The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-06

(COnC1nueQ rom Pdge U against the United Nations charter. When the vote was taken in the Senate itself, however, he was ura- able to be present because of his weakened condition. His vote was paired against approval of the char ter.
 Few men in public life had more action-packed career than Johnson. From his election as governor of California in 1910 until his death, he played an important role in na- tional affairs.
 Defeated League
 Perhaps the high point in his career was reached when he and a handful of other 'irreconcilable" led 8 successful fight against the League of Nations in the senate in 1920. He believed that the United States had no business in affairs outside the western hemisphere.
 His feeling about the United States role in world affairs was well demonstrated immediately after Pearl Harbor. A bill was pending in the. Senate to remove the ban on sending American troops outside the western hemisphere. It required unanimous consent of the Sentae to consider the bill immediately. When that request was made, Johnson arose slowly from the Senate seat he had occupied since 1916.
 NJoys hnH just been declared. This was pro- posal to make it possible for Amer ican soldiers to fight again on Eu- ropean soil.
 Johnson, in his deliberate way, looked from one senator to another.
 T object" he said.
 That was all But that was enough to delay passage of the bill for one day.
 Remarkable Orator His colleagues once regarded Johnson as the most powerful orator in the senate. But that was not because he was born with silver tongue.
 A reporter asked him once how he got to be such an excellent speaker.
 T was born tongue-tied," he said. And then he explained that an uncle for whom he was named spent hours drilling him in the pronun- ciation of sibilants. He bacame so proficient as a speaker that Sen ate reporters enjoyed recording his words, even though he once was one of the fastest speakers in the senate.
 He had a knack of never failing to complete a sentence. He rarely spoke from manuscript. Newspaper men never missed his point be- cause he always had the right ln- lection on the right word.
 It has been said that Hiram John- son was responsible for the re- election of President Wilson in 1916 But Johnson never claimed credit for it.
 There are number of versions of that story. One is that Charles Evans Hughes, the republican can- didate, refused to shake hands with Johnson, and that Johnson then threw his support to Wilson.
 But there is another-and prob- ably more authentic-version which relates that Hughes, by chance stopped at the same Long Beach Calif., hotel where Johnson was staying during the 1916 campaign Hughes didn't see Johnson, and later was asked if he had talked with him.
 When he said no, he was advised to get in touch with Johnson Hughes asked the Bull Moose" re. publican if he would preside at a republican rally at Sacramento Johnson declined on the ground that he would be surrounded by his political enemies, and further conciliatory gestures by Hughes were futile.
 California Governor
 Johnson, reelected California: governor in 1914, resigned in 191t to become a candidate for the us Senate. He was a member of that body until his death, having beer reelected in 1922, 1928, 1894 and 1940
 Some observers said that wher war came to the United States, ht felt that others had eclipsed him and that further speeches on his part were of no particular value tc his colleagues.
 Johnson was born in Sacramento Sept. 3, 1866, and lived there ano in San Francisco in his youth. He attended the University of Cal. ifornia, leaving in his junior veal to marry Minnie l.. McNeil of Sac ramento. Two sons were born te them.
 By profession, Johnson was 2 lawyer. When he turned to polite: he allied himself with the progress sives of his state. He toured Cal ifornia in the campaign of 191( | as a candidate for governor on platform of kick the Southern Pa. cific railroad out of California pol itics."
 I National Progressive | He sponsored workmen's com pensation laws, women's suffrage strict regulation of public utilities blue sky laws, an eight-hour da. law for women, and laws designed to eliminate the spells system.
 Tn 1920 he was offered the Repub lican vice-presidential nomination but he felt that he should hav headed his party's ticket and de clined to take second place. Ha, Johnson accepted the Vce-presi dential nomination, which went tn