Chapter Nine
Senator Henry Murphy
by Allen C. Altvater
It was always a privilege to spend some time with Senator Henry Murphy. Of course, it is a well-known fact that he was very serious in his duties in the state senate and was the author of much important legislation including the never-to-be-forgotten “Murphy Act” which has been the solution of the perplexing problem of collecting taxes since the great depression in the 1930’s.
But the great joy was to observe how he handled difficult situations by the use of stories and anecdotes.
One example occurred during the campaign when Herbert Hoover was running for reelection on the republican ticket and a group of democrats had formed an organization which they called “Hoover Democrats” or “Democrats for Hoover.” At the meeting of “The Young Democrats of Highlands County” the Senator commented on the Hoover Democrats.
“Farmer Jones had made a deal with Farmer Smith for a pig and sent his man, Sam, to bring home the pig. Putting the pig in a potato sack, he headed for the Jones ranch but stopped for a cold drink and a chat with ‘the boys.’ But they decided to play a trick on Sam and replaced the pig with a puppy.
“Naturally, Farmer Jones was not happy when the puppy fell out of the sack so he sent Sam on the return trip but Sam just had to stop at the store and tell ‘the boys’ what had happened. Again the switch was made.
“When the pig fell out at the Smith ranch, Sam looked at it and said, ‘I don’t care is you a pig or is you a puppy but I want you to be the same thing every time I look at you.’”
At the same meeting of the Young Democrats, the senator warned them against making any suggestions that might lead to any thought or conclusion except the positive points that the speaker wanted to drive home. A case in point;-
“The mother of several children said, ‘I’m going into town and, while I’m gone, I don’t want any of you children putting beans up your noses.’
“ ‘Why mother, we would never think of anything like that.’
“ ‘Probably not but remember what I told you.’
“So she started off to town but, remembering some detail she had over looked, she returned home to find every child with a bean in his nose.”
PLANKS AND PLATFORMS
The dictionary defines a “platform” and “a declaration of principle and policies adopted by a political party” and it describes a “plank” as “one of the separate articles in a platform of a party.”
Unfortunately, we Americans are such a trusting people that we are often “taken in” by aspirants for office who make extravagant promises in their efforts to gain votes. We are so aware of this failing that it has become a standard source of many jokes and, even though a successful candidate fails to make good his campaign promises, the public is prone to overlook this shortcoming. In fact, the public seems to forget the promises as quickly and completely as does the candidate.
A typical Henry Murphy handling of a situation took place in the 1930’s, the incumbent senator (Henry Murphy of Zolfo) representing the section of Florida which included Highlands County, found his bid for reelection opposed by the Honorable E. J. Etheredge who had served some years previously in the senate. .
They toured the campaign trail, often speaking from the same “stump” and in these instances, Etheredge spoke first as his name began with a letter which preceded Murphy’s in the alphabet. The debating atmosphere was invariably friendly and the speeches followed an almost set pattern so that each candidate almost knew beforehand what the other would probably say.
But, along toward the final days of the campaign, it began to appear that Murphy was gaining a slight edge. Without prior publicity, Etheredge brought out a completely new approach at a gathering in southern Highlands County. He stated that, so the voters might clearly know his attitude on various matters he had drafted a platform and, for half an hour, he explained his platform and all of the individual planks in it.
At last, came the time for Murphy’s turn. Although these may not be the exact words but they are the exact sense of his rebuttal
“I was born and reared,” he said, “near a small crossroad community west of Arcadia, and was pretty good size when my father took us to a big town to show us the sights. As we knew a church only as a very small frame structure, in the settlement, we were astounded when he took us past the huge brick Methodist Church and we were awestruck at the size of the city stores and the crowds going into them. We were be-addled when viewing the tremendous packing house and court house.
“Our tour ended at the railroad station and, as we passed the waiting train, Dad carefully explained the functions of the various components; the engine which furnished the power; the baggage car which carried parcels and mail; the coaches where passengers sat quietly while traveling from one point to another, with scarcely any movement during the trip.
“Dad called our attention to the platform and explained that it was by way of the platform and the steps or planks of the platform, that passengers got on the coach and that, once they had gotten on, they seated themselves comfortably (sometimes even going to sleep) and then thought nothing more about the platform until it was time to take another ride.
“Dad emphasized the fact that, on the PLATFORM, in large letters, was a sign ‘WATCH YOUR STEP’.”
That ended Murphy’s oration for that meeting. A few weeks later he was reelected.
(This article is reprinted from Bulletin Number Four.
Sebring Historical Society, January 1970. Pages 121-122.
And Trivia, October 1985. Pages 46-47.)