Twisting Topeka (17 page)

I could see the newspaper headlines
the next day.

We shook hands with the people of
Phoenix, signed autographs then drove quickly to the railway
station. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, built for the American
Olympics just four years previously, would be our focus
tomorrow.

As we drove through the quiet evening
streets, Jesse talked softly to his wife, Minnie, his high school
sweetheart. I sighed at the convenience of us all sleeping on the
train. Even in 1936, taking a Negro to an American hotel could
still be an abrasive task.

I recalled the turning point, when
Jesse Owens had shaken hands with Alf on a rally in Brooklyn, New
York. Our languishing campaign jumped two full points in a single
day. Alf, so reluctant to travel anywhere, suddenly had the courage
to grasp the advantage. From an underwhelming speaker, he turned
aggressive overnight. Since that time, every newspaper story and
radio broadcast that mentioned Jesse Owens’ name chipped away at
Roosevelt’s once prodigious lead.

New York, Sunday Oct
21
^st
1936

Can Owens Hand Gold to
Landon? (NYT)

The
New York Times
headline sold out the
papers on the street within three hours. Not to be outdone,
The Washington Post
replied with its own ‘golden’ rhetoric the next
day.

Is Jesse Owens the Midas
Touch? (Washington Post)

I’d never taken much note of
inter-newspaper rivalry, but when they fought for six days straight
I couldn’t believe the figures. Papers all over the country made up
their own version, driving our message into the hearts of the
people of America.

Roosevelt Reeling Under
Owens’ Attacks
(
Philadelphia Inquirer)

That night, in Yankee Stadium, Alf
Landon stood with his running mate, Frank Knox, in front of
thirty-six thousand cheering fans. If it hadn’t been for Jesse
Owens standing in the wings waiting on his entrance, I doubt he’d
have gotten ten.

Landon’s words carried clear in the
evening air. “We have a president who, by lack of courage, or by
lack of moral fortitude, has taken credit when these men of color
ruled the world in their athletic fields. Yet, in their own
country, he has ignored them, heaping praise on just a specific few
who share his own color. This is not an America in which I wish to
be part of. These men conquered the world! They are America’s
heroes!”

I had tried to get the other two Negro
gold medal winners to join Jesse on stage, but they were staunch
Democrats. In the end it didn’t matter, we had the prize. We had
the only name people remembered.

“
Ladies and gentlemen of
New York, I give you the fastest man on planet Earth!”

For once Jesse looked nervous. The
crowd was huge, the noise ear-hammering, and the stands nearer than
usual. He stammered out his first few words then, thankfully,
calmed down. “Hitler didn’t snub me… it was my own President
Roosevelt who snubbed me.”

Oh, I soared high on the strength of
that applause, the cheers of his name, the jeering at their
president; I caught a few slurs that I couldn’t have repeated to my
own mother. I counted the beat with Jesse, but it seemed he had it
under control; he gave them extra time, waiting until the crowd
fell silent. “The president didn’t even send me a
telegram.”

Bam… the practiced arrow to the center
of its intended target.

Tuesday, November
3
^rd
1936

Election Poised on a Razor
Edge (KC Star)

On the evening of the election, we
waited in the Topeka Capitol Building. I paced furiously between
the desk and the door. Alf and Frank shared a brandy. Few words
were spoken.

The phone rang, jerking the whole room
to attention. The voice at the other end was distorted, but I
caught “Delaware” and the result. I thanked the sender and took a
breath. “It looks like we lost Delaware.”

“
By how much?”

“
Three points or so.
They’re still counting in some of the outlying
districts.”

For the slightest of moments I doubted
myself. Then we won Rhode Island, a Democrat stronghold. And
Michigan. And North Carolina.

By five o’clock that morning, we had
all consumed all of the brandy and shouted for more. We had taken
thirty-one states. We didn’t dare say the obvious.

The addition of Jesse Owens had tipped
the scale; Alf Landon had won the 1936 presidential contest. Don’t
get me wrong, it hadn’t been a complete landslide; but he had
toppled Roosevelt, the incumbent President, and got himself into
the White House.

August
1
^st
1938

German Troops Deploy to
Czech Border (Washington Post)

Frank Knox slammed his fist hard on
the table. To my surprise, Landon didn’t budge one fraction. Knox’s
voice was low and steady. “This is just a ploy, Alf. Hitler wants
the Sudetenland. It’s the first domino; a prelude to war. He’s been
preparing this for years.”

Landon, never one to argue openly,
looked at his clasped fingers for a moment. “I think Mr.
Chamberlain has it all under control; we don’t need to get
involved.”

Knox wasn’t going to be
brushed aside so easily. “Then don’t get involved, Mr. President,
but
send
me
! Send a statement without making
an official play. We don’t need to fight over there again, not if
we deal with this now. The French are being pussy-cats, and
Chamberlain hasn’t got a spine. We all know that. He’s been fawning
over Herr Hitler for years.”

Veins stuck out on Frank’s neck. He’d
been in France in 1918, at the thick end.

The two shared a long stare then Alf
lowered his head. “Fair enough, Frank. Go to
Czechoslovakia.”

Over the last week I had watched a
similar contest in the Oval Office, and it seemed Knox, the
bulldog, had at last gotten his way.

Knox turned to me. “Michael, get it
arranged. I want to speak to Chamberlain, Daladier in France, but
first get me an audience with Milan Hodža. I fly tomorrow
morning.”

