- [Presenter] This project
is a cooperative production

of the Ken Hechler
Documentary Project LLC

and Marshall University,

being presented with
financial assistance from

the West Virginia
Humanities Council,

a state affiliate of
the National Endowment

for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions

or recommendations
expressed in this program

do not necessarily
represent those of the

National Endowment
for the Humanities.

- Your great movement
has many heroes,

the greatest heroes are
you the coal miners.

You've taken the future,

your future in your hands

and you proclaimed no longer

are we gonna live and
work and die like animals.

We're free men.

- Mark me down as one of
Ken Hechler's big fans.

This is someone that
understands that

the government has
to step in sometime

and stop the bullies from
picking on the little guy.

(upbeat guitar music)

- [Presenter] Presented
the Harry S. Truman Award

for Public Service in 2002,

Ken Hechler spent a
lifetime establishing

a formidable reputation
through his efforts

on behalf of ordinary people.

His passionate
pursuit of justice

sprang from his experience

as a political science professor

and combat historian,

as a researcher for
presidents Franklin Roosevelt

and Harry Truman,

and as a US Congressman
and West Virginia

Secretary of State.

The philosophies,
decisions, and events

shaping Ken Hechler's life offer

a detailed study in
character and the merits

and challenges of politics
and public service.

- To me it takes a very
special kind of a talent

to be the type of a servant
that Dr. Hechler has been,

to do anything else in
the way of an occupation

other than working with people.

I just don't think
you'd be successful.

(upbeat guitar music)

- Ken Hechler was
always this person who

really didn't say that much,

but his presence made
you feel comfortable

to engage him and to trust him.

- He looks at you
and kind of looks,

then he nods and listens to you.

You have the feeling
every word you say

he's digesting and that
he's gonna think about that.

- Ken had this great
zest for public service.

I mean there was an
enthusiasm that he brought

to public life that I think was

a distinguishing characteristic.

- I think politics
and public service,

and I put those two together,

are the life blood
of Ken Hechler.

He loves the challenge.

It invigorates him.

It energizes him.

- Ken always remind
me of a windmill.

I mean he was everywhere.

I mean he was in the
front row, the back row,

always button holing
somebody and always talking

about something for West
Virginia or his constituents.

I've been in politics
all my life and

I don't remember seeing
anything like it.

- Lincoln said that
governments should do

for people what people
cannot individually

or collectively
do for themselves.

- [Presenter] As a
student of history

and as a public servant, Ken
Hechler came to understand

that people make
government work,

the government must be
accessible to the people,

the government must
serve the people,

and that government
without justice

leads to people to ruin.

- What's justice?

Just a sense of fair play.

It is a level playing
field that all people

regardless of their
station in life,

regardless of their class,

regardless of how
much money they have,

regardless of their ethnicity,

regardless of they look,

everybody is treated equally.

That's justice.

- The mark of a good politician
is to provide justice.

- I'm gonna fight for
a labor reform bill

which will help clean
up racketeering--

- It's one of the things, it's
the hallmark of Ken Hechler.

But whatever you may
disagree with him

I don't think you could
ever question his motive

that he tried to do what
he thinks is in fact just.

- The preamble to
the Constitution of
the United States

sets certain priorities.

The very first priority
is establish justice.

We the People of
the United States,

in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice.

Establish for whom?

For we the people,

the most important
individuals, human beings,

not special interest,
not corporations,

not heads of labor unions,

not any other special
interest, but We the people.

- [Presenter] Central to
the story of Ken Hechler

are individuals in
government, in politics,

acting on behalf of the
people they represent.

- Politics is a
noble profession.

To go into politics is to enter

one of the most important
human endeavors.

- It's hard work,
it's challenging,

but it can also be
enormously gratifying.

If you know what you're doing

and you're effective at it,

you can make positive
things happen that otherwise

would not happen.

- Politics is the
authoritative allocation

of scare resources.

There is never
enough to go around

for everything that is good.

Someone in authority
has to determine

what are we going to do.

Shall we build a new school
room or a new highway?

Shall we develop more tourism

or shall we help mental health?

That's what politics
is, pure and simple.

So if you really want to
do good with a capital G,

politics is where it's at.

- But in the popular sense
politics is thought of

as a game of winning
elections at whatever cost.

- I must say for my experience
it's the politicians

that have given
politics a bad name by

just winning to hold
office and wanting

to get re-elected rather than

using their office as
what Theodore Roosevelt

described as a bullied pulpit.

It was very inspiring
because he set an example.

He always had the underlying
principle of justice.

(calm music)

- [Presenter] Ken Hechler's
pursuit of justice

is rooted in progressivism
driven most notably

by Theodore Roosevelt,

the movement tackled
social and economic woes

arising during the
industrial revolution.

- Progressives were driven by

a true sense of social justice
for the poor, let's say,

or the dispossessed
on the one hand,

and seeing their
self interest served

by rectifying that injustice.

And also seeing their
self-interest served by

a continuation of capitalism.

- [Theodore] Our aim is to
promote prosperity and then

to see the prosperity
is passed around,

that there is a proper
division of prosperity.

