The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1939-05-11

Washington in a long time casts
Congressman Harold Knutson in
the role Of a brilliant satirist
throwing verbal mud and mockery
at the glittering pageant of wei
come President Roosevelt extended
yesterday for General Anastasio So.
moaz, president of Nicaragua.
Crowds earlier in the day had
seen a display of soldiers and sail.
ors, a procession of tanks, fleets OF
flying fortresses and had heard q
21-gun salute for the ruler of q
tiny country, whom the Minnesots
congressman called "a dictator"
AS Knutson heaped ridicule and
denunciation on the affair, Speaker
Bankhead in desperation adjourned
congress to halt the verbal bar,
rage.
1t was the most unmerciful raz-
zing ever handed on the floor OF
the house to a formal occasion OF
state, Alfred S. Stedman, Washing
ton correspondent for the st. Paul
Pioneer Press, wrote.
Try To Repair Damage
To undo as much of Knutson's
damage as quickly as they possibly
could, Stedman's story continues,
the Democrats unlimbered Sam
Rayburn of Texas, the majority
leader of the house, to answer
Knutson.
"Of all the unfortunate state
ments I have ever heard in this
house." Rayburn said, the one just
made by the gentleman from Min
nesota is the most unfortunate.
1T is true" Rayburn continued,
that across the season the rulers of
some nations cannot be brought to-
gether, but I pray to God that the
time will never come when the rul-
ers of the western hemisphere will
not be able to sit down together and
are not on good terms with each
other"
Knutson told the house:
I'VE have now in power a broad
minded administration. While it is
ostensibly welded to democracy it
is not above showing royal honors
to visiting dictators from abroad if
they are our kind.
Witnessed the splendid pageant
we put on for the dictator from
Nicaragua this noon when we held
a huge parade in his honor.
Thousands of soldiers, sailors
and marines, with scores of tanks
that tore up the pavements on our
streets and anti-aircraft artillery
and cavalry paraded down Consti-
tuition avenue in his honor"
Lamb and Lion"
Heading the parade was a White
House limousine bearing the great
democrat, Franklin Delano Roose-
welt, and the stern dictator from
Nicaragua, sitting side by side, car
rying on an amiable conversation,
thus proving that the lamb and
the lion can be made to lie down
side by side in peace. Overhead
droned hundreds of aircraft, burn
ing taxpayers money.
Let me say to Herr Hitler" he
continued, that if we want to
see examples of militarism and mill
tary splendor it is not necessary
for us to journey to Berlin and
Rome to do so. We can put on
as good a military show as they
We have money to burn for that
and other purposes.
Let Hitler mind his own bust.
ness and we will do likewise
maybe" he concluded.
A Dazzling Show
There is no doubt that today's
ceremony for General Somoza set a
record. Until today, the Roosevelt
administration, priding itself or
the democracy of all it's social
forms, has greeted visiting heads OF
foreign states with a simple vel
come.
But today simplicity was cast
aside. Silk hats, gold braid, span
giles, uniforms, trumpets, arms and
flourish gave the flavor that Knut
son made the target of unmercifu
ridicule.