Evening star., 1944-07-31
Direct Action Marks
Career Of Man Who
Defeated Cotton Ed
By the Associated Press.

|Deiedle0 lOnOn I'd
BY the Associated Press.
COLUMBIA, 8. c., July 31.--He's
the man who as youthful Governor
OF South Carolina 4 decade ago
called out machine-gun company
Of the National Guard to oust 1
hostile bishway commission.
He's the poor farm boy who went
to work In . cotton mill At the are
Of IL and later attained three coll
lege degrees.
He's the boy wonder OF politics in
State noted for It's colorful polit-
ical figures-"Pitchfork" Ben Till
man, Cole c'To Hell With the Con-
stitution'') Blease and E. d. ("Cot-
ton Ed") Smith. Lastly, he's the
first man to beat-and decisively,
too-Cotton Ed Smith. whom South
Carolina has sent to the Senate for
six consecutive terms, or 36 years.
That's the new Senator nominate
from South Carolina-tall, husky
Olin Dewitt Talmadge Johnston
who, as the result of last Tuesdays
Democratic primary, will succeed
Senator Smith, 79-year-old dean Of
the Senate and arch foe of the New
Deal.
Twice Elected Governor.
Olin D.-thats all of his name he
uses-is now in the middle OF his
second term as Governor. At the
relatively young age Of 48 he Is the
only man Of recent times to be
elected Governor of South Carolina
twice. The constitution forbids a
Governor to succeed himself.
A friend OF labor, with an enor-
nous following in the upstate tex
tile counties, he was one of the early
supporters Of the New Deal.
In 1898, when the administration
set out to purge" some Southern
Democrats, Gov. Johnston was the
Roosevelt candidate against Senator
Smith.
But Senator Smith won, hand
somely. Then. in l94l, Gov. john
ston ran for the Senate against
Burnet r. Maybank. Mayor OF
Charleston making his first State
wide race, and lost.
Gov. Johnston is still q New Deal
man and 4 fourth termer, but his
ardor has cooled a little because of
the white supremacy" issue in q
State which has a heavy Negro
population.
Didn't Stress Issue.
Unlike Senator Smith. he did not
stress the racial issue in his cam
paign, but early this year he called
a special session OF the Legislature
to enact laws intended to keen
Negroes from voting In the white
Democratic primary.
Gov. Johnston was born on a
tenant farm, the eldest of eight
children. At IL he went to work in
a cotton mill At l8 he entered
Textile Institute, a school at Spar
tanburg. He had to work every
other week In the mill to SUPPORT
himself.
Later he entered Wofford College
defraytng his expenses by WORKING
nights. The World War interrupted
his education. Volunteering as
private, he served l8 months in
France and emerged as a sergeant
and fair heavyweight boxer.
Took Postgraduate Work.
After the war he re-entered
Wof1ord College and was graduated
and did postgraduate work at the
University Of South Carolina, work
ing the while rs proofreader, pants
presser and night watchman. While
tstsh = studept. he was elected to the
Legislature.
He hung his lawyers shinsle in
Spartan burg and first ran for CO..
ernofs1n 1880, missing the nomina
tion ~ less than q tholsand votes.
The showing he made, for political
newcomer, waS spsctacular.ss
Four years later he did win the
nomination-by a majority of IS, 900
IN a second primary-after a heated
race In which he campaigned.
among, other things, for 81 auto
license tags.
Called on National Guard.
He had hardly taken ONCE when
he began carrying out a campaign
pledge to get rid" OF the holdover
Highway Commission. which he said
dominated a powerful political ma
chine.
He called out National Guards
men, who set up machine guns in
front OF the Highway Building and
escorted Ben NJ Sawyer, late chief
highway commissioner, from his
ONCE.
Later the Supreme Court rein
stated the. Highway Commission.
The Legislature, by overriding Gov.
Johnston's veto, divested the Gov
ernor of the power of appointing
the Highway Commission and as
sumed it itself.
Gov. Johnston is married and the
father of three children-Olin D.. jr.
7: Sallie Leigh. 6. and Gladys Eliza
beth. 4. Sallie Leigh and Gladys
Elizabeth both have the same birth
day as their daddy--November Is.
Goebbels called our Flying Fort
resses Flying Coffins." We need
more Of them over Germany. Let's
all back the attack. Buy more War