Ke Alakai o Hawaii, Volume IX, Number 21, 3 September 1936 — SIX DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS FLAY LANDON "YES" SPEECH ON NATION-WIDE RADIO NET Greene of Rhode Island Praises GOP Candidate's Vacation Habits But Asks Pertinent Questions About His Intention Regarding Vital Governmental Problems [ARTICLE]

SIX DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS FLAY LANDON "YES" SPEECH ON NATION-WIDE RADIO NET

Greene of Rhode Island Praises GOP Candidate's Vacation Habits But Asks Pertinent Questions About His Intention Regarding Vital Governmental Problems

(EDITOR'S NOTE-—The speech with whieh Gover.nor Alf 'M. Landon of Kansas accepted the 1936 presidential nominalion of the Hepuhliean party cause4 such widespread eommeni throughout the nation that the Den}o- - National Committee decided that it should be discussed in a history-rnaking rādio broadcast in whieh aix Den?ocratic governors gave their views over a nation-wide hpok-up. Because the v»ews of these governors shouid be of interest to every Amerscan citizen THE HAWAII DEMOCRAT is printing the series of six g£bernatorial addresses in serial form... The first of these, printed herewith', was made by Governor Greene of ĪRhode Island. The f*ve other speeches wili be printed in issujes.) Governor Greene's Address My fellow Qitizens: On iast Thursday night my fellow-governor Alf M. Landon accepted the Ftepublican nominalion for the presidency of the United States. I have met Governor Landon. But I have not felt that I know him. He has been given the biggest newspaper build-up in the history of American politics. From that I have learned th.at the Governor loves to fish; that he smokes an old pipe; that he has a genial smile; that he plays a good game of bridge. These things are all interesting. At times they may be important. But putting them all together I still have not felt that I know enough about this man to know whether or not he was presidential timber. In other words, a big newspaper buildup does not hecessarily mean a big man. \\e ve got a lot of hard problems ahead of us in the United States. How big is Governor Landon—when it comes to facmg t h e s e problems? Ido not know the ans%ver to that quesUoxi. I am F,ure a lot of my fellow citizens felt that way. too. And that is why I welcomed the eh&nee to sit down in front of my radio on last Thursday to get better acquainted with him. Still A Question-Mark! I listened carefully to the address. I have read it carefully since. And lam still exactly where I was before he delivered it. In terms of the critical issues of national government, I do not know Governor Landon. On those issues I do not know where he stands or what he proposes to do. He was a question mark when he began to speak. He was an even larger question mark when he finished speaking. In no single paragraph of the entire address ean I put my flnger down and say; "now there's something definite." And I am disappointed. I would like to get acquainted with Governor Landon—not with his vaeation-habits, but with his point of view and his program. Now, of course, there were a few places in Governor address where he appeared to get down to cases. But when he did, he raiscd more questions than he settled. Let me explain what I mean. Thanks to President Roosevelt, the United now has a Social Security Law on its statute books—a law designed to protect oui* people from the ravages. of unemployment and the sufferings of a 'povērty-striekeri old-age. And may I eal! your attention to the fact that this law was bitterly fought—every step of the way—by many of the reactionary groups that are

now pouring out their money to support Goveriior Landou. But the people of the nation—the average man and woman in the ayerage home — backed President Roosevelt and the Social Security Bill was made law. Governor Landon got somewhat defimte on that poini. At !east I gathered that he was for some sort of $ocial Security, But it is a Social Security with strings attached. "We shall amend the Social Security Act," he declarēd, ,f to make it workable." Well, the law has been on the books for months. How does Governor Landon know that the present law will not work? What are the amendments he propoges, to make it workable? Pm interested in Social Security and I wou!d like to know. I know that the job of putting the presont law into operation is in the htuyjs of one of the N"ation's leading experts on such rs — a ?rieiid of mine in \vhom I have great confi(|ence, John G. Winant who—by the way—is not a Kepuhliean find the former Re£tit>lican my neighboring sfafp of New Hampshire. I know —up to less than a morth ago, Governor Landon had not r.aised so mueh as a h t\ finger in behalf of Social Sec«rity Legislation in his own State. At last the Governor got down to cases and «md ho was for Social Security. But there wasnothing in what he sald and there is less than nothing in what he has done in his own State to indicate wh|ther or not he means business, ; " *Tlio»e Are lFine Words!" That's the same story r!ght down the line. The more definite the Governor became the more confused he secmed. He doesn't like Rooseveirs farm polieiea but he wnnts to pay bount!es to the farmērs and to continue the prosent Administration's po!icies on soil erosion and drought relief. How does that differ frora the present policies N of the government aiul if it is different, how ia the difference going to save money? He wante to halanee the budg«n immediately and at the same time continue to care for Uie needy and unemp!oyed. Those are fine words of tbe Governor*s but couldnt he h&ve put in just one little sentence to ālio-w exactly how all that ean be done? How is he going to eat his eake atid have !t too? Governor Landon*s admirera assure us that he is noted

