Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1950-06-30
The Silent Statesman


ed to have said to a group of
newspaper men attending a White
House press conference:
mo man, who is not a poll
tician, can become President
Of the United States"
In comparatively recent years,
know Of one man who was not a
politician, but who was a states
man, who became President of the
United States. I saw that man
nominated for the presidency on
the first ballot at the Republican
convention att Kansas City in July
of 1926. I saw him elected by a
tremendous majority in Novem-
Der, 1926.
That man was Herbert Hoov-
era man whose name was
recognized in the realm Of
craftsmanship, but who knew
little or nothing of the game of
American politics. He was
man who, while serving as
President, renowned politics.
Because of economic conditions
OF which he had no part in the
making and over which he had,
nor could have had, no control,
saw that same man defeated for
reelection to second term, large
ly to be sure, because he knew so
little of the game of politics and
had not played at that game during
the four years he occupied the
White House.
saw in a very definite way
the politicians of his own party,
who did not want Herbert Hoover
in the White House, successfully
exert their efforts to defeat him.
In that campaign, no effort was
made on the part of Republican
orators to present to the people
the Hoover accomplishments as
President.
When the campaign was
nearing its end, some of those
who were familiar with what
was happening urged upon
Hoover the necessity of taking
the stump to tell his own story.
Mr.. Hoover looked upon such a
course as impossible. He said:
81 am President of the United
States. For me to degrade the Of
flee l hold is utterly unthinkable,
no matter how great the need. The
President cannot be stump speak
er in his own behalf"
Those presenting that urge were
persistent, and after hours of argu-
| mont hn orn1,oi1ol
first speech, made during the
! closing days of the campaign, was
delivered at Des Moines, Iowa.
But it was too late There was not
time enough before the election to
get the facts he presented across
to the voters of the nation.
I did not have any hand in the
preparation of those Hoov
speeches. No one ever has. He
has always written his own I have
seen the manuscript of many of
them delivered through more re-
cent years. I did have a part in
preparing some newspaper copy
used during the last few days of
the campaign.
That copy covered the prices
the American farmer received
for his crops of grain and meat
animals cOmpar d to the
prices paid to Canadian and
| Mexican farmers for the same
products of the same quality.
For example, the price of No.
hard winter wheat at Mime
apolis and Winnipeg: the
transportation on wheat from
Minneapolis and Winnipeg was
exactly the m e, but the
American farmer was paid,
day after day at Minneapolis,
more than the Canadian farm
er received at Winnipeg.
The total of that difference
amounted to many millions of dol
lars but it was not a subsidy paid
for out of the taxpayers money.
1t was result of the Hoover farm
policy. That was one of the ac-
compliShments of the Hoover ad-
ministration. Had there been suf-
ficient time to present such facts
to the American voters through
Republican campaign orators,
newspapers or other sources, in
formation of such character could
have made the difference between
defeat or victory for a statesman.
But politicians refused to use such
facts in that campaign and by re-
fusing to do so caused the Hoover
defeat.
-
Last year President Truman
asked the American people to elect
him as a Democratic President
! and to elect for him a Democratic
! congress, senate and house. The
American people did as he re-
| quested, but he had not asked for
just what he wanted. He wanted
not a Democratic congress, but a
Fair Deal congress.
-
Labor did not get the candi-
date it wanted to oppose Sena-
tor Taft in Ohio. That might
be the abb should Taft win in