McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, August 08, 1940, Image 6
McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. C, THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 1940
If Wendell Willkie Wins in November ?
He’ll Be Sixth Political 'Dark Horse’
To Be ’Stabled’ in the White House
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
I F, AS the Republican party
hopes and believes, Wen
dell Willkie is the winner
in the Presidential race next
November, he will become
the sixth “dark horse” to be
“stabled” in the White House.
For only five times in our na
tion’s history of 151 years
have the people elected to the
highest office in the land a
man who was either unknown
before his nomination or was
not seriously considered as a
potential candidate.
James Knox Polk was the first
of the “dark horse” breed of can
didates. He was a Tennessee coun
try lawyer who went to congress
for seven terms and became a
strong partisan of “Old Hickory”
Jackson. Due mainly to Jack-
son’s influence, he * became
speaker of the house of represen
tatives and later governor of
Tennessee. He was defeated for
re-election to that office and his
political career seemed ended.
As the time for Democratic con
vention of 1844 approached, the
strongest contender for the nomi
nation was Martin Van Buren who
had served one term as President
but had lost to the Whig candi
date, Gen. William Henry Harri
son, in 1840. Van Buren had the
backing of General Jackson but
the Southern Democracy was sus-
JAMES K. POLK
picious of him and his attitude
toward slavery.
During 4he first seven ballots
at the convention in Baltimore
Van Buren had a majority of the
delegates’ votes. But, due to the
strength of Lewis Cass of Michi
gan, he could not get the two-
thirds vote required by party
rules. After the seventh ballot
the southern delegates secured a
recess and held a caucus. They
decided to rally behind the de
feated Tennessee governor who
was “right” on the slavery ques
tion and who enjoyed the friend
ship of Jackson.
Beyond Polk’s Hopes.
Polk had no hope of being the
Presidential nominee but he had
made it known that he would ac
cept the vice presidency. On the
eighth ballot the southerners
sprang their surprise candidate
and the New York delegates
withdrew Van Buren’s name. On
the next roll call they swung to
Polk, other states followed and
when the ninth ballot ended the
JAMES A. GARFIELD
first “dark horse” in convention
history, a man who hadn’t been
mentioned for the honor 24 hours
previously, had been unanimously
nominated.
Of course, the Whigs were de
lighted to have a “no-body” as
an opponent for their candidate,
Henry Clay. But their jubila
tion was premature. For Clay,
the Kentuckian, angered the
South by pussyfooting on the
question of annexing Texas,
thereby adding slave territory,
and the new Liberty party of
Abolitionists, headed by James
G. Bimey, diverted enough votes
from Clay to give Polk an easy
victory.
Eight years later the Demo
crats again nominated and elect-
R. B. HAYES
ed a “dark horse” candidate,
Franklin Pierce, our only Presi
dent from New Hampshire. Edu
cated at Bowdoin college, he was
a successful young lawyer when
he was elected to congress at the
age of 29 and to the senate when
he was only 33. But because
Mrs. Pierce was a shy woman
who hated public life, Pierce re
signed from the senate and went
back to his law practice in Con
cord. At the outbreak of the War
with Mexico he entered the serv
ice, came out as a brigadier-
general and announced that he
was through with public life for
ever.
But the political situation dur
ing the next five years changed
all that. When the Democratic
convention opened in Baltimore
on June 1, 1852, the leading can
didates were Lewis Cass of Mich
igan, James Buchanan of Penn
sylvania and Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois. For 28 ballots none
of these men was able to secure
the necessary two-thirds major
ity. Then the convention decid
ed it had better turn to a new
candidate who had taken no part
in the slavery dispute and had
therefore incurred no bitter en
mities, in other words, a “no
body.”
Some of the Maine delegates
suggested the ex-senator from
their neighboring state. So
Franklin Pierce was trotted out
as a “dark horse,” received 15
votes on the 29th ballot and
gained steadily until the 48th,
when he received 55. By that
time it was apparent that the
band wagon was on its way and
the delegates hastily climbed on.
On the 49th ballot Pierce received
282 of the 288 votes.
The Whigs nominated Gen.
