There is no doubt that Adlai Stevenson II, the man who ran for president twice against Dwight Eisenhower, lost twice too, was a man of great intelligence, passion and wit. He was also a terrific writer but one who benefited greatly from the aide of a man almost forgotten now, a writer named John Bartlow Martin, who lived much of his life in Highland Park and wrote speeches for Stevenson and also wrote some of the greatest non-fiction stories ever published. You can have a look at some of them by visiting the archives at the Harper’s Magazine web site or you can just sit back and listen now to some of the words from Stevenson’s mouth, words that make much of the current political dialogue seem flat and empty.
Upon accepting his party's nomination at the 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago:
- “Let's face it; let's talk sense to the American people.
In his famous novel, 1984, George Orwell, wrote this: “Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date…all history was scraped clean…”
