ardent dry convic- tions. Sheppard publicly support cd Al Smith in 1928 Prohibition ists bitterly assailed Shepard butshe stood his ground.
 There are other issues at stake in this campaign" he an- swered, beside the question of prOi ibition. Tn my opinion these great economic and social issues outweigh MT. Smiths wet views"
 With equal staunchness Shcp- pard has supported President Roosevelt from the 1032 cam paign, when he ran on a repeal platform, to the present day. Be- cause of his unobtrusiveness, few are aware of Sheppard's high score as New Dealer. Few Con- gressmcn have given the admin istration more devoted loyalty. FDR First and Always
 This is all the more remarkable because the Texas delegation on Capitol Hill is not noted for New Deal regularity.
 This fellow Texan. Vice Presi- dent Garner, has repeatedly been the undercovcr leader of the OFF TIFF RECORn