National Affairs: Conventionale

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Police. Promoter Rickard's duty at Houston was supposed to be managing the seating of delegates. Black-shirted Houston police and Texas Rangers were at the command of the sergeants-at-arms for clearing aisles. During fights over state standards when delegations were split over parading, the police swung loaded clubs, rapped unruly knuckles, restored order.

Negroes. Fearful of Southern antipathy, no Negroes were taken to Houston in delegations from Northern States. In a corner of the hall, a score of rows were screened off as a "Jim Crow" section for colored spectators. It was seldom full.

Whistler. In a lull of the second day's session, three shrill blasts on a police whistle sounded sharply through the hall. It was Delegate William C. Page of Wheatlands, N. Y., executing a signal pre-arranged with his wife at home to let her know by radio he was there and feeling all right. Listeners guessed that Delegate Page got the idea from reading about Albert M. ("Lucky") Snook, Vandyke-bearded publisher of the Aurora, Ill., Beacon-Journal, whose wife was reassured of his presence at the Associated Press convention in 1924 when he uttered a strange unmistakable cry near the convention microphones (TIME, May 26, 1924 et seq.).

Missionary. Persons who supposed that the Smith campaign for election did not begin until after Democratic leaders conferred with Nominee Smith at Albany, left out of account New York City's loquacious, ubiquitous, sartorially outspoken Mayor James John Walker. From Houston he proceeded to the Pacific Coast, to smartcrack, to publicize.