Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1944-08-04
On The
Beam
By
Clayton w.
Fountain

0ANssE@Aeeoeec,'c N<p'9H.eAAss1
OF course, we will cam
paign for Roosevelt and Tru-
man.
And we will also continue
to support the principle of
maintenance of fire depart
ments.
That's the kind of a politi-
cal situation we are in. Lack
ing the opportunity to vote
for the elimination of fires,
sensible people must vote for
those candidates who are at
least smart enough to put out
fires.
But the dark Drown taste of
the outcome of the Democra-
tic National Convention will
linger long to pollute the
palates of genuine democrats.
In effect, the Chicago con-
clave was a kind of a minia-
ture Munich. 1t resulted in
appeasement of the political
bosses and the Southern
white supremists instead of in
q triumph for democracy.
Bluntly speaking, the old
double-cross was worked
with fatal finesse. Wallace
got the gate, and the bedroom
doors were thrown open to
admit the hacks and the
hoodlums.
NO PATIENCE
! have no patience with
those practical souls who say
it has to be this way. That
kind of practically is too
much like the plight of a man
locked in a do or die wrest-
ling match with a bear.
The practical thing to do in
q situation like that is to turn
loose of the bear and run like
hell. But even then you are
not sure that bruin will not
catch up with you and give
you the old squeeze play.
/ once read story about
Mississippi riverman who was
caught in such a situation.
Captured by Indians, he was
given a sporting chance for
his life. They put him in a
pen to wrestle with a bear.
He had to whip the bear in
order to win his freedom.
Schooled in the riverman's
wrestling skill, the captive
promptly grappled with the
beast and gouged out both
of his eyes with his thumbs.
Then he gave it the coup de
grace with his hunting knife.
WHAT IT TAKES
All of which goes to prove
that, if you have got what it
takes, the practical thing to
do is to stand up and fight,
instead of turning tail and
scooting for cover.
Translated into its political
parallel, this means that /
think that the Democrats
could have won with Wallace
on the ticket.
His nomination would have
scared away some bossistic
votes and some white SUI
premistic votes; that l admit.
But who in hell wants to
sleep with the goons and the
lynchers, anyway?
On the other hand, the de-
feat of Wallace will cost the
ticket the support of some
honest democrats and pro :
gressives who just cannot
bend over low enough to get
their arms around the shoul-
ders of snakes-in-the- grass.
Votes are lost either way;
so why not make the good
fight?
ENOUGH TEARS
Well, | guess l have spilled
enough tears in my beer for
this piece.
Yes, ] will work for the
election of Roosevelt and
Truman. But ! refuse to put
all my eggs in the basket of
the Democratic Party. 1t is
woven too loosely, and the
eggs too easily fall through
the holes in its bottom.
shall continue to advo-
cate the formation of a new
peoples party--a party free
of grating hacks and lynch
ing hoodlums.
Every dog has his day
even the lowly underdog. A
time will come, in the not
too distant future, when
enough decent Americans
will rise up to call for and
get a new political deck.