- [Presenter] Demanding
increased wages

and a shorter work day,

anthracite coal
miners in Pennsylvania

went on strike in 1902.

The strike provided
President Theodore Roosevelt

an unprecedented opportunity

to put his progressive ideals
to work for the nation.

- Up until this time any time
there was a labor conflict,

particularly after
the civil war,

the federal government
to the extent

that it did intervene
tended to intervene

when the strikers were
winning in order to beat them

and used their
authority to help out

the business or the corporate
side of the equation.

- Everybody expected,
well, this couldn't be

just one of the same old things.

Give the coal operators
what they want

and grind labor under the heels.

And Roosevelt
surprised everybody by

making sure that equity
and justice prevailed.

- Which worked
largely to the benefit

at least temporarily on
certain bread and butter issues

for the workers at the
expense of the operators.

Roosevelt saw this partly as
a national well-being issue

because he was afraid
stockpiles of anthracite coal

were going to run out
as winter approached,

and he thought this would
undermine the health

and well-being of the people

and the health and
well-being of the economy.

- [Presenter] A sound
recording made 10 years later

captured the essence or
Theodore Roosevelt's commitment

to social and
industrial justice.

- [Theodore] As a
people we cannot afford

to let any group of citizens

or any individual
citizens live on labor

under conditions which are
injurious to the common welfare.

Industry therefore
must submit to such

public regulation as
well make it a means

of life and health not
of death or inhibition.

(calm music)

- [Presenter] In 1918
Theodore Roosevelt

addressed a crowd near
his Long Island home

and impressed the Hechler family

of Roslyn, New York.

- Instead of sitting up on
the stage or walking out

from behind the curtain,

he started at the back
of the audience and

walked down the aisle
shaking hands with people

grinning in such a way
that looked like his teeth

were moving from side to side.

But it was such a
dramatic difference

for most politicians
in the manner in which

he showed how
excited he was about

getting out among the people.

- [Presenter] Ken's parents,
Charles and Catherine Hechler

were staunch
Republicans and ardent

practitioners of what
Theodore Roosevelt

described as the strenuous life.

- Theodore Roosevelt denounced

what he called the
doctrine of ignoble ease.

He always used to say
as a person gets older

it's much better to wear
out than to rust out,

to be active, to participate,

to work hard, and
not to vegetate.

- [Presenter] Charles Hechler

after teaching animal
husbandry at the

University of Missouri
became superintendent

of Harbor Hill,
a 600 acre estate

owned by Long Island
millionaire Clarence Mackay.

- There are about 150
employees on the estate.

They were self-sufficient.

They had their own dairy, they
had their own chicken farm,

their own gardens and
everything that they supplied

the main house with.

- [Presenter] As the estate
attracted immigrants to work

and local children to play,

Harbor Hill reflected
America's growing diversity

and disparity.

Ester Bowman, while
visiting in her aunt

Catherine's colonial farmhouse,

marveled at the
Hechler's lifestyle.

- We always sat in
the dining room,

and there was a
buzzer on the table

that my aunt would
press when she wanted

the cook to come in.

- [Presenter] Amid the
luxurious trappings

and perks of Charles' job,

he and Catherine
committed themselves

to serving the less fortunate.

- They looked at life

and interpreted it honestly.

And they wanted to
make life better.

- [Presenter] Besides
overseeing Harbor Hill,

Charles Hechler helped organize

the Nassau County Farm Bureau.

He started the first
Boy Scout troop

and the local Kiwanis Club.

Charles also served
on City Council

and chaired the
local national bank

and the Roslyn
Board of Education.

Catherine Hechler, a
former school teacher,

painted landscapes
and cultivated

award winning chrysanthemums.

She also served as vice
president of the Nassau County

Women's Republican Federation

and worked on behalf of
the County Home Bureau,

the Red Cross, and District
Nurses Association.

- Both of them were on
the Board of Directors

of the Roslyn
Neighborhood Association

which was founded about 1915.

And that was the major
benevolent group here in Roslyn,

and they were involved
in helping to assimilate

new immigrants
through typing classes

or English classes.

- [Presenter] Members of
Trinity Episcopal Church

in Roslyn, the
Hechlers were driven by

the Judeo-Christian call
to love one's neighbor

as one's self.

- Every night my mother
used to read to me

the principles of
morality in the Bible.

They seem to have
a moral compass,

they seem to have
a sense of ethics.

- [Presenter] The merits
of duty and sacrifice

became evident to young
Kenneth in the dead of winter

when Ken chose the
warmth of his home

over the chill of
his magazine route.

Charles Hechler admonished
his youngest son

to fulfill his obligation.

- He said, "Your customers
will be wanting to

"read these over Sunday.

"Why are you neglecting them?"

And I said, "Well, look
at the snow out there.

"I can't go out in that snow."

And he said, "But think
of your customers."

I was really angry at my father.

But the first customer
was so overjoyed he said,

"Come on in.

"Isn't this wonderful?"

"Here's a cup of hot chocolate."

This happened at
virtually every house

where I stopped that evening.

