Cleveland County herald., 1920-06-17

and the friends of the Irish republic"
 The former, under the leadership of
 the heads of the woman's party, were
 in Chicago in strength and during the
 entire week maintained around the Coliseum a line of pickets bearing
 banners that warned the Republicans
 that the women demanded the fran chise and would be satisfied with no less. A plank was inserted in the plat form urging Republican legislatures that have not acted to ratify the suf- frage amendment, but this did not ap pease the ladies. In the last few mo ments of the last session they dropped from balcony great yellow banner on which was the statement that they wanted votes, not blanks. As for the Irish, they, too, made big demon stration in Chicago and De Valera. the president of their republic" was there to deliver a speech before a great gath ering. But something went wrong with the plans; and the plank which was tentatively shaped for the platform suited them so little that it was omit ted entirely and nothing put in it's place. There was a story that this resolution had been drawn up by Jus tice Cohalan of New York in the hope that it would be unsuitable and that the Democrats in San Francisco would be enabled to take advantage of the circumstance. So, though considerable space has perforce been given to the platform of the Republican party, 1t is not because it must be considered as a great or a particularly strong pro- nouncement. Lots of men and wom- en in the party are far from pleased with many parts of it, and it must be confessed that the writer failed to ind anyone who was crazed with enthusi- asm over It.
 The story of this convention would be intensely interesting if one could tell all the truth about the secret in- fluences that governed it's actions. On the surface it was not very eXcit- ing affair, and the enthusiastic out bursts that characterized some of it's sessions appeared too often to be face tious For five days the 14,00O dele gates, alternates, stockholders and pos sessors of tickets that allowed them to stand about the few open places and hamper everyone else gathered faith fully in the Coliseum, prepared to howl with glee over expected contests and triumphs But most of the time all they could do was to cheer for their favorite on occasion and try to keep up with the strong-lunged cheer and song leader who had been brought up from Camp Devens.
 Bcssed by Senators.
 From the first it was heralded as that most unusual thing, an unbosSed convention. All the experts asserted that the delegates were going to do as they pleased and that the oid-time leadership was impotent. For day or two this seemed true, but then the senate eoterie got into action, and from that time to the end what was done was generally what it wished done. To start with Senator Lodge was selected as temporary chairman, and was continued permanently in the place, the entire temporary orSaniZa- ton being retained. On the all-im- portant committee on resolutions there were numerous senators and eX-sena- tors, and they pretty much dictated the makeup of the platform. In the selection of the ticket their influence was seen and felt in every move and every shift of votes, clear down to the moment when Senator Harding re ceived the ballots that made him the choice. All this time the greatest of the old-time party bosses still alive, Senator Boies Penrose, lay on sick bed in his Philadelphia home. But direct telephone wire was run into that room and there was scarcely an hour of the day or night when he was not in communication with his friend, John T. King. He knew all that was going on. and it is fair to assume that in most cases he knew beforehand that it was going to go on. What happened. happened because he willed that it should hapren. This is not written exactly in criticism, for it may be that what Penrose decreed will suit the party and result in its