Friday, January 17, 2014

Today in the Sobel Timeline: January 17

On January 17, 1938, Councilman Bruce Hogg of Northern Vandalia was nominated for Governor-General by the People's Coalition at their national convention. Hogg had been a tireless critic of Governor-General Douglas Watson's activist foreign policy and increased arms appropriations, and following the economic collapse of 1936, he also criticized Watson's failure to bring about an economic recovery.

In his acceptance speech, Hogg said, "We have sufficient problems at home not to have to worry about the rest of the world. This February, the people will choose between the bankrupt candidate of a bankrupt party who would engage us in a war which we neither want nor need, from which we gain nothing; and the party of peace and recovery, one that is concerned with the Confederation of North America, and not the globe."

Hogg also pledged to name Councilman James Billington of the Northern Confederation to the office of Council President. Billington was one of only ten Negroes in the Grand Council, and being named Council President would make him the highest-ranking member of his race in North American history.

No comments: