Later Straton published a book, The Famous New York Fundamentalist-Modernist Debates, which contained only his own speeches and omitted those of Potter. On June 28, 1924, he offered the opening invocation on the fifth day of the 1924 Democratic National Convention. During the Scopes Trial when the judge was considering letting scientists testify for the defense, William Jennings Bryan wired Straton to come to Dayton, Tennessee, to be a rebuttal witness. However, the judge ruled against the defense and Straton never went to Tennessee. After the trial and Bryan's death, Straton challenged defense attorneys Clarence Darrow and Dudley Field Malone to debate, but was rebuffed. During the 1928 presidential campaign, Straton, along with William Bell Riley and J. Frank Norris, rallied opposition to Al Smith, the Roman Catholic nominee of the Democratic Party. In keeping with his strong opposition to the liquor traffic, Straton was one of the first to label Smith "the candidate of rum, Romanism and rebellion", a phrase used unsuccessfully in 1884 against Grover Cleveland in the race against James G. Blaine. Huey Pierce Long, Jr., the governor of Louisiana in 1928 and a Smith supporter, claimed that Straton was being paid $500 a night for speeches on behalf of the Republican candidate, Herbert Hoover. Long accused Straton of waging war against white supremacy in the American South. Long said that he respected all clergymen and denominations but not when "political considerations entered therein." Straton's health was broken by his intense schedule during the campaign, and in April 1929 he suffered a slight paralytic stroke, which led to a nervous breakdown brought on by overwork in the fall and finally a fatal heart attack. Straton married the former Georgia Hillyer of Atlanta, Georgia, on November 2, 1903, and they had four sons: Rev. Hillyer Hawthorne Straton, John Charles Straton, Rev. Warren Badenock Straton, and George Douglas Straton. References External links Sermons of Dr. John Roach Straton American Christian creationists People from Evansville, Indiana 1875 births 1929 deaths