J l ►]. - t u&j i — ejiZoct^* * WAR V \Ar**>CL a - w <^ w —^ h ...*>• -. v„- ; y\^^/ t'sjl, ^ ^ 'uJc ^Cv^t Svv*^/—For weeks the news haj^ been dominated by two questions* 07er here - a political query* What about a third term? that will soon be officially answered here in Chicago* Host politicos are saying - M^s as good as answered now." The second dominating question in the nevvs has been - when will the Nazi drive to Invade Great Britain begin? it has been tensely expected, but has failed to materialize. What about the battle of Britain?. Today we have a statement, which apparently may be taken as something of an official answer. It is given my Hussollni's mouthpiece,Gayda - writing in the Duce’s own newspaper. The Gapda pronouncement is so phrased as to be a reply to the defiance uttered by British prime minister Churchill yesterday. Churchill proclaimed Britain’s relentless determination to wage war to the end, a long war, with nineteen fort^—two named as the time when Great Britain will really get going - on the * offensive. The counter-statement by the Kussolinl mouthpiece rather gives the impression that Gayde was appointed to speak officially for the totalitarian side. He states - that the assault against Great Britain, 1 2--add Y/AR the supreme attempt at invasion, win be made within a few days. The rayda article gives something of a schedule, it intimates that hazi Germany and fascist Italy will give Great Britain an ultimatum - come to terms at once, or else. If Britain maintains the Churchill promise to consider no suggestion of peace - then the blizkrieg will be launched. The fascist view is that Italy will hold the large British naval units in the 1editerreanean, and keep them busy - so that they’ll % not be available for home defense, while Hilter hurls invasion at the tight little isle. From Germany thereN an ominous kind of response to the Churchill speech - to one angle of it. This, the prime minister’s declaration of a last ditch defense of London, if need be, bitter end resistence, house by house, street by street. He said Britain would rather see London in ashes than surrender it to the Nazis. Berlin counters by saying that this Churchill announcement makes London ^defended city - a legitimate target for bombing* Threatening London, with the fate of Rotterdam, the great dutch city which bravely resisted the German invader, and w;. ^ destroyed In large part by ruthless devastation of high explosive ADD WAP - 3 from tne air. .xov.ever, in cpite of todays v:ords of menace arainst London, the general opinion is in Berlin that tnere will not be any immediate mass-bombing attack on the British capital. Hitherto, Nazi warplanes have let London pretty much alone, just as the British; air force has not struck with bombs at Berlin. London tells of huge aestruction wrought by Royal Air Force bombers attacking vital German centers. Twenty-two German airdromes 4—add V.'AR blasted - a:, aircraft factory in Bremen, others at Paderborn and Diepholz a great Hamburg oil refinery bombed - for the eleventh time. The Bremen cil refinery bombed - for the sixth tine. Twenty other German petroleum centers raided in air atteck. Berlin,on the contrary, describes today’s Iritish bombing forajys as - aimless and harmless. The contradiction is almost complete - both sides concealing their eir attack injuries behind a veil cf censorship. There’s a special turn of drama to one air raid story - sky bombs blasting in the Holy land. Italian ?/arplanes raided Haifa, the greatest port in Palestine, Bombs flashed from the sky, in concerted air maneuvers of modern war - a new terror in the land of the Prince of Peace, file IIalf»i~Tapurl tella uf T*** afcd fe»aba-«% '4LUshi*g to bi-tter-ode^r deedly enerTies-rneerrtiy-^ •thay were frlends-in. as under the tbgaat^ v.»gr-rr~img~~gky; {end ) EnhOJIii COIw^TIQu I made tne trip out here to Chicago to tne Convention, well, almost in state, Not because I was entitled to it. Blit because of a friend. One of ray Quaker Hill friends up in Duchess County, Charles E. Murphy, the eminent Brooklyn lawyer, and former president of the Advertising Cl ib of Hew York. Charley Murphy asked me to ma-te the trip with him. The New York Central made a special stop for him at Poughkeepsie and when we climbed aboard I found we were on a Convention Special, jammed with Democrats all from Brooklyn; Senators, the Attorney General of New York, judges galore, and, the number one man, Frank V. Kellh, Democratic leader in Kings County which is Brooklyn Without being unwind to my Democratic hosts who were on that special train, T suppose it would be all right to tell you that it was the quietest, the most sedate special train on which I ever rode. No uproarious laughterl In fact not much loud coaversation. As oae of them remarked: "It!s just like going to the funeral of a Senate Everybody taking it for granted that it was all going to be cut and dried. enrouts convention ^ r It was * fie first time I had e-imr met Frank Kelly, the . ’ s - i emoc^atic high mogul. I v.as !»fry inter- e'i' wi-Wi him because he is referred to as se leader of tne largest single voting unit in America. There 're more than 1,100,000 voters in Kings County, - Brooklyn. c/^uJ itj? Pr-rdr told me that of these approximately 1,000,000 are Democrats. So as a Democratic leader he stands at the top, with Cook County here in Chica 'o as the only close competitor. As the train sped toward Chicago m told me that he was sure Franklin D. Roosevelt would be renominated for a third term. He said that his county gave Roosevelt a majority of 524,000 votes in the last election. And, he said they would give him that, and possibly more next November. 