| Show 16 cactus jack holds his tongue As presidential boom Is started I 1 recuperating congress discovers leader in 37 year veteran by THOMAS WALKER i they used to tell the story of a woman who had two i sons one went to sea and the other became vice president of the united states neither was heard from again but cactus jack garner is not like alexander throttle bottom the musical comedy vice presidential candidate who ran on the ticket with one mr wintergreen in of thee I 1 sing for six long years the sage of uvalde has dimmed his light under a ten ien gallon texas sombrero but the sombrero itself has been known to official washington since 1902 so jack garner retire to the abys smal obscurity which traditionally befits avice a vice president today booming this 70 year old southwest plainsman for tt a which feht thinkers c call U a slap at spending butto but to congress it means much more any member of the capitol hill garner club will explain it this way congress feels its oats since 1933 indeed for a hall half century congress has slowly surrendered its power to thi the executive branch ot of government trend demands a restoration of that power and jack garner Is the logical veteran to lead the battle about abou t all theres to it except that the boom has reached alarming proportions in the four months since congress convened down texas way where had a native son boom ot of their own for many years no less than son elliott roosevelt recently told his texas state radio network listen ers john garner is in the drivers seat right ight r now well in the lead as a likely democratic candidate for or the presidency in the 1940 election th the e american institute of public opinion shows garner stock rising iro irom m 20 per cent of all democrats last december to 42 per cent in early april and emil hurja jim Far parleys leys boli political statistician believes that early leaders in popular polls invariably stay in the lead how texas judges a man what kind of a president would jack garner make folks down uvalde way test a mans mettle by the way he behaves on a camping trip his poker playing and his ability to judge whisky they give the beetle president of the senate per cent on all three points and it therefore stands to reason 10 V A J CAN HE HE BE STOPPED nationwide nation wide democratic polls pol show how vice fice president john nance garner holds hold 42 per cent of he the party parly strength political analyst emit emil hurja haria believes ear early leaders invariably hold their lead he must have a lot of horse sense economy tor for instance like most westerners who go to washington hes a lawyer and a banker jack garner is so successful that he owns a ranch and holds a basketful of mortgages on uvalde he drives a chevrolet of 1930 vintage vinta gehis his only car and lives in a plain yellow brick house when men he goes camping with ross brumfield ben franklin and mon fenley two garageman gara gemen and a well driller he does the cooki cook ing and pays the expenses but theres no money wasted its the same way with his recent experiment in housing much publicized as surpassing the federal housing administration in economy actually theres no c comparison because the two FRA demonstration homes in uvalde have 50 per cent more floor space and are pretty elegant homes compared with the garner cottages the vice president sank an average of 1500 in each oi of his houses gave them from two to four rooms hot and cold water bath and natural gas heat they have no basements no felt under the flooring and less paint on the weatherboards weather boards and root roof it fits the character in other words there ore are fewer doodads and which is a good indication of the garner philosophy hes old fashioned enough to question some of the more unusual features of the new deal and hes the classic type politician who holds party solidarity above immediate expediency which explains why he doubts that the democratic party will hold together unless it regains the confidence of business garner independence assert itself until the winter of 1937 when the vice president demanded action to curb sit down strikes it gained strength the following spring when he refused to participate in the supreme court enlargement fight if john garner is elected president december 17 1938 w will ill go down in history as the day his b boom 0 om started it was then he return returned ed to washington and found conservative democrats trying to decipher handwriting on the wall did the november election defeats mean a national trend to republicanism president roosevelt thought not maintaining local issues alone were involved jim parley farley thought otherwise and it was time tor for all good democrats to come to the aid of their party mr garner talks harmony what happened during jack garners two hour conference with mr farley may never be known neither will the 3 hour discussion with president ro roosevelt 0 sevelt be divulged but when cactus jack emerged it was quite obvious the nations no I 1 and no 2 citizens had been talking party harmony subset subsequently gently the garner club grew paths were beaten to its 14 door by secretary of agriculture wallace secretary of commerce hopkins treasury undersecretary hanes and many a big and little congressman this leadership is a peculiar thing a almost a negative quantity because mr garner make speeches against his boss indeed has never committed himself in public some arch new dealers think hes plotting c craftily to overthrow mr roosevelt but the men who know him understand better its the magnetic charm of a man chos been mellowed and wizened by 37 years in congress and who today is more than just a vice president but a patron saint as well his hobby is helping congressional youngsters get a start in the world if youve any doubts about this count noses among texas numerically insignificant representation and find a powerhouse in the house marvin jones heads the agriculture ri committee milton west the elections committee hatton the judiciary committee fritz lanham public buildings n s and grounds joseph Mans mansfield fied I 1 rivers and harbors and martin dies un american activities sam rayburn I 1 is s majority floor leader in the senate morris sheppard heads both military affairs and campaign expenditures commit committees tees while tom connally heads public buildings and grounds both make their voices heard often in other committees the 1940 campaign is still far from cut and dried but there Is no better watchword than ex president hoovers admonition in 1929 to a fledgling washington reporter theres one man on capitol hill you will always want to watch he is that red faced bushy man from texas john N garner one of the shrewdest and ablest men in american political life 0 western New newspaper union |
