Harlow's Weekly (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 45, No. 16, Ed. 1 Saturday, October 19, 1935 Page: 7 of 16
sixteen pages : ill. ; page 10 x 8 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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Senator George May Seek Josh Lee’s Place
DOWN at Norman there is a young
man being asked by his friends
to make the most important de-
cision of his professional career. They
are convinced that Congressman Josh
Lee, so greatly beloved in that section
of the state, will not be a candidate
to succeed himself as congressman
from the fifth district, but will, in-
stead, ask the voters of the entire state
to pass on his ambition to mount the
political ladder to greater heights—
the senate of the United States.
Conditioned entirely upon Lee’s en-
try into the senatorial contest, there
has been started a search for the most
available man to succeed him in the
lower house of congress.
This search has brought many of
the old Lee guard and others to the
office of State Senator E. V. George,
of Norman and they are requesting his
serious consideration of support if he
will become a congressional candidate.
As yet no decision has bepn made,
but it has resulted in Senator George
consenting to give his answer soon.
There are men throughout the fifth
congressional district who are so sure
that Lee will enter the senatorial bat-
tle and that Senator George will be
a candidate for congress, that they
have quietly begun laying the organ-
ization foundation for the Norman
senator’s candidacy.
One of his ch’ef sponsors, a Norman
business man who has long been ac-
quainted with Senator George, this
week outlined the high spots of his
proposed candidate. He said:
“Vivian George has made good as
state senator, just as he has made good
at every opportunity to serve the pub-
lic. As a legislator, both in the house
and in the senate, he has displayed a
deep concern in the interests of the
school teachers, the farmers and the
business men—the little fellows in eai h
instance having his ready support. He
has, on numerous occasions, been the
champion of labor—thus proving that
elevat on to office has not shoitened
his vision or warped his concern in the
mutual welfare of the people.
“How often have we elected men ot
supposed sympathy for the little fel-
low, only to find that it was the re-
muneration from that office th.it
prompted him to enter public sei vice,
rather than the desire to be of real
service?
“Senator George has always been
fair—fair to the individual and fair
to that association of ind’viduals known
as corporations. The latter are merelx
By T. P. TRIPP
a union of men striving for greater op-
portunities. When they are fair in their
demands, then they are entitled to
fairness in return. That has been the
rule Senator George has used in meas-
uring the demands of his constituents.
“Vivian George, as we know him, is
what we term a ‘safe and sane’ states-
man. He is a student. He is a conserva-
tive in thought and in action. He is
not a demagogue to gain votes. He
acts when he is convinced he is right.
He is fearless in politics—and that is
a distinction these days when the timid
State Senator E. V. George,
A likely candidate for congressional nomina-
tion in fifth district in event Josh Lee enters
Senate contest
trimmer is swayed back and forth with
the drift of what he considers popular
sentiment.
“Being one of those old fashioned
individuals, easy of approach, he is
wedded to the idea of doing right be-
cause it is right, anil that is a really
old fashioned theory that appeals to
thinking people.
“We think of him as material for an
ideal congressman because of his abil-
ity, his personality, his honesty, his
open life and the record he has at-
tained when given an opportunity to
serve the public.”
At other places in the fifth congres-
sional district where I sought to un-
earth public sentiment regarding mat-
ters of political importance, I found
the people were talking of Senator
George’s proposed candidacy from the
standpoint of individual strength dis-
played in his race for the state senate
a year ago.
It was pointed out that George’s sen-
atorial district—Cleveland and Mc-
Clain counties, are both counties in the
congressional district now represented
by Congressman Josh Lee. Therefore,
Senator George’s acquaintance in these
two counties, observers point out,
would give him a material leadership
over a candidate unknown outside of
his immediate home community. Again,
Senator George has a wide acquaint-
ance in Oklahoma, Logan, Payne, Gar-
vin and Murray counties, which are
likewise in the fifth congressional dis-
trict.
It is being pointed out that Senator
George has always carried his home
county; that in the state senate race
he lacked two or three hundred votes
of polling more votes than his three
opponents combined. He is known as
a hard campaigner, an entertaining
speaker. He does not slander an op-
ponent. “He is just hard to handle,’
is the general opinion of political op-
ponents in his past contests.
I found sentiment in favor of the
Norman senator succeeding Lee in con-
gress is not confined to his own dis-
trict. The news of what might happen
seems to have traveled fast.
Of course all this is dependent upon
Josh Lee seeking higher honors. Should
Lee decide at the last moment—or be-
fore—that he prefers to continue in
the House service, then Senator George
and his most ardent supporters will
willingly abide by that decision.
That increases the curiosity being
expressed as to Josh Lee’s decision. It
is rather unusual that a man having
congressional ambitions should hang
that ambition on the probability of
what a friend will do, but Senator
George has told everyone that he will
not be a candidate if Lee decides he
prefers to continue as representative
from the fifth district.
George as a Senator
Senator George’s record of public
service started with his four years ,°s
court clerk of his home county. Then
came his election to the lower house
of the Oklahoma legislature, where he
served with distinction for two years.
He was elected to the state senate in
1934 for a term of four years.
In the state senate he is a popular
member, rated as an independent
thinker and one who stands steadfast
for his convictions. Before he commits
(Continued on Page 12)
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Harlow, Victor E. Harlow's Weekly (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 45, No. 16, Ed. 1 Saturday, October 19, 1935, newspaper, October 19, 1935; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1600378/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.