Life, 1928-06-07 · page 19 of 54
Life — June 7, 1928 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page discusses Herbert Hoover's 1928 Republican presidential campaign leading up to the party convention. The article notes Hoover's campaign strategy involves avoiding public appearances to prevent his support from "evaporating," while his opponents use negative tactics. The main cartoon below depicts a large whale labeled as political opposition attempting to swallow a diver (representing Hoover or his campaign). The caption reads "Diving Dentist: Really, there's quite a cavity in that lower right incisor. I'll fill it at once." The satire suggests Hoover's enemies are attempting to destroy him politically, but the image implies he'll overcome this threat—the dentist will "fill" the cavity, suggesting Hoover will repair the damage and prevail.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
I THE POLITICAL FRONT Will Herbert Hoover Go West? Tue campaicn for the Republican nom- ination for President is finished, Next Tuesday — morning delegates to the Re- publican — National Convention — the nineteenth since the Party was founded is officially announced. I am especially anxious to witness the performance of Mr. Mellon and his friend Mr. Hilles of New York, not to mention the associates of Mr. Lowden and of the Vice-President of the United States. If the Convention is too precipitate in conferring the nom- ination on Mr. Hoover, an otherwise good show will be ruined. It would be in- structive to watch a Wall Street drive against Mr. Hoover on one side, and an agrarian assault on the other. But Mr. in 1854—will meet at Kansas City, Mis- souri. “The Star-Spangled Banner” will be rendered with inarticulate gusto, Abraham Lincoln will get a cheer, and the fun will begin. I view this prospect with satisfaction, for it will terminate an exceptionally stupid and inept campaign. The two leading candidates—Herbert Hoover and Frank O. Lowden—have been about as interesting as a pair of certified public accountants. Their cam- paign “literature” has consisted of a cer- tain virtuosity on adding-machines. Remembering his pathetic experience in 1920, Mr. Lowden has been penurious and pure. Mr. Hoover has been neither. Something in excess of $300,000 has been spent to finance the great pop- ular uprising in his behalfi—quite a sizable sum in a period when the public conscience is touchy about political expen- ditures. Worse than that, Mr. Hoover has surrounded himself with some of the cronies of Harry M. Daugherty, one of whom was sent into several Southern States to conduct—with $10,000—"‘mis- sionary work" among the Negroes. For aman with Mr. Hoover's pretensions to superior virtue, this was poor business. It is all over now but the actual bal- loting. Mr. Hoover's managers have col- lected in the neighborhood of five hun- dred delegates, more or less pledged to support him. I am told that Mr. Hoover has a list of these delegates in his safe and that he regards their pledges as pure gold. It may be that he will be nom- inated on the first ballot. But strange things happen in politics, and I will ap- plaud Mr. Hoover's nomination when it Hoover's protagonists have no taste for such an exhibition. Speed is the very es- sence of their strategy; otherwise the first fine enthusiasm for their candidate might evaporate, eee Tue enemies of Mr. Hoover have one conceivably effective weapon in their hands, and that is the creation of an at- mosphere. When Brand Whitlock was Ambassador to Belgium, he insisted that an atmosphe: s often more important than a fact. This is equally true of pol- itics. If the conviction can be established that Mr. Hoover faces defeat, if nom- inated, the fight against him will be won. For this purpose, numbers of important Republicans have been extolling the vote- getting powers of Alfred E. Smith. Mr. Smith will capture the East, it is thus ar- gued, while Mr. Hoover is losing the agrarian West. Mr. Hilles, of New York, Divine Dentist: Really, there's quite a cavity in that lower right incisor. T'll fill it at once, comicbooks.com