And I began to think
as I trudged back,

my father's a lot smarter
than I thought he was.

(calm music)

- [Presenter] Despite
such significant gains

as the right of women to
vote in national elections,

progressivism lost
momentum among Republicans

in the 1920s.

The ebb followed the death
of progressive champion,

Theodore Roosevelt, in 1919

in the end of the
First World War.

- Increased wages and
improved working conditions,

the eight-hour day, all
those things that workers

have won during the war.

In the post-war era, business
is gonna react against that.

And the Republican Party is
gonna provide the leadership

that progressive
wing which had been

interested in reform at
the end of World War I

is much more
interested in promoting

the interest of business.

- [Presenter] The gulf
between rich and poor

increased to the
point that production

began to exceed demand.

Relaxed lending
practices meanwhile

drove overly optimistic
speculation in the stock market.

The market's subsequent
crash in 1929

helped cripple the
nation's banking system.

The Great Depression,

a decade of unprecedented
economic hardship

enveloped the nation and much
of the industrialized world.

- And the slums particularly
and among laboring people,

they were selling apples
for a nickel a piece

in the streets of New
York in order to eke out

enough to get food
for their families.

- [Presenter] As a
third of the nation's

available labor force
became unemployed,

Americans were
forced to reconsider

progressivism and the
meaning of justice.

- At the dawn of
the Progressive Era

the notion of justice
is simply to provide

everybody an opportunity.

The depression really
changes that notion somewhat.

People are interested
in opportunity still,

but they're also thinking about

the role the government
can play in security,

and providing a
sense of fairness

and being able to respond
to the needs of the poorest.

- [Presenter] President
Herbert Hoover initially

opposed large-scale
government relief,

expecting the nation's
industrial giants

to make economic concessions.

The federal government,
fearing inflation,

restricted cash flow
while increasing

tariffs and taxes.

President Hoover's
response to America's

deepening depression
helped shape

15 year-old Ken Heckler's view
of the role of government.

- Herbert Hoover kept
saying prosperity

is just around the corner.

And if we only wait
prosperity will come.

And I began to develop
an antipathy to inaction.

I said, "The President
of the United States

"is the leader of our country,

"why doesn't he do
something about all this

"unemployment and suffering
that's taking place?"

- [Presenter] In 1932
the American people

elected a Democrat to serve as
the nation's chief executive.

- I, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

- [Presenter] Franklin
Roosevelt wielded his

presidential powers as
freely as his cousin

Theodore before him.

- He set up the Civilian
Conservation Corp

not only to save our
forests but to employ

people that were out of work.

He saved the farmers
who were getting

foreclosed on their mortgages.

And he gave inspiration and
leadership to the country

which was so dramatically
different from

the inaction of Herbert Hoover.

- Fear is vanishing

and confidence is
growing on every side.

(calm music)

- [Presenter] In 1931
Ken Hechler enrolled

at Swarthmore College
near Philadelphia.

Valued for its
rigorous academics and
progressive ideals,

Swarthmore College
challenged students

academically, socially,
and politically.

- This was the constant
goal of the faculty

not only to challenge
the students

to think for themselves
but also to think

socially and to think
about other people.

- [Presenter] Faculty
challenged students to act,

to lend a hand in
neglected communities,

to inspire neighbors
to help one another.

Helen Hornbeck
received a helping hand

from college press board
Chairman Ken Hechler

when he appointed her
Swarthmore's first
female reporter.

- I thought that
it was such a kind

and benevolent act.

He was a recognized
eccentric in the student body

and I think one
eccentric sometimes

recognizes another.

- [Presenter] Ken
Hechler's considerate,

unflappable, and
optimistic nature made him

well suited for public service.

- He was always so
cheerful and upbeat

and would see the positive
side of practically anything,

and he had this pixie-ish
sense of humor which

has been evident in his
subsequent political behavior.

- [Presenter] Hechler graduated
from Swarthmore College

in 1935.

At Columbia University he
earned a master's degree in 1936

and his PhD in public law
and American history in 1940.

For his doctoral dissertation,

Hechler examined
a movement during

William Howard Taft's presidency

to return control of Congress
to progressive reformers

devoted to the policies
of Taft's predecessor

Theodore Roosevelt.

While members of the press
dubbed it an insurgency

the movement relied upon
words and parliamentary

procedures rather than
guns and explosives.

- These insurgents
were a group of

liberal Republicans
who decided to

revolt against the
right wing conservative

Republicans who are
ruling the Senate

and the House of Representatives

which at that time
was under the thumb of

very determined, self-centered
friends of corporations

who were not carrying out the

principles of Abraham
Lincoln who would

help found the Republican party.

- [Presenter] As Hechler
hitchhiked across the mid West,

surviving insurgents
granted interviews

and access to their
long, forgotten journals

and correspondents.

The young historian
gradually pieced together

the motives and actions
shaping the insurgent movement

to reform government
during the Taft era.

- It drove home to me
the necessity of the

personal side of politics,

the fact that politics
is made up of a

bunch of individual
human beings,

you have to work with
those human beings.

The people were the
ones that really

were the root of democracy.

