1960 Presidential Campaign in West Virginia
Newspaper Articles

Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minn.) lashed out last night at the Eisenhower administration before a crowd of 400 fellow party members at a rally in Moundsville charging it has "refused to lead our country onto the winning side of the cold war."

Humphrey added that "the administration has refused to challenge communism even though we have everything with which to win, but leadership?"

"The attitude in Washington will have to change in the next two years," Humphrey charged, "if we are to win this global struggle."

The Minnesota senator was the principal speaker at the Marshall County Democratic dinner held in the American Legion Special Activities hall.

West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Hulett C. Smith served as toastmaster for the rally and introduced Robert Mollohan who in turn introduced the main speaker.

Sen. Humphrey, in his speech, went on to point out that "the foreign policy whereby we befriend only the millionaire kings of the Near East must change. The only thing these people understand are those who will help them secure food and a better life." [sic] Our policy should be to extend to the have-not nations the hand of fellowship and help."

Humphrey explained that the Democrat plan is to first build a defense shield with a moving economy.

He went on to point out the worst short coming of the present administration was their refusal to build more atomic submarines just for economy in the budget.

"At the time the Russian sputniks were terrifying the world, what did the Eisenhower administration do except cut the budget for space research."

Calling attention to some of the things the GOP has accomplished, Senator Humphrey listed higher prices, higher interest rates, a higher public debt, higher cost of government and a budget deficit.

He pointed out that in the last six years profits of the huge corporations have increased 67 per cent while the small business man's profits have gone down 17 per cent, an[d] every family's purchasing power has also been decreased more than $1,500 a year by inflation.

Humphrey complimented the West Virginia Democrats for their fine party organization and called upon those attending to elect their party candidates in the coming election to "rebuilding the leadership in the United States that has totally collapsed."

He said "we need these men to get the Democrats plan through to fight the cold war on an equal basis."

Earlier in the meeting, former Congressman Jennings Randolph said that "until recently we had learned to think that as employment fell off and money for goods and services decreased, prices were adjusted downward accordingly."

"But the high priests of finance of the present national administration have changed all that for us," Randolph said. "It has been no easy matter to maintain the worst inflationary spiral in recent history."

"Few economists would have been able to manage this but the present administration in Washington has carried it off with apparent ease."

A note of tragedy was added to the meeting when the announcement was made of the sudden death of Marshall County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Fred McMullen of Moundsville. He was general chairman for the banquet.

McMullen was stricken with a heart attack three days ago and had been confined to the Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale.