Milford chronicle., 1940-11-01
Grier Rdtclif BaynHm
''StUmps" For W1illkie

Grier r. Baynum. former Milford
boy, and a Willkie enthusiast, deliv-
cred the following speech before the
Maplewood IN. j. Willkie Club, of
which he is chairman, recently.
/ am grateful for the opportunity
Of a place on this program tonight
to give you a strictly amateurs
viewpoint. For that's emphatically
what | am-and that's what I be-
lieve most of the rest of you are.
And it's in that very fact, that so
many like us all over this country
are doing this very thing, that take
great hope in Mr.. WILKES success
three weeks from Tuesday. This is
my first attempt at "politiking"
There are at least two other persons
in this hall, fellow Eastern Shore
men, that know what that word
means-even if the rest Of you
don't.
Irving Cobb says there are 10 rea-
sons why he-a dyed-in-the-wOOl
Democrat from Kentucky-is sup
porting Willkie this year. First. be-
cause he CWillkie) is the only Dem
Ocrat running; second, Madame Per-
| kins; the other eleven, Harold Ickes.
Personally, if l were explaining why
am supporting Wendell Willkie, I'd
use all the above reasons but I'd
spread the last eleven around a lit
tie more. I'd include Harry Hopkins,
Tommy Corcoran, Cohen, and all the
rest of the sO-called "brain-trust-
ers," and then I'd add mo third
term;" the mounting national debt
with no decrease-in fact an in
crease in unemployment during
the 71z years of the new deal; the
lack Of defense preparations (until
these last few weeks) in spite of all |
the advance information as to what
was going on elsewhere throughout |
the world: the need for a business |
administration to get our own house !
in order before we can help anybody |
else, no matter how badly we may
want to. This last is, TO my mind, /
the most crying need of all right !
now.
But l have been asked to tell you !
what we've amateurs-ca do
about it. The best way l know is to /
tell you how Mr.. Fountain and I ]
went about it, when asked to assume |
the responsibility Of getting all the
unregistered eligibles in the 18th |
district of MaplewOod on the voting
list before the last registration day. |
ALI we had to work on was the 1899 |
lists. We were told that we were all
amateurs in this game and to work |
out our own technique. So this is
what we did:
First. we divided the district into
blocks and, with Mr.. Fountain taking
all his side Of Tuscan road and
taking all of my side, we went out
and secured a lady OF gentleman re-
siding in each block to act as
block worker" Each house was
visited by these 20 workers in this
one voting district, and my records
show that in my side alone we ac-
tually got IL new names on the vo-
ters' list. believe that we are sure
of nine of these votes for Willkie,
but, anyway, almost anywhere this
system is worked (certainly in Ma
plewOod) the chances are that Mr..
Willkie will get far better than 500
of the new votes, and that is what is
going to win this election! I was
AOAO NnC ONMCA 1Oy tAnAI Al % u DG-
lieVe it is) states that have finished
registrations up to this date an av-
erage increase of 2695 in eligible
voters is indicated. Surely this is a
healthy sign for our cause.
While it is too late now to do /;
more about registrations |
in this state, here's what we are
to do in the 18th district |
from now until election day: OF :
course we found some people (onIy a {
few) with whom we talked who are {
just as much for Roosevelt as we are {
for Willkie (strange as this may
seem) Perhaps it might be said .
that it is a waste of breath to talk Z
10 such folks. but you never can {
tell. A friend of mine related this Z
story to me a few days ago: He said I
that a friend of HIS had told him 2
four or five weeks ago that he I
might just as well save his breath '