(calm music)

- [Presenter] While
earning his PhD,

Ken Hechler taught at
Columbia and Barner College,

popular on both campuses,

the young professor's classes

were refreshing and innovative.

Hechler brought home
the role of individuals

and government by bantering
with costumed actors

over historic events
and American politics.

- [Ken] I think that it's
very important for students to

understand the realistic
side of politics

to really prepare them
for all of the challenges

which he'll face.

- It's what they call
a West Virginia Moose.

(laughter)

- And also to get
the inspiration,

of the excitement
of public service

which they can get
from people that can

transmit their own enthusiasm
for what they're doing.

- [Presenter] Hechler
often brought James Stewart

and her Barnard
College classmates

face to face with news
makers and government

and politics.

- He believed that meeting
people was very important

not just reading
about them in books.

So we had opportunities to
go on field trips with him.

- [Presenter] Ken
Hechler, brushing aside
his personal views

of Herbert Hoover's presidency,

once arranged for his
class to interview

the former chief executive.

Students also questioned
New Deal critic and 1940

presidential candidate
Wendell Willkie.

- I will never forget
the meeting because

he called me "sweetheart"
when I asked a question.

I said, "You've recently
become a Republican.

"How is it that you're
for free trade,"

because Republicans
have not traditionally

been in that camp.

And he said, well,
if we're gonna have

one world we can't have
these artificial barriers.

- [Presenter] Ken Hechler
impressed Columbia University

student Bob Zucker by
inviting to his classroom

Earl Browder, the
controversial leader

of the Communist
Party in America.

- Russia, which was the
god of the Communist Party,

was aligned with Hitler.

They had made a pact.

I mean the pact included
splitting up Poland

and non-aggression and so on.

So it was not a very
popular move but yet he felt

his students should
be exposed to

all types of thinking.

- [Presenter] Hechler also
invited Democratic Party Chair

James Farley.

As Franklin Roosevelt's
presidential campaign manager

in 1932 Farley
combined a telephone

and amplifier to link Roosevelt

and Democratic
convention delegates.

At Columbia and later
Princeton University,

the system offered
Hechler and his students

a practical alternative to
face to face interviews.

- He would set up a
telephone connection

in the room with a loud speaker

and actually microphones.

And he'd say, well,
we're gonna talk

to Chief Justice Stone.

Sure enough Harlan
Stone was on the phone,

Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court,

and he always had surprises,

always something new
and I didn't know

anybody who didn't think
Ken was a great teacher.

- I have seen war--

- [Presenter] While teaching
at Columbia and Barnard,

Hechler also worked with
Presidential Advisor

and speech writer
Samuel Rosenman

editing FDR's public
papers and addresses.

- I give to you assurance

that the people of the United
States will not stand idly by.

- [Presenter] Ken Hechler
left his Columbia classroom

and moved to Washington in 1941.

In addition to his
work with Rosenman

Hechler secured
employment at various

federal agencies
serving in the office

for emergency management
and the bureaus

of the senses and the budget,

Hechler observed first hand
a government going to war.

(ominous drum music)

- Since the unprovoked
and dastardly attack

by Japan on Sunday,

December 7th, 1941

a state of war has existed

between the United States
and the Japanese Empire.

- [Presenter] In 1942 Ken
Hechler entered the US Army

and attended Officer
Candidate School.

There he and fellow tank
commanders in training

were assigned the
straightforward task

of putting to paper
their life stories.

- I started out with
a sentence about

the fact that I've
been born in 1914

shortly after the
assassination of

Archduke Franz
Ferdinand at Sarajevo

which was a spark that
set off World War I.

It started the smoke of Sarajevo

had scarcely drifted
away when a squalling,

brawling, infant burst
upon an unsuspecting world.

(laughter)

I got a call from the
commanding general

of the Armored Force.

He said, "When I read
the first sentence

"of your autobiography, I
just couldn't put it down."

"I could not put it down

"and I just read
all about the things

"that you had been
through and your teaching

"and working for
Franklin Roosevelt."

And he said, "You should
be doing something

"far more important than just
driving a tank in this war."

I said, "No, sir,
I've been trained

"to be a tank commander, sir."

And he said, "No, it's too late.

"We're going to send you to the

"European Theater of Operations

"and you're gonna be
a combat historian

"to get together material
that can be useful

"and lessons learned for
the service academies,"

like West Point and
command and general

staff college at Fort Levinwort.

Our major occupation
was with with notebooks

to go around and
interview all of the

soldiers involved in operations

in the most critical actions.

- [Presenter] Hechler
found in the taking

of the bridge at
Remagen, Germany

the rewards of courage,
initiative and training.

- Remagen was a
beautiful example

of how training
provided a unified group

of soldiers who were
able to work very closely

together in a
dramatic, unpredicted,
unplanned operation.

- [Presenter] World
War II helped prepare

young Americans for
post-war public service

and political office.

- Had it not been for my
service in World War II,

I never would have
entered politics.

Service itself reshaped
the minds and the character

of many young people in America.

