Evening star., 1940-10-23

pour out to see
a presidential David Lawrence.
nominee and it is not new for them
to pack the auditoriums to capacity,
but it is decidedly rare to find
in the peoples eyes and in their
enthusiasm that little spark of gen.
uine devotion and zeal which one
finds in the Willkie crowds.
Whoever called this a crusade was
not exaggerating. For it resembles
nothing else. The other night I
stopped off at Milwaukee to hear
Mr.. Willkie speak. Outside the hall
were thousands who couldn't get in
because there wasn't anv room left.
Inside the hall the people sat, pa
tiently waiting more than an hour
for the Willkie train to arrive.
When the speech started, the peo-
pie listened respectfully, interrupted
with applause frequently, yet for the
most part the address, which was
one of the best Mr. Willkie has
made, did not bring forth more than
the customary campaign applause.
But when he finished the prepared
portion of his address which had
been transmitted over the radio, cast
aside his manuscript, and looked up
from the reading pedestal in front
of him, he brought his personality
to bear instantly on that immense
audience
Sincerity in Voice.
The light that passed across the
face of Wendell Willkie as he spoke
was the light of a crusader who
convinced his audience that he
would gladly lead them through
any battle and would make for
them any sacrifice. There was in
his voice the note of sincerity, OF
honesty and of unselfishness which
people can quickly detect as genu-
inc and not artificial. There was
no affectation. no make-beleve
drama and no rabble rousing of the
sort to which We have grown &C
customed. 1t was a voice of vigor
and of leadership, revealing a man
who would fight as hard for a
peoples cause in which he believed
as he would for any gain for him.
self.
It was clear as one watched Wen
dell Willkie lift the crowd to the
highest kind of enthusiasm that
the people would follow him any
where over the top if it were
trench warfare or through long,
tedious hours behind the lines if
1t were just everyday toll. He is
a natural leader of men-young in
years. earnest in spirit and full Of
confidence in the rightness of his
cause.
You get the feeling that Wendell
Willkie stands for work-hard work
and solid achievement. He works
16 hours a day in this campaign.
He is up early, out at every rail-
road station where his train stops,
always smiling, always encouraging
the people to feel that this is not
his personal pursuit but the cause
of a great nation which he is
championing.
"People wonder" he said at Mil
waukee, "and ask me how I can
stand this pace 16 hours day every
day. My answer is that I can take
1t if you can It's your fight as
well as mine"
FOrceful Despite Strain.
And despite the strain, the ter
rife pressure of every hour of the
day on train crowded with re-
porters, staff workers and promi-
nent visitors from each locale. Mr..
Willkie looks healthy and strong.
He is as gallant a figure as has
ever made a presidential campaign.
His face is bright, his eyes shine
clearly, he moves about the plat
form with strong, forceful gestures,
and he leaves the crowd in an al
most worshipful attitude of keen
admiration.
Mr.. Willkie is unlike any of the
candidates 1 have ever seen on the
stump. He has the zeal of Bryan
without his singsong eloquence
He has the masterful poise of Will
y.
He has the warmth of spirit of
Theodore Roosevelt without the &C.
centric gestures which made him
draw his crowds. He has some
thing of the magnetism of all these
men with something else besides
he has the vigor of Winston
Churchill and the challenging physi-
cal strength which we like to asso-
ciate with man who may be the
Commander in Chief of our Army
and Navy and may have to make
personal sacrifices for the people.
This personality. which combines
vigor, energy and aggressiveness,
has something more, however,
which is greater than any other
quality. 1t gets over to the audi
ence. 1t oozes out whether he is
talking to large crowd or a small
group in his private car. 1t is
peculiar quality of honesty and sin
cerity which simply cannot be put
on unless it is there already, in
grained in the mind of a man from
boyhood on.
Mr.. Willkie is making remark
able campaign-he has delivered
more than 200 speeches. The many
millions of persons who have seen
him have grown to like him because
he typifies the young American who
has fought his way to the top by
refusing to deceive and by refusing
to adopt the tactics of political
trickery. He is a new idol and a
Wlnnlesnrne ono and that's urhu he