Not exactly an easy task, getting
audiences with three Prime Ministers, but as a nation we had
considerable clout. The leaders in Europe were at their wits end;
they welcomed a new player on the scene.

We arrived in Prague two days later,
and Frank immediately spoke live on Czech radio with
Hodža.

I cringed when Frank went off-topic.
Landon would tear a strip off him when we got home, but it didn’t
matter. The words were out of the bag.

“
We will stand firm with
the people of Czechoslovakia,” Knox said. “We will not let Herr
Hitler bully Europe into submission!”

The European newspapers took the
‘bully’ comment and ran wild with it.

‘
Bully’ Hitler Steps Away
From Showdown (London Times)

With his speeches repeated in France
and England, Knox returned home as a hero, the champion of America,
forging an uneasy peace between Czechoslovakia and a frustrated
German army.

Frank Knox, the Hammer of
Democracy (Washington Post)

Trust one American newspaper to take
it one level further. It didn’t matter. We’d stopped a
war.

September
1
^st
1939

Japan Prepares to Strike
into Indochina (NYT)

“
Why do we get our news
from the damned papers?” Landon gave each of us accusatory looks,
his eyes sweeping slowly round the room.

“
With respect, Mr.
President,” I began. I had the power; I had the shoulders to take
the weight of the challenge. “We have said for weeks that you
should speak against the Japanese show of force.”

Our eyes locked for a second, then
Landon relaxed. “Yes, Michael, I do recall that.”

“
We could embargo oil.”
Hector Williams, the Secretary of State, had pushed such a measure
before. “A stranglehold would bring them to their
knees.”

“
That would just attract
their anger towards us.” Landon shook his head. Frank Knox stood
behind, saying nothing, knowing that Landon had repeated his own
words. “We need the Japanese to focus their energy on China, not
look over here.”

“
But, sir,” Williams
persisted. “That makes it look like we’re openly aiding them
against China.”

“
Who do you want to go to
war with, Hector?” Landon asked, staring down the Secretary of
State. “China? With six million men? Or Japan? With one of the best
navies in the world?”

Williams backed down, knowing he was
on the ropes. “Point taken, Mr. President.”

“
What can we do, Frank?”
Landon asked.

Knox, an advocate of preparedness, had
his answer ready. “We send the Pacific Fleet on a good-will tour to
Singapore. Make a big deal of it. We have enough battleships
sitting idle in Pearl Harbor to do a dozen tours. In the meantime,
we tell Hirohito that we’ll still supply oil to the Japanese
nation. We just make sure he gets the idea that Indochina is one
step too far.”

Landon looked at me. “Michael, you
heard the man; get the speech ready.”

I smiled, nodded my head. It had
already been written, and was sitting on my desk. Frank had already
endorsed it. It made the headlines of every major newspaper in the
world.

September
12
^th
1939

President Landon Forces
Japan to Think Again (Los Angeles Times)

September
13
^th
1939

Landon Puts the Brakes on
Japan (The Times)

November
8
^th
1940

Landon Will Have a Second
Term (NYT)

It was hardly a fight. With our
diplomacy quelling a war with Japan, Landon won in forty-one
states. The bright democrat, Harry Truman from Missouri, never
really got in a punch. The Jesse Owens card could never be played
again, but I did suggest that in September Owens be appointed a
sporting ambassador, raising awareness of the importance of
physical fitness in all schools. We didn’t directly replay the
Owens card, but we sure got his name back in the papers at election
time. America doesn’t forget easily. It wasn’t my best moment, but
it helped get the result.

December
7
^th
1941

President Landon visits
Philippines (Los Angeles Times)

We all knew it was more than a photo
opportunity. Japan had again flexed their military muscles against
the Chinese, and with their fleet gathering in the Yellow Sea, we
needed some kind of military presence in the area. I didn’t like
the flight, the stop-off in Hawaii, the sweltering heat of summer
on the islands, but I did see the point in having our main
battleships paraded in the harbor. We organized a party on board
the USS Arizona for General Douglas MacArthur and the high staff of
the Japanese Embassy; a show of strength for our war-crazy
friends.

September
1
^st
1943

Germany Invades Poland.
Poles Crumble (The Times)

We all knew it had to happen sometime,
but in September 1943, Germany eventually invaded Poland; we knew
Hitler had not worked for ten years to posture in his own backyard.
I took some credit for managing to subdue his rage for over four
years. Outfought and outgunned, Poland fell in twenty days. As a
Government, we were too late to act and, for once, far too slow to
react. When Stalin invaded the Poles from the east, we braced
ourselves for world war. Yet for almost a year, a moment in time,
the two behemoths stared at each other over a line on a map. For a
whole Russian winter, Hitler waited, assuring Stalin that old
treaties still stood.

June
6
^th
1944

Germany and Japan Invade
Russia, the Bear Reels (Washington Post)

With Britain and France
poised on the Maginot Line against Nazi incursion, the German
powder keg blew surprisingly eastwards. On June
6
^th
1944, Blitzkrieg, the new name for mechanized war, thrust
into Russia.

As one, the Japanese attacked from
their territories in northern China.

The United States Government had faced
the Japanese down over Indochina, and had promised sanctions when
they threatened the British colony of Singapore.

But when their eyes turned towards
Russia, we stayed mostly silent. Frank Knox had always thought of
Stalin as the ultimate enemy, and few of our allies held any
empathy for the Russian dictator; it was widely known he’d
imprisoned and executed millions of his own subjects.