The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1940-07-04
Embossed Republican National Convention
Pins Hopes on WiIlkie and McNary Ticket
BY WRIGHT A. PATTERSON
WENDELL L. WILLKIE
For President
CHARLES L. McNARY
For Vice President

For Vice President
With that ticket the Republi-
cans tell us they named the
best qualified men in America to
direct the destinies of the ma
ton through the time of stress
and trials they think lie ahead.
They were picked from a wide
field. A dozen or more men each
with followers who believed
their favorite was the best; who
insisted they would stick to their
candidate forever if necessary;
who could see no possible vir-
tue in any other candidate.
The delegates were divided be-
tween Dewey, Vandenberg, Taft,
Willkie, James, Bridges, Bricker,
Martin, Hoover, MacNider, Gannett
and others.
Speeches were made about all of
them, resulting in long hours of fren-
zied oratory. All were pictured as
the one, outstanding, great American
leader, eminently best fitted for the
great job, and especially so for these
times, but in the end they dropped
out one by one, and until on the
sixth roll call of the states Wendell
Willkie was named to head the
ticket.
After numerous consultations,
some arguments, and another flow
of oratory Charles L. McNary was
named for second place, and the big
meeting was over.
When at 10 o'clock on Monday
morning, June "a, John Hamilton,
as chairman of the Republican ma
tional committee, pounded the table
and called the Republican national
convention to order, anyone could
get a bet for or against as he
wished on anyone of 10 to II can
didates.
It was not only the folks back
home who did not know who the
candidate would be. The delegates
at Philadelphia were equally igno-
rant on that subject.
On Sunday evening Congressman
Joe Martin was asked how many
Massachusetts delegates would vote
for him on the first ballot, as the
favorite son of that state.
He replied he did not know def
nitely that any one delegate would
vote for him; that aside from the
delegations that were definitely in
structed it was impossible to tell
who would vote for whom.
Party in New Hands.
And the reason for it all is that
the party was in new hands, the
hands of a thousand delegates, each
one a law into himself. Gone from
the places of power were the older
statesmen of former years, the
party leaders who could crack the
whip and make the delegates dance.
1t was new element, younger in
political experience, each one of
whom believed he was there to do a
job as he thought it should be done,
or until someone had actually con-
WINGED him Of a better way than his
own.
1t all resulted in a confusion that
was unknown to former Republican
conventions, but out of that confu-
sion, the Republicans say, has come
definite party unity both as to poll
cies and as to leaders. The dele
gates claim they did what they be-
lieved best, and not What anyone
told them to do.
1t was a picturesque gathering.
There was with it all ballyhoo of
street carnival. Each group had its
own pet form of expressing approval
of either a candidate or policy.
The Dewey, the Taft, and the Willkie
voters put on the best and noisiest
show. In so far as he could infu-
ence his followers Senator Vanden-
berg prevented the introduction of
burlesque into his campaign.
DARK horses.
Martin and Hoover were in the
dark horse class and were not mucn
talked about until after the opening
of the convention. Others were
among the "also ran" entries with
not a sufficiently large following to
produce much noise.
One noticeable difference between
this and the Republican conventions
of some years ago was the scarcity
of Negro delegates. There were
some from the southern states-not
SO many because of the limited dele
gate representation from the South,
but practically none from the north
ern cities. New party leaders in
sisted the difference was due to a
transfer of political allegiance on the
part of the northern Negroes from
the Republican to the Democratic
nartv Whatever the reason NAV