for his courage and[ frariness b"ut in plain honesty ii must be said that he was less frank when he promised to save monoy and spend it.. at the sarae time. He steered shy of the tariff. He made a wide detpur around the utilities question. He didn't mention stock raarket regulation, He br€&thed nev6r a word about banking īegislation or a public works program, or specified lābor legislation. On the contrary there was a concealed threat to the laboring men in what he said. You and I have; a stake in all these issues. Governor Landon chose to ignore them. We know that the Gover- , nor likes to ride ho|*seback; that he īoves his family; that 3s.e works in shiyt sleeves. But that r s just aboui all we do know about him. And it's my opinion that in times like such pieasant qualities alone d9 not fit a man for the White House. Lsikdon Arrives Too Lale Thro«ghout his audress Governor Landon made i-ever-al vague references to the battle that is to be fought for_ Ameiiean nghts and freedom. I am uncertain what huliberties Gove.rnor Landon thinks are at stake but I think it is my duty to say that his record in Kansas on prohibition and other similār §uestions hardly reveals 'him as a great crusader for individual liberties. On the | contrary f it seems to mē he arrives at the battle-scene a hfew years too late. | I notice alao that Governor Landon had something to 'say about our abandōnlng the American form of Govern'ment. But again he failed to get down to cases. If he knew of āny instance wh'ere the American form of government ia being abandoned I think he might have inserted it—just by way of iilustration. Here in Rhode Island our Amencanism goes back |ust 300 years and is as rock-ribbed as! our coastline. We are celebtating now our tercentenary. 1 We reca!l with pride that Roger Williams founded here a state e# the fundamentarprinciples of religioūs liberty and political liberty and tfiāt these prmciples later bee a m e incorporated in th e national declaration of independence and federa] constitution, This, the smallest eolony, all alone declared its inde|>endenee of Britain two months before the united colonies dM. So here is the birthplaee of religious freedom and political freedom. We respond to President Roosevelt*s eall for eeohomie freedom too. This is n»t a eall to abandon the American form of government. It is a eall to preserve its form and spirit. We wou!d have been interestēd to hear Governor Landon 'give us a hil! of particulars on that point. " Mi«taken Hoover Polleiea Here in Rhode Island we are recoveri% from the ef'fects of the depression brought on by the mistakes of the ! Hoover policies. Business is !mproving, retail sales are lrising; the outlook is for even better times"and we fcscribe |this condition to thē wiae policies of President Roos6velt. If that's un-American, then we in Rhod# Island have a wrong idea of patriotism. If that's fumbh'n|f with recovery ' —as CovernoF-Landon says—then X say |t i« the most sigfumble ih recent h'istory. ' With cash in lier pocket ānd new ho|>e m her heart Rhode īsland is on her wayf She asks nothing mor6"and nothing better in 1936 than a continuance of that proved leadership whieh brought her and her slster states ōut of the mire in 1933. Certainly we do not propose to put our national government in the hands of atotal ! stranger whoāe first statement to the nation offered ua nothing more than a compi!ation of ambiguities and contradictions.

Ghairman Farlev's Comment Jamēs A. Farley, chairman of the t>embcratlc National Committee, issued the following statement regarding Governor Landon's acceptance speech: ? ' * "I have been asked to comment on Goyernor acceptance speech. Actually, the Topeka address requires no eomment, insofar as that involves a dlscussion of the priticipies he advocates, for after a rather careful readīng of the announcement I am unable to get at" āny dēfinite coiiclusion as to whst Governor Landon would attempt to do in the impossible event of his election to the £residency. "Almost everything he advocates is alr'eady under way under the present admmistration. To be sure, he implies that he ean do the job bētter than Franklin D. Roosevelt is doing It. But how he would go about this, his message fails to reveal. "It seems to me that his message bears the mark of a great manv hands. His paragraphs concerning labor, for example, suggest ;'the handiwork of t h e Manufacturers' Associations. It i's not surprismg that the tabor leaders āll over the country are voicing their dissatisfaction in this regard, ' ■ ' $atisfaction to DuPor>ts? "In general, Governor LaiicTon appears t.o have been more concerned with dodging anvthing pdsitive than with giving the country a definite idea of the principles under whieh he operating. Undoubted!v, t h e Governor's effort was satisfactory to the DuPont Liberty League for it rather skillfully avoids criticismg anvthing for whieh that organi2ation stands, -whieh is reill\ i far as the DuPonts and Mr. William Rando!ph Hearst had any right to expect him to go."