Winfield Scott, hoping that “Old
Fuss and Feathers” could repeat
the victory of that other hero of
the Mexican war, “Old Rough
and Ready” Taylor. But the
Democrats’ young Mexican war
general swept the election field
with 254 electoral votes to Scott’s
42.
Pierce tried for renomination
in 1856 but was defeated and van
ished from the political scene.
First Republican 'Dark Horse.*
Thus far the Democratic party
had been the one which supplied
“dark horse” candidates. But
beginning in 1876 the Republicans
took their turn. In that year
James G. Blaine was their logi
cal candidate and in the early
balloting at the convention in Cin
cinnati he was within 30 votes
of victory. However, the “Man
From Maine” had his enemies
who were determined to block his
nomination.
Among the “favorite sons”
who were trailing along on com
plimentary votes was Rutherford
B. Hayes of Ohio, a lawyer who
became a major-general in the
Union army, then returned home
to serve two terms in congress
and three terms as governor of
his native state. He was scarce
ly known outside the borders of
Ohio and during the spirited con
test between Blaine’s partisans
and his enemies no one paid
much attention to Hayes’ 61 votes.
Roscoe Conkling of New York
had the support of the New York
and Pennsylvania delegates but
when it became apparent that
Conkling had no chance to beat
Blaine the Pennsylvanians began
to throw their support to Ohio’s
favorite son. This started a
swing which carried the Buck
eye “dark horse” to victory by
384 votes to Blaine’s 351.
The Democrats nominated
Samuel J. Tilden of New York
and in the election it seemed that
Tilden had won. Then occurred
the famous incident of the con
tested electoral votes of Florida,
Louisiana and South Carolina, the
appointment by congress of an
electoral commission and its 8
to 7 vote in favor of Hayes. So
another “dark horse” went to the
White House but there are those
who still believe that he had lost
the election before the electoral
commission’s vote sent him there.
Although Hayes was not a great
President, he was probably the
best of any of the “dark horses.”
Declaring that “he serves his
party best who serves his coun
try best,” Hayes gave the coun
try an administration which set
a high mark for future “dark
horse” Presidents to try to equal.
The first of these was another
Buckeye, James A. Garfield. Se
curing an education by his own
efforts, he became a teacher and
was elected to the Ohio senate
which he left in 1861 to become
the youngest brigadier-general in
the Union army. He came out of
the war a major-general and was
sent to congress where his prin
cipal distinction was his loyalty
to Blaine.
Grant Tries for a Third Term.
The 1880 Republican convention
was again a battle between
Conkling and Blaine but this time
the New York leader was trying
to secure a third term for Ulysses
S. Grant. Although Grant led
Blaine in the voting from the first
ballot, Conkling could not muster
up quite enough votes to secure
the nomination for the ex-Presi-
dent.
Garfield was present at the con
vention as the leader of the Ohio
FRANKLIN PIERCE
delegation pledged to John Sher
man. He made the speech plac
ing Sherman’s name in nomina
tion and, as it turned out, suc
ceeded in nominating himself by
doing it. For when it became ap
parent that neither Grant nor
Blaine could win, the convention
turned to a compromise candi
date.
On the 34th ballot Garfield re
ceived 17 votes. He immediately
protested that he was there in the
interests of Sherman but the
chairman ruled him out of order
and the balloting proceeded. On
the 36th ballot the break came.
The Blaine and Sherman forces
swung behind Garfield and he
was nominated with 399 votes to
Grant’s 306. Garfield easily de
feated the Democratic nominee,
Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock but
his career as President was cut
short by the bullet of a disap-
WARREN G. HARDING
pointed office-seeker, Charles J.
Guiteau, September 19, 1881, a
little more than six months after
he had entered the White House.
The story of the fifth “dark
horse” President is so recent and
so familiar to most Americans
as to need only brief mention
here. The 1920 Republican con
vention was in Chicago a fight
between Gen. Leonard Wood and
Gov. Frank O. Lowden of Illinois
for the nomination. It soon be
came apparent that a hopeless
deadlock would prevent the nom
ination of either candidate.
Then followed the now-famous
night conference in a “smoke-
filled hotel room” and the next
day Senator Warren G. Harding,
an Ohio “favorite son,” was se
lected as the nominee. Harding
defeated his fellow-Buckeye, Gov.
