Gen. Hurley is mentioned as keynoter for GOP
Washington – (March 25)
Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley, Secretary of War in the Hoover Cabinet and now roving ambassador for President Roosevelt, is being discussed here as a possible keynoter for the Republican National Convention at Chicago in June.
Gen. Hurley’s name, put forward by Rep. Leo E. Allen (R-IL), elicited a favorable response in many Congressional quarters, where it was agreed that he not only would be an excellent choice as the keynote speaker, but that he might develop formidable strength as a vice-presidential possibility.
His colorful career, his military record and his forthright manner of speaking qualify him, in the opinion of his backers, for a place in the front rank of contenders for these posts, while his strongly nationalistic views, coupled with his “energetic support” of Mr. Roosevelt’s foreign policy, would make him an asset to the entire Republican campaign.
The choice of a keynoter will be made by the Committee on Arrangements which will meet April 18 and 19 in Chicago. Others mentioned as possible keynoters are: Rep. Clare Boothe Luce (R-CT), Senator Edward H. Moore (R-OK), Senator Chapman Revercomb (R-WV), Pennsylvania Governor Edward Martin and Illinois Governor Dwight H. Green.
Started as miner
Born in the Choctaw Nation before it became Oklahoma, Gen. Hurley made his way from a humble beginning as a coalminer and a cowboy to positions of prominence in the legal profession and in government. his military record is unusual, in that he has held every rank in the Army from private to a major general.
During World War I, he participated in the Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne and Saint-Mihiel offensives. President Hoover appointed him Assistant Secretary of War when he formed his Cabinet in March 1929, and, late in the same year, promoted him to the secretaryship.
On domestic issues, Gen. Hurley opposes governmental ownership in general, and is an ardent believer in private enterprise; yet, abhorring communism and those who advocate its adoption in this country, he is a strong believer in Russia as a world power.
At Tehran Conference
He has long been a member of the English-Speaking Union and believes that the future peace of the world rests upon the maintenance of Great Britain in her present position of eminence.
As one of the President’s aides at the Tehran Conference, he drafted the Iran declaration guaranteeing the independence of Iran and reaffirming the principles of the Atlantic Charter. For several months, moreover, he has been ironing out differences and difficulties between the British and the United States in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Near Eastern countries.
He thus is being suggested by his friends as the logical answer to the problem which the Republicans face this year in charting a course between the isolationist elements of the party and the interventionist supporters of Wendell L. Willkie.