524,000! A tremendous number of votes, that. ******* Chough to swing the state of New A York. And, it is possible that if F. D. R. is victorious in New York he will win the election, return to the White House for a third term. /Vleader Frank Kelly, Fr-^VJ. Taylor, former\k>mptroller of the City ofWYork, Charley Murphy, sat and df^^psed ENROrTP CO:.VF:ivTTQi\ •7 i: e convention, Kelly and Taylor were trying to fi ut how F.D.R. might be draftee, put over unanimously. And nere v;as one way they figured it coulo be done; on Thursday, at the first roll call, for Alabama to yeild to New York. Whereupon there would be a nominating speech for F.D.R. Then for all the other states to yield to those states that have candidates. The nominating speeches to be made, but in each case the nominee to express his thinks, take his bow, get the satisfaction and publicity that comes from being pat before a national convention for the presidency, and then gracefully to step aside and turn hisdelegates ov r to Mr. R >osevelt. . . would get it on the first ballot* And, at the same time all the other candidates would have the nigh honor of havirr- their names presented to the convention. The atmosphere of resignation, shall we say, of f,decision already arrived at”, was noticeable the moment we got off the train in Chicago this morning. No bands. In fact I didn't see a flag. I Pot out to the Stadium on the west side, and the convention ak hall, a half hour before tn time announced for calling it CONVENTION) 4 to ordei1, the opening of the 1940 democratic Convention to nominate a president of the United States. But there were no crowds. ' Inside the vast stadium it all looked rather gay be­ cause the interior had been painted a brilliant red, the boxes, all the seats, from the arena to the roof. But there was almost no one there. And, National Chairman Farley hr d been announced to rap his gavel at twelve sharp.* However, the crowd finally arrived all at the same time, a fev. minutes before twelve. And before Jim Farley rapped for order I saw Senator Tydlngs of Maryland drop into his seat. I walked along the aisle with Senator Walsh of Massachusetts. Senator Thomas of Oklahoma passed us, and Senator Tom Connolly of Te*:as, his gray hair hanging over his collar in senatorial fashion. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes leaned against a box in animated conversa- ion with a young woman. Handsome Paul J Nutt, who hao ju^t dropped out of the race for the nomination, came over and chatted with u^gsecretary of War Woodring, who just made way in F.D.R.'s cabinet for Henry L. Stimson. mfc we began to see quite a few Republicans coming in: Glenn Frank, who has played such a vital CGhV/Ef TI ON - 6 role in the ^.O.p. of late?» anci Grove Pqtterson, the Toledo editor who nominated Senator Bob Taft at Philadelphia. Assistant Secretary of State Sunnier Welles, looking just about the most distinguished of all the delegates. And all the commentators and columnists:- Arthur Krock, Franrl Kent, William Allen White, Dave Lawrence, Walter Lippraan, Mark Sullivan, Xalteriborn, Earl Godwin and hosts of others. By tv;elve oc I ock the delegates were nearly all in their seats. But, the other thousands and thousands of seats in the stadium were far from being filled. Oniy a few spectators. And, it seemed most a inroori .te when tue band struck uo, as the 1 irs tune to oe i played at this convention: "Take Me Out to t .e Ball Gaem." Evidently that*s exactly where so many who had come to Chicago were. As National Chairman Eaney rapped for order the first shout heard at this first session was one lone voice calling out. "we I ant Rooseveltl" L.T. SUNOCO CHICAGO MONDAY JULYIJth. 1940 tiOOB SVBNING, WtHYBODY« We narrowly escaped a bit of drama TT dium Xjls .-w l a -t- a • tly pected, un-rebearsed, unwanted. Only the strong, skilful hand of Stage Manager Jim Farley nipped it in the bud* Chicago's Mayor Ed Kelley had finished his speech of welcome. He worked up to a rousing climax, as many of you probably heard over the radio. For that climax Mayor Kelly elected himself to be the first to sound the note of "Draft Roosevelt ~ draft him for a third term whether he likes it ^ ***/*-< . / . , or not." As Kelley his grand hooraw finale we observed A ominous movements on the floor of the convention. State standard bearers started rising from their seats, standards in hand. MxmhigM There were flutterings among the Michigan delegates, just below where I was sitting. Ohio, Arkansas and many of the Southerners were evidently about to begin something. Mayor Kelly finished on a loud, high not. Then the band struck up and the cheers commenced. The standard LEAD 2 bearer of New York Sbate could be seen walkir^ down the aisle and others threatened to follow. the first sign of any excitement that Chicago had seen yet That was an exciting moment * There we had, as it seemed, • A all the makings of a stampede ^ coa|tag~ettt of tana “and quite dis­ concerting, And that wqs where the authority and presence-*of— mind of Chairman Jim Farley came^to bat* With sharp, quick raps of his gavel he shut off that demonstration^and^what*^ lot of apple oarta-would-Jaave. beexa^mpseteif he had hit stopped One factor that helped him was-the emptiness -- comparatively of/the hall. Of course the^Chicago Stadium ishuge affair and takes a real