Columnist

Naylor's involvement in politics brought him more than passing friendships with local and national politicians, including President Warren G. Harding, whom he knew from their earliest days in politics, an association that lead to Naylor’s thirteen-year stint as a columnist for the Marion Star.  He wrote for the Ohio Star in 1913, then wrote "Life's Vaudeville," a daily column for the Marion Star from 1915 to 1923.  Because of his staunch support of President Harding despite the scandals that followed Harding's untimely death, Naylor was dropped from the Star. Below is one of his politically-motivated columns. 

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PROMISES AND PERFORMANCES

The Marion Daily Star, September 13, 1916

The total appropriations of the last Republican congress, two sessions, reached the sum of $2,054,000,000; and four years ago Democrats looked akance at that amount expended, raised their holy hands and walled their wise eyes in horror, and exclaimed: 

"My—my! What awful, what criminal extravagance! What a needless and reckless waste of the dear people's money. Put us in power, and we'll change all that: yes, indeed. We'll give the country an economical administration—uh-huh; we'll cut down expenses—sure thing."

And the Democratic donkey brayed his approval of the brave and patriotic words; and then the Democrats met in convention at Baltimore and framed the following plank into their platform:

"We denounce the profligate waste of money wrung from the people by oppressive taxation through the lavish appropriations of Republican congresses, which have kept taxes high and reduced the purchasing power of the people's toil. We demand a return to that simplicity and economy which befits a Democratic government and a reduction in the number of useless offices, the salaries of which drain the substance of the people."

Wasn't that nice? You bet! "We denounce the profligate waste of money wrung from the people." That sentence made the Democratic donkey lift up his voice and wail lugubriously. "We demand a return to that simplicity and economy which befits a Democratic government." That sentence caused the Democratic rooster to moult his tail feather—he felt so sad about the Republication extravagance and misdoings. And the Democrats wanted the voters of the country to believe in the sincerity of that

plank, so—Democratic records not being calculated to inspire confidence in Democratic promises—they tacked the following strip to the original plank:

"Our pledges are made to be kept while in office as well as to be relied upon during the campaign."

"Aye—aye! And Mr. Wilson said: "This platform is not a mere batch of molasses to catch flies."

W-e-ll, let's see about this self-vaunted Democratic economy. The two sessions of this Democratic congress have closed. What of their appropriations? They have reached the stupendous, amazing and alarming amount of $3,400,000,000—or $1,346,000,000 more than the Republicans ever appropriated in the same length of time.

Molasses to catch flies! A Democratic platform is arsenical flypaper itself; it catches—and it kills.

Molasses to catch flies! A Democratic platform is arsenical flypaper itself; it catches—and it kills.