Scandalous remarks?

Senator George Smathers of Florida died Saturday at age 93. The following is an amusing part of his obit in the New York Times.***


"MIAMI (AP) -- Former U.S. Sen. George A. Smathers, a polished, dashing politician who forged friendships with presidents, waged war against communism, resisted civil rights legislation and was an early voice cautioning of Fidel Castro's rise to power, died Saturday. He was 93."

................

.
***"Scurrilous statements were uttered on both sides of the campaign, but the most famous remarks -- innocuous declarations delivered to less-educated audiences to appear scandalous -- may have never been uttered.

'***'Do you know that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert?'' he was quoted as saying. ''Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, habitually practiced celibacy.''

The comments were recorded in a small magazine, picked up in Time and elsewhere and etched into the public's memories, but Smathers denied ever having made them. He offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who could prove he did, but no one could













>