crowd to^fill it. To the layman1 s eye pl^c the mrtai nd^t^' I es for spectators were more than half^empty and large numbers of delegate's anaxjLiluDt were conspicuous by their empty seats. As for the altera^ is, there seemed to be hardly any at all, T$fc* most curious of all conventions« / the strangest in the history of any party. Few of the usual Aad-*»haV*s~*yp convention-symptoms are to be observed, no ballyhoo, no keenness, $ xn lack of excitement, people are joking about it. One observer compared the show to one of those old-fashioned Eft dramas, where the audience sits through three dull acts only in the hope that LEAD 3 Beneath the surface, however, there is tm±n curiosity even tension. Until recently the big mystery hung around the inten­ tions of President Roosevelt. But that one has been solved. The centre A of mystery now is Chairman Jim Farley. He is the will-he-or- won't-he man of the moment — will he or won*t he run the cam­ paign for his boss. Two weeks ago he said no, he was going to run the New York Yankees. Since then friends have been arguing with him, pointing out that if he walked out on the party at this juncture he would put himself in the light of a sorehead. At present he*s keeping up the mystery for all he is worth but says he will tell the world on Saturday whether Barkis is willing* Jim was talking to the big boss today several times, over the Then there*s the Resolutions Committee, where they are still arguing about that most ticklish, dangerous necessity — the platform. The committee passed most of the day listening to spokesmen of different lumii** organizations. Old Doc Townsend LEAD 4 was one of them, thr*a**±*g threatening to start a third party if the Democrats don't put over his plan to give ham and eggs to the old folks. William Green, of the Federation oifvjjabor, told the dormnittee he believed Mr. Roosevelt would solve the unemployment problem if he were given the chance. That'caused quite a hubbub,^k--/ \ \ \ \ to the interpretation that the Federation was backing the Fres» did nit mean it \ thii term. Later dp, Green said he did nit mean it V iWvV ERUPTION -here are scenes of terrttCES in Japan. The mountainous islands fringing the eastern pacific are of evil fame for being unstable, for shaking and quaking. Japan is having a series of earthquakes, i Tokyo is rocking and trembling. But the earthquakes are not the worst pert of the disturbance of Nature* They proceed# from a tremendous volcanic eruption, the island of Myaki blowing up with repeated explosions. Fifty villages have been destroyed by streams of lava pouring from broiling craters - rivers of molten stone, closing in around the villages and trapping the terrified inhabitants. A heavy loss of life is reported. Today, there was a new blast by the fire mountain, a new pouring out of lava and new panic among the people of the island. They rushed for safety to the sea, but the ocean also is in a raging mood. A stormy sea prevented ships from putting to shore to land supplies and evacuate people. t CHINA ohma today rejected all suggestions of peace with Japan* No negotiations with the ^okyo government until the Mikado’s troops have been withdrawn from China* 3o declared the official spokesmen at ChungKing# In particular, they rebuffed a British proposal that ®reat Britain might mediate between Japan and China. This suggestion was made in a radio broadcast by the acting Governor of Malaya. He declared that Britain is seeking to promote a peace settlement. The radio declaration at Singapore seems not to have been entirely official. London explains today that the broadcast by the acting Governor was made without consulting London. It was not okayed in advance by the British government. eat Britain is in a difficult, position in Eastern As Jap*n naking demands and exerting pressure.vTokyo is requiring the the British stop shipments of military supplies to the Chinese \ rationalist armies, and the British have had to give in to ti extent of closing the Surma road. This Burma road is the princlp.1 \ X erterv of\ommunicatloU\Wlth Inner China, and has been a N'tober One \ \ \ V Highway for motioning the\hinese resistance. London report; 2—edd Chine. that China has delivered a protest to the British government - a protest against the closing of the Burma road* Troubles between the Japanese and the Americans in the Far East are continuing. Today, six prominent citizens of the United States were ordered expelled from Shanghai, This order was issued by the Nanking government, which is sponsored and supported by Japan - a puppet affair. The Americans ordered expelled are all prominently connected z^jiith Far Eastern journalism - editors and publishers mostly, who have been critical of Japan, Today officers of the United States Karines at Shanghai, were investigating a lively episoue, which Is described as a beer bottle throwing contest, A party of Karines and a group Japa.ieat . t & bomberded each other with beer bottles. It, happened in a saloon run by a Japanese. The Marines were drinking the brew when the argument started. The next thing you know, there was a wild crashing and shattering, and beer bottles went flying all over the place, banging . ^ miosed or against some body's coco when against the wall when they missea or they hit. The latest is that the affray is not llkely produce ^ 3—ADD CHINA international complications. It wonH lead to *ar. If it did, I suppose the conflict would go down in history as - the BEER BOTTLE WAR. ^ — Lt—t '*— wx < (end)