James M. Cox, 404 electoral
votes to 127 and entered the
White House, pledged to bring the
country “back to normalcy.”
His administration, marred by
scandals reminiscent of the Grant
regime, ended August 2, 1923,
when death summoned this ill-
fated Ohioan . . . the second
“dark horse” President to die
“in the harness ”
By VIRGINIA VALE
(Released by-Weste$n Newspaper Union.)
R ITA HAYWORTH won a
victory when Director
Charles Vidor offered her a
chance to become Brian
Aherne’s leading lady in “The
Lady in Question.” Because
the sultry-eyed actress wears
clothes so well she’s been la
belled “the best dressed girl
in filmland.” And because
she’s what she is, she found
herself in danger of acquiring an
other label—that of a glamour girl.
But the lovely Rita wants to act.
If you’ve seen her in “Susan and
God,” with Joan Crawford and
Frederic March, you know that she
can do it, too.
But in that one she was beautifully
dressed. She wanted a role that
would give her a chance to show
what she could do in spite of being
dowdily dressed. Vidor certainly
gave it to her in “The Lady in
Question.”
Her entire wardrobe for this one
cost less than $45. A drab suit,
shoes with run-over heels, and a
very simple afternoon frock—that’s
what this “best dressed” young
woman was given to wear. She was
delighted. But she couldn’t go
dowdy all the way—she had to wear
silk stockings.
Remember Marie Wilson, the cun-
hing blonde who was clever enough
to put herself across in Hollywood
by playing dumb? Her most recent
picture was “Boy Meets Girl,”
which isn’t exactly recent, after all.
She has just concluded a 20 weeks*
personal appearance tour, and now
she’s back in pictures; you’ll see
MARIE WILSON
her in “Virginia,” playing a neu
rotic young New York society wom
an who wants to buy an historic
Virginia plantation owned by Mad
eleine Carroll and transform it into
a night club.
✓*\
Grim fate pursues Bette Davis on
che screen. She’s died, gone insane,
lost her eyesight, faced certain
death on a plague-ridden island,
been murdered, and caused a scan
dal that rocked the world. In her
new picture, “The Letter,” she
starts right out by killing a man.
However, her roles haven’t affected
her private life—she’s taking rhum
ba lessons in her free moments.
sir
‘ '7I\
Speaking of free time—Raymond
Gram Swing (whom Radio Guide re
cently named “the wisest and most
scholarly of the war commentators”)
has had but two free weeks for vaca
tion in the past four years. And
with the European situation what it
is there’s no telling when he’ll ever
again have time off.
A honeymoon that was delayed for
five years started recently, when
Laurette Fillbrandt (“Virginia Rich-
man” of “Girl Alone”) and her hus
band, Russ Young, finally departed
for Hollywood and points north. He’s
a radio announcer, and ever since
their marriage, when he wasn’t
booked to announce she was com
mitted to acting—getting 16 free
weeks together was something of a
triumph.
Are you one of these movie fans
who implore the stars to do some
thing on the screen that will really
# be a message to you? If you are,
you annoy your favorite star no end.
George Brent has one of those
fans, a girl who wants him to tap
his cigarette three times on an ash
tray at least once in each picture,
just to let her know that he was
thinking of her. He did it as a gag
in one picture, and regrets it—says
since then she’s been so insistent
that he’d be muscle-bound if he ac
ceded to her demands.
vt/
Pretty Brenda Marshall (now
working in “East of the River”) gets
regular letters from a youth who
wants her to mention his name just
once during the picture. And Jane
Wyman receives roses to wear.
When the roses arrived when she
started work in “Tugboat Annie
Sails Again” Jane took steps. She
wrote him that she couldn’t do it if
she wanted to, because she has to
do what the script tells her to, that
she has rose fever and can’t stand
the flowers—and besides, that she’s
married.
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“Don’t you find that a new baby
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Light housekeeping is said to be
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After Taste?
“Do you think you could learn
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THE WHEREFROM
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The distinguished guest smiled gal
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Quite the Opposite
“Is that a popular song your
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A good joke isn’t damaged when
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Why Bother Then?
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Fearful Times
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