The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-08-05

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WHAT WITH HIS PARTY tell
ing the world his country is no
good and his South is depraved,
these are bad times for Southern
Democrats. But some Of us are
able to believe both nation and
South will survive. It's in our
book, our stars. our. faith. our
strong right arms.
FLASH! They've called a third
convention! But let television
fans be Of good cheer. It won't
take away Wagon Train"
"Gunsmoke and other serious
programs. In fact. to televise
it would be against the law. Far
from being rugged, this third
convention wasn't even dreamed
of as such. It embarrasseS
everybody, puts everybody on
the spot.
They will call it Congress but
what a strange session with
both Presidential nominees tax
ing part, as well as both ma
tional chairmen and most of the
big takers and soft pedalers
from Los Angeles and Chicago
and one man on such a spot
they should put an "X' on him.
That will be Lyndon johnson.
WRAPPED AROUND EVERY
neck in the House and Senate
will be the platform Of the re-
spective party, especially tn e
civil rights plank. and the un-
expected necessity of facing it
in the awful glare Of the COM
ing election. How can a con-
gresham know what p op e
really want after being ridden
down by the professionals at
both conventions!
As for Lyndon - he will be
no longer a presence but an
enormous memory. He can't af-
ford to be anything but Ken
nedy's man at this third con-
vention," but he is the symbol
Of what Southern independence
can do against all nature and
expectation. Because of our
free electors and all they can
mean whether they dare it or
not the National Democratic
Party was forced to do what it
would never have done for our
representatives on the spot. TAX
ing Johnson was master
stroke for Senator Kennedy and
may have won the Presidency
and crippled the Coalition for all
time but it was done in fear Of
a Southern breakaway.
We have come that far.
There was no hope for us in
the Presidency from either
party. AS for Lyndon, We'll miss
him but he never was really our
man or anybody's man. He is
an overseer, plotting for a plan
tation.
The hills look over on the
South
And Southwark dreams the
MIR. NIXON SAYS now the
election may be the closest in
history not Just in this century
Noting how far right Mr.. Ken
nedy was willing to compromise
himself for the Presidency and
how far left Mr.. Nixon. and
observing that Mr.. Kennedy
would even take Lyndon John
son and Mr.. Nixon even give in
to a Nelson Rockefeller. many
Southerners may be carrying
fancy forW yard to a first
Wednesday after a first Tues
day after a first Monday Of
next November when the po-
litical leeways of the two nonli-
nees may be tested for a nobler
stretch.
They may, for the Presi-
dency's sake, be called on to
embrace the Constitution of the
United States!
THIS is ALL THE SOUTH
would or should ask of them, it
seems to me, if that Wednesday
morning found the electoral col
lege deadlocked and a handful
of free electors from these states
commanding the Presidential
destiny. In our utter minority we
would have neither moral right
nor political power to name a
next President Of our own-or to
say whether the next should be
Liberal or Conservative.
But in dignity and perfect pa
triotism we could claim a con-
stitutional right to have the Con-
stituton re spe c tie d. And we
would be enforcing the claim by
means of the Twelfth Amend
ment proviso that for the cleo
ton Of a President there must
be a majority of the whole
number Of electors
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