Under his leadership the House inserted a clause in the moratorium stating that the people of this country had lent, not given, of their wealth to Europe and that the war debts were not canceled.
He voted against the Eighteenth Amendment, but since it was tacked on to the Constitution, he has voted consistently in favor of enforcing that provision, as long as it remains there.
He co-operated heartily with President Wilson during the war but he is against our entering the League of Nations--and everybody knows it, or would know it if they took the trouble to watch the words and actions of the men at Washington. He is definitely not an internationalist.
Opposed Votes for Women
He voted against the Women Suffrage Amendment, but as women won the right to vote, they are not likely to hold that against him. At the time, he believed woman's place was in the home, and he said so.
You don't have to explain or excuse the stand of John N. Garner on any public question. His record is written on the public scrolls for all to read and he does not ask to be allowed to change a line of it. On it, he is aparently quite willing to stand or fall. It's his record and he appears to believe that Mr. John J. Voter has a right to judge him on it, without being cajoled into thinking it's something that it's not.
The manner in which he got the House organized and functioning on important legislation is a matter of recent history, known to all who read the daily press.
Since he became Speaker, his prestige has increased greatly among his colleagues because of his evident impartiality and fairness. Northern Democratic Congressmen find no reason to complain of any slights. In fact they will tell you that they like him more than ever. And although he is a product of the Solid South, they seem to consider him more in the light of a Westerner.
A Democratic Crusader
Moreover, to his supporters at least, Garner represents the true spirit of the Democratic Party which is none too often evidenced in Presidential candidates. They insist he would be a far more popular rallying point than a number of others whose contact over long years with big business has dulled the edge of their crusading blade.
If Speaker Garner were actively directing an organization working nationally in his behalf, he would probably do a workmanlike job of it, for he has a direct way of going at problems that makes for speed, dispatch, and thoroughness. He is not doing so. He is contented where he is, although needless to say, he will be a receptive dark horse. It is not likely, however, on the strength of his record, that he will make concessions to win the nomination.
Compared to Garfield
He will go into the convention with the support of two states. Texas and Louisiana. Garfield, I believe, received only one vote on the first ballot in 1880, the year he was nominated and elected. And the vital and vigorous Congressman from the fifteenth Texas district starts off with the kindly wishes of a good many persons and the friendship of the leaders.
The convention can do worse than nominate John N. Garner, 63 years old of Uvalde, Texas.