The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1948-07-30

headquarters staff and worked all day
Friday on credentials. This gave me
perfect opportunity to meet the peo-
pie who were coming from all over
the u. S. as delegates and observes
to the convention. There I saw the
| first evidence of the difference be-
tween our people and those who came
to the other conventions. There were
no fat cats among them. They were
just people there on the serious bust
ness of high principle and at consider
able sacrifice of their family budgets
Many of them had hitch-hiked from
their various states The most not
miners from the south and the sew
enty-two year old lady who had hitch
hiked from the state of Washington.
20 Per Cent Under 40 Years Old
Next, after the obvious lack of fold
ing money, these people were pre-
dominantly young. 70 percent of them
under forty. Young people who insist
that life can hold something for them
besides death in World War III and
who are willing to fight to see that it
does. There was no carnival spirit
among them-they were there on bust
ness. This seriousness of purpose
was as evident in the nine-year olds
wearing their white Youth for Wal
lace" ribbons as in their older broth
ers and sisters, mothers and fathers.
Then there were the representatives
of American minorities-the Jews, the
Negroes, the Indians and the Mexican
Americans. The Chinese-Americans,
the Japanese Americans, and the
Americans of Philippine, Hawaiian and
Porto Rican extraction. Many of
them were, as Mr.. Howard expressed
it in his keynote speech, experiencing
human dignity for the first time. The
Jews looking to the new party for
the hope that the long, long history
of indignities and horrors of the past
would be wiped out in America. The
Negroes, Indians, Mexicans, etc. look
ing toward the sun of the day when
civil liberty leaves the pages of the
Bill of Rights and moves in with the
people.
No Pious Platitudes
There were two striking differences
between the old party conventions and
the new at the first session First,
there were no pious platitudes from
The rostrum and second, no CAB tests
On the floor among the delegates.
The speakers spoke on live issues and
he delegates and observers were in
,ent on what they had to say. The
of the audience to the speak
ers was so laundering that the press
ind radio were Jared out of their
some more of the same" apathy. |
vas much amused at the comments of
ONE of the press that the delegates
we're "the best disciplined" they had
yer seen. | don't expect fairness
rom the press any more, but thinking
ack on the people as they came in
or their credentials, wondered how
be press could possibly sustain any
barge of rehearsal. But then it isn't
he business of the press to sustain
harges. All of them knew that the
ehavior of the people was the result
two things-the expressing of prin-
iple from the speakers and the desire
the audience to hear these princi-
les expressed at their convention.
On the second day, having been re-
eyed of further duties as a volunteer,
observed proceedings from the press
Oxes. There sat the flesh of the
tmous by-lines. One wondered how
rank Kingdom, for instance, the man
no first called for a new party and
no later repudiated Wallace in the
ope of interesting Frank Hague in
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