The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-06-14
DAY OF SORROW
saturday Left Governor Allen
Battered and Beaten.
Pathetic Touch to Story of His
Fight at Chicago.
THOUGHT Y. P. VICTORY SURE
kanSans Had Planned for Spe-
cial Train Home.
Delegation Called "Quitters"
During Break to Harding.
THOUGHT V.P. VICTORY SURE
BY A. L. sHULTZ.

Chicago. June 14-Governor Aliens !
week before the Republican national
convention ended in a tragedy. He
started ten days ago under the clearest
OF skies. He finished Saturday night
beaten and battered under every fire
which hal been directed against him
in the great president making show.
The elements Of luck combined to
cause trouble to the Kansas executive
and in the days he was winning traps
were being laid for his defeat by the
enemies whom the governor had de-
velCped.
There was a pathetic touch to the
finish fight in the great Coliseum as
fifteen thousand people cheered the
results and hoOted and yelled for the
national ticket, with Harding and
Coolidge carrying the banner An hour
before this noise started big ma
jority of Washington correspondents,
fresh from presid row, had fore
cast nomination Of Allen for vice
president. His defeat and the sue
ceeding election of Mulvane contrib
uted to the week of defeats-possibly
the greatest of which to the governor
personally was the smashing of the
Wood organization.
solicited Too Many Enemies.
Possibly there is just one explana-
ton for Ill the sorrow song. Cover
nor Allen solicited too many enemies.
He started with the organized labor
crowd against him. And there was no
uncertainty as to their position.
Governor Allen wanted an indus
trial court plank in the national plat
form. Even with william Allen White
chairman of the subcommittee on
resolutions, ii was impossible to jam
thru the secondary body provision
that in any manner definitely en-
bodied or so much mentioned the
n
gave some little relief-but it was
largely additional decorations on
plate of hand painted victuals.
Then came the presidential tight
Governor Aliens speech nominating
the general was certain to please
the labor crowd even tho he talked
with the voice of men and angels. Ar
thur Brisbane's attack on Allen was
1. merely a reflection Of the hostile feel
~ing OF labor 1t was the reaction ex-
Dressed thru the Hearst organization,
but Il gave to the labor delegates their
suggestion as to the leadership-if
they really needed such suggestion.
Plny Table Stakes for Wood.
IN the fight for Wood. the Kansas
governor played table stakes until
after the eighth ballot had been taken
and Wood was hanging Imply onto
second place. with Harding breaking
madly for the front and winning the
loud approval and acclaim of the
fighting Friday night and Saturday
morning the governor had personally
appealed to every delegate known TO
be for him to support the general
This action kept the governors name
from the convention during the entire
ten ballots required to name prest-
dental candidate.
1t was lust as the convention agreed
to adjourn for two hours-a chance
for tho leaders to caucus and make
new arrangements-that Governor AL
len went onto the flooF-of the conven-
tion TO talk with his home state dele
gates. His appeal to them was to go
to Harding in a body. 1t was a last
minute effort to save a ship which is
Laundering a sea and when hope be-
comes rather low. The delegates
agreed. Governor Allen explained he
had promised to hold his Kansas votes
for Wood only so long as Wood was
winning. Facts are, it was with real
difficulty that he held ten Wood votes
until the ninth ballot. On every roll
call there were threats of a poll and
on a half dozen occasions It looks as
tho Kansas would break under the
strain and her delegates would vote
wildly and madly for whomsoever they
burned" pleased.
Kansas Set Off Fireworks.
When the ninth roll call reached
Kansas, the Sunflower delegates start
ed the convention movement which
next ballot. Col. Fred Fitzpatrick
seized the Kansas standard and head
ed for the Ohio delegation as W. J.
Bailey, delegation chairman, an
nounced Kansas cast her twenty votes
for Harding. Dalton, Mulvane, VIII
bur Allen. Thad Carver, Frank Pom
eroy and others of the delegation let
loose their war whoops and in a sec
ond the galleries were madly cheer
ing the Kansas delegates. The wise
rg@Fk >
But as the cheers died away and
Chairman Lodge hoped to restore or
der. there arose jeer and a kissing
from the crowd. 1t extended to some
OF the delegates and came from the
Wood quarters.
Called Kansas "Quitters."
CUTTERS" yelled some Of the Wis
itors. Nominated Wood and quit.
Why don't you take the medicine
yourself. towards"
Those were some of the yells that
\ could be heard at the press boxes as
the delegation settled down only to
start a new uprising when Kentucky
followed Kansas unanimously into the
Harding camp.
The move to Harding was being
backed by Lowden. Now every dele
gate and visitor saw the handwriting
on the wall. Lowden couldn't win.
Even when he was ahead he was
smart enough to see the signs and
read them correctly. So he played to
make Harding-and won. Bitter and
rcscntful. the Wood and Johnson
forces sought to hold their delegations
together, but the fight ended in the
next round.
Watson Changed His Mind.
During the recess Senator Watson
OF Indiana had gone to H. H Motter,
state chairman. with an offer to pre-
sent Governor Aliens name to the
ton 10
candidate. Watson would have car
ried the strength of some of the big
eastern delegates and his help, backed
by strong orgar ization which made
him chairman Of the resolutions COM
. mittee, would have been a tremendous
asset 10 Allen.