ASK THE GOVERNOR ;'- \r

(For release Monday, April 9, 1962)

It's time to "Ask the Governorj" when Governo' r Is

Bryant answeps questions sent in by ditizehs and basedion letters
from citizens from throughout Florida.

QUESTION: Governor, the first question deals with

persistent rumors that there is an intra-party squabble within the

Democratic Party over leadership here in Florida and that you seek

control of the party. You have spoken out on this before, what do you

say now?

GOVERNOR: Well, of course, one characteristic of Democrats

is that they are always pretty vigorous until election time comes

along -- they generally find something to be controversial about. But

I think there has never been a time in the history of Florida when
there has been as much harmony in all elements of the Party as there

is at this time, and I think that this is a good thing both for the

Party and for Florida. I think one instance is the conduct of the

past Legislature. I didn't use a big stick. As a matter of fact I

declined to use a big stick to the criticism of some of my critics

from time to time, but worked together with legislative leaders to

have the most harmonious legislature in history. And then the Florida

Presidential dinner -- here we raised a quarter of a million dollars

as compared with the Presidential dinner a couple of years ago when

they raised about $22,000. The difference was the teamwork and the

harmony. The Senators, the Congress, the members of the Cabinet,

everybody worked together to make it a successful dinner, and it was.
QUESTION: Governor, what is your concept of the

organization of the Democratic Party in Florida. What is it and what

should it be?

GOVERNOR: Well, when you say Democratic Party it could

mean any one of a number of things. The statutes provide that from

each county there shall be elected one man and one woman who will serve

on the State Democratic Committee and they will elect a chairman and

to them there is a certain amount of money paid from the candidates

fees and then they raise other moneys and expend this money for such

purposes as the organization is inclined to do. Then, of course, there







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are those candidates who are successful and Democratic Party nominees.

They are in a sense the Democratic Party. Of course, the real

Democratic Party are the people who go to the polls in the Democratic

primaries and vote Democratic. I can see that the Democratic Party

is all of these, but each is an arm of the other and that together

they represent the aspirations of an overwhelming majority of the

people of Florida.

QUESTION: Does the Democratic Party in Florida have need

for a full-time chairman or director or manager, or whatever you might

want to call it, to hold the party structure together?

GOVERNOR: I would think that such a man could perform a

very useful function. Normally, of course, it is the administrative

head or the Governor who is the particular head of the Party, but

obviously he doesn't have the time or the inclination to do all these

kinds of things -- the kind of things that are required to build and

hold good organizations and represent the views of Democratic leaders

to the people and vice versa. And, therefore, I should think that a

full-time paid executive-director, if you please, serving such a

function would be serving a useful function.

QUESTION: In the past individual candidates have had

individual organizations in their campaigns with little relationship

to the party structure as such. Do you foresee that as continuing

in the future or is there going to be a joining of the two?

GOVERNOR: Well, I would think there would be a joining

of the two. I don't believe a candidate can ever be elected to any

significant office unless he gathers together a large number of

people who become dedicated to him and who believe that from his

election good things will flow for the politic unit he seeks to

represent. At the same time, the Democratic Party organization has to

be interested in and effectively interested in every candidate who is

on the Democratic ticket.

Thank you, sir. If you have a question of general interest

you would like Governor Bryant to answer on this program, jot it down

on a post card and send it to "Ask the Governor," the Governor's

Office, Tallahassee, or in care of this station, which has made

available this time in the public interest.

Be with us next week when again we "Ask the Governor."