New-York tribune., 1919-12-10
Leaders i'll Washington for
Meeting of the National
Committee Give Line
on Presidential Race
By Carter Field

VGsh1nOtOn Bureau
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9.-General
Leonard Wood against the field is the
situation with regard to the Repub-
llcan Presidential nomination. if a
canvass of the hundreds of Republican
leaders from all over the country here
to attend the meeting of the Repub-
lcan National Committee tomorrow
and the meeting of the State Chair
men on Thursday can be taken as an
indication of how the fight is going.
Just at present, apparently, General
Wood has got flying start and
considerable prestige. He has not, of
course, touched the states with the
really large delegations. New York
for instance, will send an unpledged d
delegation. George A. Glynn, State
Chairman, declared to-day adding in
the same breath that they were for
nobody and against nobody, but that
every one this time was for the Repub-
lican party instead of being for any
particular candidate
Massachusetts will send her delcga-
ton for Governor Coolidge, Pennsyl-
vania for Governor Sproul, Illinois for
Governor Lowden, Ohio for Senator
Harding and Indiana for Senator Wat
son. The Ohio and Indiana Congress
sional delegations held meetings to-
day indorsed Senator Harding and SEN
ator Watson respectively. Both Sena-
tors seem inclined to accept the honor
"Old Guard" Has 800 Already
Therefore, what popularity is called
the cold Guard" will have about 300
delegates from these states, aside from
what they can pick up elsewhere.
The Lowden boomers claim that most
of these delegates will be for their
man. This, of course, is true of the
Illinois delegation Murray Crane, Of
Nassachu etts, who rode down from
New York on the Congressional with
Elihu Root and Charles D. Hilles,
former chairman of the Republican Ma
tional Committee, arrived here late to-
night and offered his ear to many of
the leaders. speaking but little, and
that in Whispers Mr. Crane, however
is said by those close to him to be for
Governor Lowden, eff it should be
shown that Governor Coolidge cannot
land the nomination."
On the other hand, Senator Lodge is
declared by the Wood men to be for
the general The relations between
Mr.. Lodge and Mr.. Crane have not been
as cordial recently as they once were
and some interesting developments in
the picking of delegates from the Bay
State are looked for
In this connection the most interest
ing development Of the day was the
fact that John W. Weeks, former
United States Senator from Massachu-
sets, who took idential boom to
the convention himself last time,
moved into the office at the Capitol of
Senator Boies Penrose and seems to
be exceedingly busy. He is understood
to be working for Governor Lowdcn
although he is keeping Nuiet about it.
Woods Hope in First Ballot
This was taken to mean here that
Senator Penrose himself is not un-
friendly, to say the least, to the Lowden
candidacy If this deduction, made by
many astute politicians here, should be
true the Lowden managers should have
an easy time in rounding up enough
delegates to put their candidate ovel
on the second or third ballot-when-
ever the break from the favorite sor
shall come.
The same line of reasoning, however
is just as comforting to the Harding
supporters, for they all declare, with
some apparent reason, that this same
group OF large delegations would be
swung to Senator Haruing should Gov
ernor Lowden prove impossible for any
reason to be put over. before they
would be given to General Wood.
The grea. game at present OF al the
candidates, except General Wood
seems to be to line up for some ont
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