1938.05.28 “Frank Advice” by SJ Ray

1938.05.28 “Frank Advice”
by Silvey Jackson (SJ) Ray (1891-1970)
12 x 14 in., ink on board

S.J. Ray was a student at the Art Students League of New York and was a World War I veteran. He joined the Kansas City Star in 1915 as an advertising illustrator and became the Star’s editorial cartoonist in 1931. He served in that post until retirement in 1963, drawing an estimated 10,000 cartoons. He received honors from the U.S. Treasury Dept. for his cartoons during World War II in behalf of the National War Savings Program.

Dr. Glenn Frank was a president of the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1925-1937), having previously been The Century Magazine's editor-in-chief, which gave his views on education a wide audience.

His public criticism of FDR put him at odds with the La Follette administration, and the UW Board of Regents, mostly appointed by La Follette, requested Frank's resignation in March 1936. Frank declined, and the Board held public hearings on his presidential competency before narrowly voting to remove him from office on January 7, 1937.

Frank joined Wisconsin political causes and began a bid for the Republican nomination for Senate. He bought Rural Progress, a national magazine distributed to farmers without cost, and became its editor. He considered it a springboard for his political ambitions. He turned the magazine into a success, and it brought his strong political voice to farmers, especially pushing the anti-New Deal stance.

In January 1938, he was elected as chair of the committee in charge of writing the Republican Party rules. During the Spring, Frank gained national attention during the Judiciary Committee hearings on the nomination of strongly pro-FDR and New Deal Senator and Judge Sherman Minton to the Supreme Court, Frank was accused as a propagandist, and Frank accused Minton and the committee of being terrorists (to the Press). He came to national attention in May 1938, when he appeared in front of the special Lobby Investigation Committee, chaired by Senator Sherman Minton, that was set up to look into questionable lobbyist groups. In practice, the committee's investigations were politically motivated and directed against groups that were challenging New Deal legislation.

Minton led the committee to target a newspaper with national circulation, Rural Progress, accusing its publishers of improperly accepting large sums of money from corporations and the editors of undue influence from this money. As Frank was answering the questions, Minton and fellow Democratic senators began to shout him down. As he was saying that the money from the corporations was for advertising in the magazine, Minton beat his gavel and yelled, "This committee doesn't intend to permit you to use this as a forum to air your Republican views."

Minton did not realize that Frank had been president of the University of Wisconsin, and soon suffered retaliation for the way he had treated Frank. Frank went on NBC radio stations around the country and lambasted Minton for his rudeness. He made lengthy arguments accusing Minton of attempting to violate the Bill of Rights. Minton was outraged, but the arguments had an effect among voters in Indiana. In 1938, he sought funding to launch a massive nationwide investigation of media conglomerates for proof of Republican interference in the press. Democratic Senator Edward R. Burke led an effort to defeat the measure and privately accused Minton of damaging the Democrats' cause, which led Minton to leave the Lobby Investigation Committee.

In July 1940, Frank announced his run for the Senate seat from Wisconsin. Frank and his son died in a car accident in September, two days before his Senate primary.

Minton survived, and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1949 by Truman, where he served until 1956. He was replaced by William Brennan.