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ever defeated for re-election. There were perhaps two
reasons for it. But out in West Florida and in Klan
organizations, I never had much to do with the Klan--my
father wasn't a Klan sympathizer at all. Judge Cockrell wasn't
a Catholic. Someone said that his brother in Jacksonville. .
P: Alston.
L: Alston, yes, was a Catholic, but Judge Cockrell, when I
knew him, was an Episcopalian. So there was a lot of Catholicism,
and it was in Sidney Catts's makeup to play upon the prejudices
of people who were afraid of the Pope was going to come over
and take the country. It wasn't limited to Florida, by the
way.
P: Of course not.
L: Bill Carleton's father told me that he got off a train someplace
in New England and informed them that he was campaigning
for Woodrow Wilson, and was told that they didn't think
much of Woodrow Wilson--that the Democrats were Catholics and
they were running a Catholic party and if Wilson got elected
the Pope would have too much influence in Washington. So Mr.
Carleton, a big voluble person as uninhibited as Bill, says,
"Oh, they've already got the Capitol in Washington." He says,
"I was in Washington two weeks ago, and the Papal flag was waving
atop of the Capitol dome. They've already got the Capitol under
their control." That was humorous and that took place about 1912.
But then up into the 1920's, when Catts was running for various
offices. .
P: After he left the Governorship and did not succeed himself
as Governor.
L: That's right. He first ran in 1920 for the Senate, then '24
and then '28.
P: He ran for Governor again in '28.
L: Yes, he ran for Governor. It was along about that time that
0. K. Armstrong, on the faculty, began to trail Catts in Florida.
P: Armstrong came to Gainesville from where? Do you know?