The chronicle., 1963-11-26
Early johnson Supporter
Was President Roosevelt

WASHINGTON CUPID If
President Johnson had to choose
one day on which his entire fU-
ture hinged, he probably would
select April 10, 1887. On that
day he won a special election
for a seat in Congress.
That alone would not have
made the day significant, but
by chance President Franklin
d. Roosevelt was on a fishing
trip off Corpus Christi, Tex.
johnson had run on a straight
New Deal platform, backing
everything Roosevelt wanted to
do, including the packing of the
Supreme Court.
Roosevelt got interested in the
new congressman, and invited
him to travel to Washington on
the presidential train. They
shared Manhattan cocktails on
the trip, Roosevelt talked and
Johnson listened. Back in Wash
ington, Johnson began to re-
ceive invitations to breakfast at
the White House and to get
good committee assignments in
the House of Representatives.
Thereafter Johnson had some
narrow political squeakS, which
would make Hollywood cliff
hangers seem improbable, but
he definitely was on his way up
the Washington ladder. Year by
year his influence increased I'M
til his career reached its cul-
mination last week at the Dallas
airport where he was sworn in
as President Of the United
States.
Roosevelt kept urging Johnson
on to bigger and better things,
specifically persuading him to
run for the US. Senate seat
vacated by the death of Sen.
Norris Sheppard. Politics in Tex
as is gaudy and the infighting
Is fierce. Johnson had 27 op-
ponentS for the Senate seat. The
most formidable was Gov. Lee
O'Daniel whose followers con-
stantly exhorted him to pass
the biscuits, Pappy." Pappy's
technique for discussing the is
sues was to hire a hillbilIy band
and employ a girl singer called
Texas Rose. johnson retaliated
by employing a diva weighing
25 pounds and billing her as
''the Kate Smith of the South"
AS insurance, he also retained
the services of some dancing
girls and a black-face comedian.
It was in vain. Pappy defeated
johnson by 1911 votes.
Two days after Pearl Harbor,
johnson obtained leave from his
seat in the House and, as a re-
serve officer, went on active
duty with the Navy as a lieu
tenant commander and saw
service in the Southwest Paci-
fe. Roosevelt ordered him to
return to his duties as a con-
gresham, and in 1913 johnson
made his second run for the
Senate. His opponent was Gov.
Coke Stevenson, who had never
lost an election. Johnson
changed tactics, substituting a
helicopter for the diva and the
dancing girls. He roared back
and forth across Texas in the
heiicopter and cotton field work
ers frequently were aStonished
TO hear a voice from the skies
believing: "Hello down there.
This is your candidate, Lyndon
Johnson"
In a run-off election between
johnson and Stevenson almost
one million votes were cast. 1t
was so incredibly close that the
final count gave johnson the
victory by 81 votes, and when
ne took his Senate seat he had
to learn to keep smiling while
people referred to him as
Landslide Lyndon"
He spent three years in the
Senate making friends and
largely keeping his mouth shut.
In 1861 he was chosen whip of
the Senate Democrats and from
there went on to become Dem
ocradc leader. IL ID an office