Newspaper Articles

Senator John F. Kennedy came back to Fayette county in a victorious fashion Thursday afternoon, and close to 1,000 people crowded into the Collins high school gymnasium to hear the Massachusetts Senator.

Hon. Mayor Joseph S. Keatley of Oak Hill opened the rally with some personal remarks. He then presented Mrs. Sue Scott, government teacher at Collins high, who in turn introduced Senator Kennedy.

Mrs. Scott had this to say: "Someone has said that a place that is good enough to roost is good enough to boost, and I believe that our students in Collins high school have proven today that we believe in boosting that which we believe in.Lives of all great men remind us there is a time for greatness.This time demands greatness.

"Courage, bravery and leadership certainly are indicative of the character of Senator Kennedy. He is a man who has a plan. His life has been planned. He chose early in life to follow a plan of greatness. With pride, with pleasure, with humility we greet him and we welcome him."

Excerpts from Senator Kennedy's talk are as follows:

"I am delighted to be back here at this school. I think I can say I am the only candidate for the President that has been to Collins high school twice.May I say that the reason for that is, this is the best cheering section of any high school in the United States.I must say that I am glad to be able to be back here in this high school.

"The great natural resource, the great gold reserve of the state of West Virginia are the schools and the young men and women that go to these schools.The secret of this state and the United States going ahead is going to be the kind of students, the schools, the kind of education that we give them.This state is going to move ahead.Some say West Virginia is on the decline and that when coal was king West Virginia was king. I don't hold that view at all.

"I think West Virginia and the United States are going in the 60's to move through a period far brighter, far stronger and more prosperous than this country has ever seen in the past. I don't think I have been in any state in the union that has more individual vitality than the people in West Virginia.Thiat is the basic economy for the people of West Virginia.

"Whether I am successful in West Virginia or not, I have had every chance in the world. This state has treated me fairly.Whether I'm successful or not I'll know that they have done what they considered to be in the best interests of the United States.

"This office is so important because it is the key office.and the Governor of this state and the President of the United States finally sat down eight years too late to discuss the problems of West Virginia.They did it finally because we were here in this state talking about this state. It took a presidential primary to wake up the President.There are 250,000 people here who live on a diet of surplus food which they can't possibly survive on, 100,000 able bodied Americans who want a job and can't find one.

"I wish the Governor would come down here and also the President and Mr. Nixon. I think it would do Mr. Nixon a world of good, because if by some chance he should become President of the United States I would like to have him see West Virginia.I wish they, (the presidential candidates) traveled this state, county to county, town to town, because if they are President of the United States, if any of them should finally be nominated who has not campaigned in this state, they wouldn't know any more about West Virginia than I knew a month ago.

"If you nominate me, and I think West Virginia could nominate me next Tuesday - not New York, not Illinois, not Ohio, not California, not Pennsylvania, not the larger states but West Virginia - I think you will nominate the Democratic nominee. If you do so, you have nominated a candidate that will carry the fight.

"If elected I will be a President who knows this state, who knows it pretty well, who knows how to get on the road from Charleston down here.It is an important primary in this state, because the office of the President is important.

"I campaigned with Franklin Delano Roosevelt jr. all over this state.have found that the memorial of Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the most lasting memorial in the hearts of people of West Virginia. That is the image that a President who understood the problems of this country left.The people of West Virginia remember Franklin Roosevelt, because the presidency is a key office. It is the center of action.Only the President sets before the American people what can be done.I am running for the presidency because I want this country to move forward, and I think we have a great chance to do it.

"So I come here today asking for your vote. I can assure you if we win, I think we will be nominated. If elected the problems of West Virginia, opportunity for all Americans, all of these things will be on the desk of a President who knows West Virginia."

Perhaps, the Tribune would be better off to call the Senator Humphrey-Senator Kennedy race a draw the way the Gallop Poll did in the past England voting. But we'll present the survey figures just the way we found them, and watch to see how the electorate does inside the ballot booths tomorrow (Tuesday).

Last week Senator Kennedy took the lead for the first time in a poll conducted entirely between him and Humphrey, and a large number of switches are being noted in favor of the Senator from Massachusetts.

The Tribune found this total straw vote: Kennedy 68; Humphrey 43, and 70 undecided. Twenty-six have switched from Humphrey to Kennedy. But who is to say how the 70 undecided votes will go.

On April 25 the Tribune took another county-wide poll and Senator Humphrey led by a 85 to 57 count. If public opinion changes that fast, it certainly is true that no one wins an election until the final vote is in.

If we add the two polls up together, Humphrey would win. But the results would be so close, 128-125. So maybe we ought to call the race 50-50, and neither Senator Humphrey nor Senator Kennedy would feel bad. Anyway, candidates are picked at precinct polls, not by straw polls.

The breakdown by sections in Fayette county show this latest tally:

Oak Hill area - Kennedy, 45; Humphrey, 15; undecided, 32, and switched, 15.

Montgomery area - Kennedy 11, Humphrey, 11, undecided 11, and switched, 5.

Alloy area - Kennedy 7, Humphrey, 4; undecided, 16, and switched, 3.

Gauley Bridge area - Kennedy, 1; Humphrey, 3; undecided, 8, and switched, 1.

Lookout area - Kennedy, 4; Humphrey, 10; undecided, 3, and switched, 2. .

Mrs. Jean (Stephen) Smith, sister of Senator John F. Kennedy, was in the crowd of people who greeted the presidential hopeful in his visit to Oak Hill Thursday. Mrs. Smith is from Washington, D. C.

The Senator's sister arrived in W. Va. Tuesday and will campaign here until the election is over.

When asked what she thinks about the campaign, she remarked: "I think it's very exciting and very stimulating. Certainly for me it is a wonderful education."

Mrs. Smith said, "I think it's the prettiest place I've ever seen. I come from New York, and you never see the country there."