Public tervice can
be in some cases

almost an extension
of what you were doing

in the service whether
you were in the Air Force,

Marines, whatever
branch it might be.

- We were engaged
in public service.

We thought it was
the highest endeavor.

Why, because we were up against

a miserable totalitarian force

in the form of the Axis Powers.

They were out to take
over much of the world.

And being in that
kind of experience

left one with the feeling that

this was a very
rewarding endeavor,

the feeling that somehow we were

giving ourselves,
maybe giving our lives

to a cause that was larger
than any one of us alone.

- [Presenter] Germany
surrendered in May 1945.

To better understand
German military strategy

Major Ken Hechler interviewed

the surviving members of
the German high command

including Air Marshal
Hermann Göring,

Adolf Hitler's long
time confidant.

- Göring was a very
interesting character because

he demonstrated his power
of persuasion frequently

to show where he'd
gotten where he was.

And sometimes you had
to pinch yourself to

avoid getting taken in
by some of his bravado.

- [Presenter] Sentenced to death
for crimes against humanity

Göring committed
suicide rather than

submit to public hanging.

(calm music)

After the war Ken
Hechler returned to the

US Bureau of the Budget.

He taught at
Princeton University

and helped publish Judge
Samuel Rosenman's final volume

of Franklin Roosevelt's
presidential addresses.

- I consider it of the
highest importance.

- [Presenter] In 1949
Ken Hechler impressed

President Harry Truman
with a detailed study

of the historical
role of government

in assisting private business.

Shortly thereafter Hechler
joined the White House staff

as research director
and special assistant

to the President.

In 1950 Hechler reviewed

President Abraham
Lincoln's decision

to dismiss Civil War
General George McClellan

for insubordination.

The study supported
Truman's decision

to relieve popular
World War II general

Douglas MacArthur of his command

during the Korean War.

Public frustration over the war

coupled with outrage
over Truman's

handling of the
steel worker strike

produced the lowest presidential
approval ratings to date.

Truman's steadfast convictions
amid public pressure

impressed Special
Assistant Hechler.

- President Truman had
two signs on his desk,

everybody knows about
the Buckstops here

but he also had a second
side which was a quotation

from Mark Twain.

"Always do right, this will
gratify some of the people

"and astonish the rest."

And he demonstrated to
me and instilled in me

this burning sense of justice

that you do what's
right and then

let the chips fall
where they may.

- I can take care of myself.

I believe that the
American people know me

well enough for my service
as Captain of Battery D

in World War I

to my service as President
of the United States

to know that I have always acted

with the best interest
of my country at heart.

- [Presenter] Truman's place
in history improved with time.

As President he
brought about expansion

of social security
coverage and an increase

on the minimum wage.

Truman D segregated
US Armed Forces

while working to rebuild Europe
and promoting World Peace.

He also worked to
improve education,

established national health care

and protect civil rights.

Crossing the nation by train

President Truman engaged
Americans and made friends

one whistle stop at a time.

Ken Hechler read
local newspapers

and contacted librarians
and public officials

to provide the president
with insightful details

for off the cuff remarks.

- He said call taxicab drivers,

beauty shop
operators, people that

can give you an idea what
people are talking about.

- I think both Ken
and President Truman

believed that the
backbone of the republic

is its middle class.

And the more you do to
expand the middle class

the stronger and better
a society you will have.

- [Presenter] A 1948
whistle stop in Oregon

exemplified President
Truman's ability

to portray himself as a
willing servant of the people.

- He looked out over
the crowd and said,

"I know why you're here.

"You're not here to
see Harry Truman.

"You're here to see the
President of the United States

"and see how he's
doing his job."

And he quoted Woodrow
Wilson who once said

many men come to Washington
and they grow in their jobs.

But too many men
come to Washington

and they just swell up.

And so he takes his hat,
takes a loot at it and says,

"My hat size hasn't increased
an eighth of an inch

"since I became president."

- It was liberating for
Truman to get out of the

White House which
he used to call

the Great White Jail
that enabled him to

be much more relaxed.

One of my jobs on whistle
stops incidentally

was to get out
among the crowd and

listen to what they were saying

and if they were unusually quiet

and didn't respond
why every now and then

I would say, "Give
'em hell, Harry!"

(laughter)

(calm music)

- [Presenter] As
Republican president

Dwight Eisenhower settled
into the White House,

Ken Hechler joined the

American Political
Science Association

as associate director.

He took leave in 1956
to serve as Democratic

Presidential Candidate
Adlai Stevenson's

research director.

Stevenson lost to Eisenhower

and Hechler returned to
his post at the APSA.

Hechler quickly realized
his Washington desk job

could never deliver
the kind of excitement

experienced on the
campaign trail.

- Most of the employees
would come to work

in the morning and
try to figure out

what they would do
on their coffee break

and then who they
would invite to lunch.

- [Presenter] When Hechler
learned that Marshall College

in Huntington, West
Virginia needed

a political science
teacher to fill a vacancy

during the spring
semester of 1957

he seized upon the opportunity.

Word of the new professor's
methodology quickly spread

employing many of the
innovative techniques

he crafted at Columbia and
Princeton universities,

Hechler sometimes dressed
in period costume.

