DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 154, 20 September 1927, Page 16

DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

WHO ELECTED LINDBERGH? (Copyright, 1027) A SHORT time past Mr. Lindbergh, a young Swede from America, occupied the spot light. How did he get there? Who nominated him and elected him? Kings and prime ministers and everybody tumbled over themselves to do him reverence. He was brought back to America on the United States vessel and was received by President Coolidge. Newspapers made a front-page issue of him and he had all sorts of offers from moving picture concerns and other people involving oodles of money. How did he get in this position? The Republican party was not behind him, neither was the Democratic party. No. not even the Prohibitionists or the Socialists. He isn’t the son of a king nor the descendant of a pretender. He occupied his place without the old-time method of being somebody’s son or the novel method of being voted in. All of us people who are suffering from the inferiority complex would like to know about this. Every one of us would like to be “It” and have our hands shaken by kings and queens and jacks and ten-spots. Nothing doing! We are still compelled to rise in the morning when the alarm goes off and are so tired at night we don’t care to play a game of pinochle with the neighbours, but go right to bed. It is a conspiracy to keep the labouring classes down. It is another attempt to oppress the proletariat. As far as we can see, Mr. Lindbergh has this undue prominence simply because he die! something, which is all wrong. Men run for mayor and president because they are good hand-shakers and good baby-kissers and spell-binding orators, not because they can attend properly to the duties of their office. This is Democracy. This idea that a man can have the spot-light simply because he does something is revolutionary and threatens our most cherished institutions. Of what value is pull and influence and popularity and all that sort of thing if some one is going to walk away with the prize simply because he makes good ? Let all free men arise and do something or other. A bomb should be thrown or a meeting held or some measure should be taken to redeem our party system or our heriditary nobility from the asparagus that has been thrown at them. Down with Lindbergh! Up with Limburger!! What did Lindbergh do anyhow except a little matter of flying 3,600 miles in about thirty-three hours? He has not voted the straight ticket all his life and maybe his uncle burned a hayrick or something scandalous has taken place in his family. Just you wait and see! For the benefit of the morons, I will postscript that the above is sarcasm. My yell for Lindbergh is loud.