Life — September 14, 1928 — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OUR CANDIDATE DISCUSSES AL'S SPEECH “Al Isn’t the Only One Who Was Obscure at Birth” Wat I haven’t heard from Al since I dullenged him to debate, I guess Al thought I was just kidding, lke John Roach Straton. Straton called him the same names again last Sunday but Al said he never read protestant sermons. So John has to dig up some new mode of getting his words over. I would have liked to got a crack at Herb or Al cither, The subject would have been “Why are you a Candidate?” Ithink that would have stuck ‘em. Now awhile ago I commented on Hoover's speech, and not to slight Al I will ry and take his apart and see what's the matter with it. In the first place Al made a anighty fine speech, considering the material he had to work with. A Democratic speech is hard to make sound reasonable, Because they are not supposed to be. A Democrat is naturally windier than a Republican, He is out of office more and he has more time to think up things to say. All a Republican has to say is “Well I by WILL ROGERS am in try and get me out.” While with a Democrat he has to say something that will get the Republican out and also something that will get him in. Now we will take Al's speech as it came. In the first place he accepted. I was kinder disappointed in him for that, I thought he was smarter than he is, I thought he would refuse. Just think how much bigger man he would have been if he had refused. If he gets elected, he will be only one out of thirty that’s held the presidency. But if he'd refused, he'd be the first in history to do that—and probably the last. After he had accepted he did a lot of explaining, That’s bad. If you ever ac- cept anything don’t do so with an excuse, because if you ever start in alabi'ing it means you will have to keep it up. He said he would take it “because this is the Country that had raised him from obscurity to the standard bearer of gel Now Al dident have any mon- on obscurity at birth, There is aw- his OPS ful be Babies very well known at wean- ing time. Hoover kinder gets in on that obscurity thing himself, a~Man couldent have been much more obscure than to have been born in Iowa and eventually move to Cali- fornia, For that’s what they all did. Al said 25 years ago he was confirmed to the party on that very spot, and he believes the Democrats must be right for they have kept him working a these years. But the part that kinder hit us all was where he said that if he was elected he would have our Government quit messing around down in Latin America. In other words if a Marine went sight- seeing, he would make him pay his way instead of shoot his way through. Then he blamed the Mississippi flood on the Republicans, That was going kinder strong, For that’s the only thing I can think of off hand that the Republi- can party was NOT responsible for. The have started enough devilment, but the flood was kinder an act of God or somebody much nearer Him than the Republican Party. le mentioned the Tarriff. Candidates always have to say something about tar- riff. It started years ago, and since the Re- comicbooks.com