He found well known public
officials from his classroom

and bus students to
Washington, DC on his own dime.

Ken Hechler's challenge
during a meeting

of young Democrats
inspired journalism student

Bobby Nelson to enter politics.

- He pointed out we are
an unusual democracy

or a representative
government where

the people really are at
the center of everything

and to the extent
that they are involved

the better the government is

and the better the
solutions to problems are.

He was a tremendous supporter of

what democracy means,

and especially as it
relate to young people.

- I would ask my students,
"What's your objection?

"Why are you holding back

"and not wanting to
take part on this

"exciting process?"

And particularly the women
in the class would say,

"There's so much mud
slinging in politics,

"so we just don't
wanna get involved

in all that mud slinging."

My answer to that was, "I
wonder what would happen

"if a candidate
would go out and not

"attack his or her
opponent but rather simply

"say what he or she stood for.

"I wonder what would happen."

- This one student said,
"If you're talking about

"all this even holding office,

"why don't you run for office?"

And Professor Hechler then said,
"Well, I just may do that."

- [Presenter] In 1958 Ken
Hechler made his first

bid for public office

as a candidate for
West Virginia's

fourth congressional
district seat,

Hechler demonstrated
three qualities

essential to politics
and public service.

- Energy, you gotta have energy.

You can be a lot of
things in politics

and be a success but
you can't be lazy.

You have to have that
concentrated energy

going for the mission.

Ethics, ethics not in the sense

of the Sunday school ethics
but you have this ethos

that you want to do good.

And finally you have
to have that ego.

You have to say
of all the people,

the thousands, ten of
thousands who are qualified

in the position I
uniquely can do it better

than anyone else.

- [Presenter] Many of
Hechler's volunteers

were students under
the age of 21.

Though too young to vote

they enthusiastically
embraced the professor's

unorthodox approach
to campaigning.

- Back then when you
got into politics,

you didn't go out
like they do today

and campaign and go door
to door and see people,

you went to the
political bosses.

You either went down with
the county court house

or the state house machine.

And they anointed
you in the party

accepted you and you
generally were elected.

Well, Hechler was just the
total opposite of that.

- Campaign is one of
the most exciting things

in life because it gives
you an opportunity to

meet new people and
to be able to interact

in such a way that
you can really

get a feel as to
what they stand for

and what they're hoping
to receive in the way of

public service.

- [Presenter] As many
campaigns concentrated

on the district's more
urban communities,

Hechler's volunteers
climbed into his convertible

and headed for small towns
along the Ohio River.

Hechler armed his
troops with copies

of his recently published book,

The Bridge at Ramagen.

The book chronicled
the allied capture

of the strategic bridge
during World War II.

Hechler's volunteers
handed out free copies

wherever they went.

West Virginians known for
their devout patriotism

embraced the book and the
war veteran who wrote it.

- The fact that he was a veteran

and wrote a book
that was popular

helped a great deal in
people getting to know him.

- [Presenter] Considered
a master of parody,

Ken Hechler
effectively used music

to set the tone when
addressing various groups.

- His entire career
he loved to write,

he loved music, he loved to
put together little parodies.

He thought music would
capture the attention more

than some windbag just talking.

- There was a group of
four coeds at Marshall

that had won a singing contest

by singing the
McGuire Sisters song.

♪ Sugar in the morning

♪ Sugar in the evening

♪ Sugar at supper time

And so we wrote
a parody on that.

♪ Hechler in the morning

♪ Hechler in the evening

♪ Hechler at election time

- That would get
us started and then

the books will be passed out.

And he was very down to earth.

He talked about his work
with Truman and Roosevelt,

about the great need for
government to respond

to the people.

And he was a tireless,
tireless worker.

I mean nobody could outwork him.

When he first
announced to Congress,

maybe 50, 60 people outside
this campus knew him.

But by the time the
primary came around

he probably knew the Fourth
Congressional District's

13 counties more than
probably 95% of the people

who lived in it 'cause
he made it a point to

really learn about the
district and know people

and know the issues.

He went everywhere.

- Probably hundreds,
maybe thousands of people

for the first time
in their lives

saw somebody who said I
wanna be your representative

in Congress.

- He didn't mind going
into the grocery store

or a filling station.

They'd climb up on coal
cars and talk to guys

that were riding in cabooses.

It was so unusual for a man
to go directly to the people.

- People are born and
raised and live and die

in this area of West Virginia.

We have nowhere
near the mobility

of population that most places
in the United States have.

That takes some learning.

You don't just
automatically know,

but he understood even
though he wasn't from here

that he was dealing
with natives.

And he understood
how to talk to them.

- He could identify with them

and they could
identify with him.

And that's real talent
for politicians.

- I was told by somebody
in Putnam County,

you know there's a farmer
out there named Benet Bailey

who really is well known,

lots of Baileys
in Putnam County.

You ought to go out to see him.

I knocked on the
door of his house

and his wife said, "He's
about two miles over the hill

"raking up hay."

And I said, "What direction?"

