DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE UNHURT IN TRAIN MISHAP
Phoenix, Arizona (JFK+50) On September 23, 1920, The Sun and New York Herald published an account describing a train mishap the previous afternoon involving James M. Cox*, Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
Governor Cox's special train "went into the ditch" 15 miles north of Phoenix around 4:30 p.m. Mountain time on the 22nd. While the Governor's car never left the rails, two of the cars on the train did and were badly damaged.
Governor Cox was uninjured although some passengers were "shaken up" and "cut by flying glass." The speed of the train at the time of the mishap was 50 m.p.h.
The Governor had planned to speak in Phoenix and Prescott last night, and resumed his campaign tour the following day.
*James Middleton Cox (1870-1957) was born in Jacksonburg, Ohio & worked in the newspaper business before being elected to the US House of Representatives & to the governorship of Ohio.
JMC, the 1920 Democratic nominee for POTUS, chose FDR as his running mate.
The Democrats were defeated in 1920 by Warren G. Harding who won 60% of the popular vote. It was the worst popular vote defeat in presidential election history to that time.
After his retirement from public service, Mr. Cox's media empire grew and prospered.
SOURCE
"Cox Uninjured in Train Wreck," The Sun and The New York Herald, September 23, 1920, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
FDR & James M. Cox
Democratic Ticket (1920)
Photo by Harris & Ewing
Library of Congress Image
