The Seward gateway., 1916-06-07
6. O.P. MAY TURN DOWN
 PROGRESSIVES COLD
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Continued From Page 1.) ments and assuaged their mangled bodies with the balm of a convention, candidates and machinery of their very own.
 It appeared today that the bruises the steam-roller of four years ago in- Aictod might be entirely healed. The Republican man in the streets and the Progressive man in the street hailed each other as brother, not political enemy.
 Gone today was the before-the-bat- tie acrimOny of four years ago which centered about the smallest minute of the convention machinery.
 Maybe the leaders of the Progress sive and Republican gatherings still maintained an air of aloofness mixed with a curiosity as to what the other side was doing, but there wasn't near ly so much grim desperation in the chase of the Southern delegate, the pursuit of the elusive unpledged dele gate or in the jockeying for places on the permanent roll of the convention roster.
 The business scheduled in both na- tional gatherings is to be more or less perfuuctOry today. Calling to order prayer, introductory speeches by the national chairman and the setting to work of the convention committees is about all either the Republican or the Progressive leaders expect to accOmp- fish in the days public missions.
 The real fireworks is expected to begin tomorrow with the keynote speeches of the temporary chairmen.
 Tonight the Resolutions Commit tees are expected to begin their long grind of hearings and closed sessions, leading up to the formulation of plat forms.
 1t was National Chairman Charles D. HiIes whose gavel banged to order the Republican conclave, at noon pre- cisely. Hours before that minute the great galleries of the Coliseum had been packed to their utmost capacity.
 A band, tucked far up above in the gallery footed cheerfully away at the popular airs of the day and kept the waiting thousands in good humOr.
 On the floor, where standards bear ng the names of the states marked off the space reserved for the actual par ticipants in this quadrennial festi- witty, the delegates were slower to ar rive. There was a constant roar of noise from the floor and the galleries, the buzzing of thousands of voices blended into one indescribable medley. This bedlam of confusion and talk and stamping of feet and whispering and shouting rolled up to the speak CTS platform like a giant wave. The noise of eight thousand sets of vocal chords must be heard to be under stood; words cannot convey the inn pression.
 The delegates, all alive to their own importance and wearing vivid badges proclaiming their right to have voice in selecting the Repubh- can standard bearers, strolled in in groups and squads and companies They clustered about in little knots, buzzing away with the ever-unchang- ing gossip of a national meeting.
 On the speakers platform the off, cers of the convention were holding the little conferences that really amounted to something.
 Then came Charles D. Hilles. There was a vOciferous outburst, a sort of tidal wave of noise that dashed against the platform and finally sub sided in what would have been merely the murmur of expectation, if it hadn't been for the fact that eight or ten thousand murmurs of expectation from the audience blended together made a fairly creditable amount of noise.
 Finally, BANG! went the gavel i (Gavel by courtesy, be it understood since it was really a gigantic mallet