I walked out there
and Benet Bailey said,

"You must be a great
man if you'd walk out

"and be here all the
way just to see me."

I can tell you this, I
better work like hell

for you all over the county.

- [Presenter] In
August 1958 Hechler won

the Democratic nomination
for West Virginia's

fourth congressional seat.

In the general election
Hechler would face

Republican incumbent Will Neal,

a respected family
physician in Huntington.

While the two candidates
enjoyed an amiable relationship,

Hechler opponents labeled
the New York native

a carpet bagger out
to take advantage

of rural West Virginia voters.

- He never allowed to charge
bothering particularly,

and in his manner he
simply, I would say,

put his head down
and head to line

as we used to say in
football in my day.

- [Presenter] Ken Hechler
won by 3,500 votes.

- It was a stunning
victory to a lot of us

and the Republican Party.

I bet Ken $5 that he
wouldn't get 1,500 votes.

(calm music)

- [Presenter] In December 1958
as Marshall College students

headed home for Christmas
Congressman-elect

Ken Hechler prepared to
embark upon his own journey,

one that would prove
quite educational.

- I don't think it's
possible for an individual

to go in to a legislative body

and expect to get 100%
of what he believes in

or even what his
district believes in.

I had been taught
in graduate school

how all legislation in Congress

is compromised and that's

what I used to say
when I was teaching

but when I to
Congress I discovered

that the word "compromise"
is frequently used

as an umbrella to try to weaken

and drive loopholes into
otherwise good legislation.

And good legislation
has been asphyxiated,

legislation that the majority
of the Congress wants

in the fields of housing,
education, and labor reform.

- [Presenter] Hechler
joined George McGovern

and other members of the
House of Representatives

to address common concerns
and achieve mutual goals.

- When you talk to Ken
Hechler he looks at you

and kind of looks
and then he nods

and listens to you.

You have the feeling
every word you say

he's digesting and that
he's gonna think about that.

I always thought that
was an advantageous

eccentricity of Ken.

- [Presenter]
McGovern, a Democrat,

hoped to bring to Washington
the kind of fresh thinking

he helped introduce
in the predominantly

Republican state
of South Dakota.

- I thought there was a need for

a more liberal party, not
necessarily that we had

all the answers but
that out of the creative

tension and competition
between two different

political philosophies,
we'd probably end up

with a better government.

- [Presenter] Hechler also
worked with Republican members

like Kansas
Congressman Bob Dole.

- Democrats had the upper
hand, we understood that.

We were in the minority.

We understood that.

But there's still certain
things we could do

to slow up the process.

But even more important
there were certain things

we could do to
accelerate the process

and get good legislation passed

by working together with
our fellow Democrats.

- One of the greatest
challenges that a member

of Congress faces is
to try to ascertain

the public interest
and not the interest

of a single group and then
to fight for that interest.

- [Presenter] Rarely
missing a vote

Congressman Ken Hechler
enthusiastically

represented the people
of West Virginia.

- He was everywhere.

I mean he was in the
front row, the back row,

always button holing
somebody and always

talking about something
for West Virginia

or his constituents.

I've been in
politics all my life

and I had never seen
anything like it.

- He was constantly
surprising and refreshing.

If you can't stand me in
the pit with the people

then you're not a politician.

Ken enjoyed the give and take.

- And he had a great
way of eliciting a laugh

because he'd be probing
and asking questions,

and all of a sudden you realize

he was getting into a point
that he wanted to make

that was kind of funny.

- How can you possibly
expect us in Congress

to authorize over
four million dollars

when you haven't even
yet selected the state

in which you're going
to establish this site.

- Nothing seem to
shake his confidence

or his cheerfulness.

Most of us have sort
of ups and downs.

I've never seen any
downs on Ken, all ups.

But it's infectious
and it's genuine

and that's what people can spot.

- He has three I's, imagination,

intelligence, integrity.

He's a man of great imagination,

he's a man of high intelligence,

and thirdly he has absolute
bed rock integrity.

- Congressmen Ken Hechler, a
delegate to this convention

is perhaps one of
the most outspoken

of the West Virginians on
the Vietnam War situation.

You are unalterably
opposed really,

aren't you, Congressman?

- I certainly am, Bos,
and I certainly hope--

- Initially I supported
American efforts in Vietnam

but I was asked here at
Marshall to talk with

a group of foreign students.

They kept interrupting
me by saying,

"Let's talk about Vietnam.

"What right do you
have to be supporting

"our military
effort over there?"

I found it increasingly
difficult to answer
that question

because it was
essentially a civil war.

- I think he represented
the conscience

of the people
acting on Congress,

and he had any number
of ways that he

thought of in which he
would try to dramatize

what those issues
were and try to prod

his colleagues into
doing the right thing.

- Congressman, from
all these odd jobs

that you've been doing,
what have you learned?

What have your constituents
been telling you?

- Well, you know,
when you're sitting up

in Washington you get an
exaggerated sense of your

own importance and
I think it's great

to be able to get out
and work alongside

of the working
people who after all

are the backbone of the nation.

They're very concerned
about the fact that

government seems to
be a little unfair

to the working people
and the consumers.

