Evening star., 1952-07-12
Nixon Began Career
By Replying 10 Ad
Published by 6. 0.P.
By Don S. Warren

IL Qalo Oh, 1Or IL was the SCar
Of a rocket-like career.
Today. the running mate O
Gen. Eisenhower on the Repub
lican presidential ticket. has run
up a string of successes in onl!
six years Of political life that il
the envy Of veteran campaigners
At 80. he is one Of the young.
est vice presidential candidates
ever named by a major party.
In his four years of service II
the House and less than two year.
in the Senate, he has determined.
ly followed a personal platform
Of fighting socialism and com.
munism." He has attacked bott
the New Deal and the Fair Deal
He is best known over the coun-
try. probably. for his service as
a member, and later chairman
of the House Un-American Activ-
tiles Committee. There he wcn
credit as the one who took the
lead in the investigation of Alge1
Hiss. He is also well known as
co-sponSor of the Mundt-Nixor
Communist control bill.
ForcefuI In Attacks.
Personable. handsome and US
ually Of serious. determined at
titude. Senator Nixon has an in
fectious smile something like that
Of his running mate. Gen. Eisen-
hover.
A hard hitting speaker who can
deliver easily with or without pre-
pared text, he learned his oratory
early in his career and likes the
slam-bang attack. For instance,
when he announced for the Sen
ate seat back in 1949, he pledged
he would make a fighting, rock
ing. socking campaign"-and he
did, as the records show.
Born January 8, 1918, at Yorba
linda. Calf, a little citrus-raising
community in Orange County, he
is the eldest son of Mr.. and Mrs.
Frank Nixon of Whittier, Calf.
He is a member of the Friends
(Quaker) Church. He credits his
boyhood experience in his fathers
general store and service station
with giving him a fast start in
dealing with the public.
Il sold gas and delivered gro
ceries and met q lot Of people" !"
ne once remarked to an inter-
viewer. II think this was invalu-
able as start on a public career" !"
A brother, F. Donald Nixon, 81,
has a grocery and restaurant busi-
mess In Whittier. The youngest
brother, Edward c. Nixon, is a
student at Duke University.
Studied Law at Duke.
Completing public school courses,
he was graduated from Whittier
College. where he excelled in de-
bate. In 1884, he won the South
ern California collegiate title for
extemporaneous speaking. He
wound up there as president of
the student body.
He went on to Duke University
on a scholarship and won a law
degree. There, too, he became
the head of its student body.
A lawyer, now, he hung out his
ehingle and engaged in private
practice from 1887 to 1912. In
1910, he married Patricia Ryan,
and they now have two daughters,
Patricia, 6. and Julie, 4.
Mrs. Nixon, the nominee re-
calls, "was an Irish Democrat
when I married her and didn't
become Republican until after
] was elected to Congress"
Mr.. Nixon joined the Navy in
1912. He saw service in the South
Pacific and came out a lieutenant
commander.
Seizes Opportunity.
His entrance into political life
resulted from an odd situation and
q willingness to seize an oppor-
tunity.
Back in 1945 the life of Re-
publican candidates was hazard
Gus. In that year, a committee of
100 citizens in CALIFORNIA; 18th
congressional district, including
"a medium or small towns east of
Los Angeles, published an ad for
q candidate for the House to run
on the Republican ticket.
That was his break, and he took
1t.
The citizens committee move
afforded amusement and provoked
some deriSion among politicians,
but it didn't daunt Mr.. Nixon,
then 80.
Still in the Navy. he answered
the ad, became the candidate in
1916 and went on to defeat a To-
year veteran of the House, New
Dealer Representative Jerry Voor-
his, Democrat.
He won 56.7 per cent of the vote
that year. Two years later, up for
reelection, he polled 86.9 per cent
Of the vote. after receiving both
the Republican and Democratic
nominations. under California's
eross-f1ling system.
AS a member of the House
Education and Labor Committee.
he played a significant role in
drafting and supporting the Taft
Hartley Labor Relations Act Of
1947.
AS a member of the House
Committee on Un-American Ac-
tivities and chairman of its legis-
lative subcommittee in the 80th
Congress, he won the spotlight
with his dogged persistence in
searching for the answer to the
Hiss Chambers subversive case
that finally came to climax.
This was the famous "con-
frontation" Of Alger Hiss. former
State Department official. by his
accuser, Whitaker Chambers
confessed former contact between
Soviet espionage agents and
American officials.
The result was the indictment
and eventual conviction Of Hiss
on perjury charges growing oui
nf his denia1S that he had been q