So far as taxes are concerned--

- He established clearly
that there was someone

in Washington
representing West Virginia

particularly this area
that you could always

write or contact and
you could be certain

of getting an answer.

He had a rule in his office,

a letter from a
constituent had to be

acknowledged or answered
the same day it came in.

- The only thing bad I
can say about the office,

his desk was always a mess.

But if you would ask
him where something was

he would pull it from the stack,

he knew exactly where it was.

- Here's a stack, I'd say
at least six feet high,

walks over to it,

reaches in and pulls
out a sheet of paper.

I thought that was phenomenal

that somehow amidst
all the clutter

he's able to get the essence.

- Coal miners used to
joke about how messy

Ken's office was
but it was because

it was the people's office.

And they used Ken's
office to operate out of

when they were lobbying
for the Black Lung benefits

and mine health and safety,

not only was he
speaking out for him,

he was like letting
them use his office

and try to feed them
when they come in there

or take them to
lunch or whatever.

- He just loves people.

He absolutely loves people.

I've never heard Ken
Hechler say anything

derogatory about
another individual.

(calm music)

- I could see when
somebody called and said,

"I can't feed my family,
I'm having a hard time.

"I need to get my
Black Lung benefits,"

or "I need to get
my social security."

He would jump on it.

Frequently he was on the
either end of the telephone

personally working
on the problem.

He liked it.

That's what he's all about.

- He was deeply committed.

I mean there's no
question at all that

he was deeply touched

by the conditions that
he saw people living in

and the fact that
they were trapped

more often than
not that they had

no way out.

- We heard stories
that the newspaper

all during his time
in Congress about

how he would be the
one who would show up

and the farthest
corner of Wayne County

where some family have
been trying for months

unsuccessfully to get a
social security check approved

and start getting
their social security.

And he would not only
take care of it for 'em,

he would be the one
to hand deliver that

first check to them.

And he had them and everybody
in their neighborhood

to vote for him for
the rest of his life.

- There are stories
perhaps apocryphal about

how good he was.

There's one where this
lady wrote him a letter

asking for a book
of recipe from the

Department of Agriculture.

- A woman working in
downtown Huntington

finished her work in the
afternoon five o'clock

whenever it was and
went over and dropped

into the mailbox of
the old post office

which is on Fifth Avenue
a request for a cookbook.

Now it just so happened
that within minutes of that

postal people cleaned
out that inbox.

And the congressman's
mailbox was right close by

and they just shuttled
over to his mailbox

the request.

- Well he's in the
district so he goes in,

he gets the letter out.

He looks at it and this
lady wants his cookbook.

Well he happens to have
one out in the Jeep.

- He had a stack of them
in back of the red Jeep.

So he drove to the
west end of Huntington

to the woman's address.

- So he takes off, goes out
to her address in Wayne County

and is standing on her porch

when she gets back
for mailing the letter

asking for the cookbook.

- She meanwhile gets
on a bus and goes home

for the evening.

She gets inside,
closes the door,

Hechler walks up,
knocks on the door,

she opens it and he
says, "I'm your servant

"in Congress, Ken Hechler,
here's your cookbook."

- He practiced what he preached.

He truly represented all
the people in his district

and tried to meet every
one of them, I think.

- Personally I wish the
man would get a decent car.

That Jeep.

That I've always thought
attracted everybody.

When you become so
identified with a car

that anywhere in the state

everyone knows that's your car.

That's a positive.

- He was a master public
relations person, really.

As much as he was a congressman.

Every time he was
in from Washington

he would make the rounds
of the television stations

and the newspapers
and offer them

stories they couldn't refuse.

- If you wanna get
something in the paper

you'd go and try to
get it in on Sunday

because they don't have
anything for Monday,

nothing's happening on Sunday.

Everything's going to church,

they've gone out to dinner,

now they're sitting
around reading the paper

and taking it easy.

So he would come in and
beat out a little story

on a typewriter
and hand it to us.

- Here we are
again by the map of

the state of West Virginia--

- [Presenter] Ken
Hechler made frequent

and effective use of the US
House of Representatives'

recording studios.

- Ken understood mass media.

He understood mass
media's need to satisfy

an audience.

- Now this bill
will help protect.

- He looked at every
issue in terms of

how do my constituents
react to this

and what will interest them.

- Is there any experience
in other sections

of what kinds of
work will it do,

how big will it be?

How important?

Where do we go from here?

How do you determine?

Is there anything particular
that you could say,

encouraging and respected--

When you come right down to it,

a good deal of work and
focus of a congressman

is educating the
voters to decide

what is the best
and just thing to do

and then to continue to
educate your constituents

to support those
aims of justice.

(majestic music)

- [Presenter] This project
is a cooperative production

of the Ken Hechler
Documentary Project LLC

and Marshall University.

Being presented with
financial assistance

from the West Virginia
Humanities Council,

a state affiliate of the

National Endowment
For the Humanities.

Any views, findings,
conclusions or recommendations

expressed in this program do not

necessarily represent those

of the National Endowment
for the Humanities.