The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-25
.JOArSON-P -PENROSE
 IN A COMBINATION
 ID UNHORSE WOOD
They Are In Charge of Sen ate Probe and Have Ev- erything Their Own
 Way
By CLINTON W. GILBERT Copyright, Public Ledger Company.
 192O.)

ttopyrtght, Public Ledger Company,
 1920)
 Washington, May 24.- Special. )-The first flourish of the republican national con- vention began today when the Kc---on committee of the Sen ate started in to investigate campaign expenditures with Frank H. Hitchcock, general Weeds mana Z er, on the stand
 The investigation may eliminate ors republican candidates. It may make one.
 The committee, which is doing the Investigating, is an old guard Johnson committed Probably it is the first fruits of Senator Penroses active lead ership of the Wood opposition and his co cooperation with Senator Johnson. At any rate, Senator Penrose became ac- tive. Senators began running up Go Philadelphia. Johnson came back -o Washington after an absence cam paigning. He began demanding this and that, including the investigation of campaign expenditures.
 OPPOSITION SUDDENLY MELTS
 Up till that moment the Borah pro posal had hung fire. There was hesi- ration about handing over to Johnson the inquisitory powers of the Senate to use in digging into his rivals use Of money. The Johnson people wanted Kenyon as chief investigator or no in vestigation. The old guard inclined to keep the lid in it's own hands by nam- ing a trusted member of the organ ization, Senator Watson, as chairman.
 Suddenly the Senate organization be- came all acquiescence, after the John- son-Penrose reapprochment was estab- lished.
 Johnson got everything he wanted, Kenyon for chairman, Edge of New ter sey, who hates Wood because of the arrogant treatment of himself by the Wood managers in New Jersey; Spen- cer of Missouri, who comes from an anti-Wood state, and for the democrats, Reed of Missouri, who will probably do most of the cross-examining, and Pomerene of Ohio-a strong committee. especially on the democratic side and one likely to go to the bottom of the campaign expenditures and the south ern delegate situation.
 AFTER WOODS SCALP
 The appointment of this commit
 tee indicates the intention of the
 Johnson PenrOse combination,
 which is strong in the Senate,
 stronger probably than 1t will be
 in the Chicago convention, to dis
 pose of Wood. Had there been any
 disposition to smooth things over, play safe or to pussyfoot, Watson
 would have been put in charge of
 the investigation. at least a
 Wood senator would have been
 placed on the committed.
 But the committee is straight out and out anti-Wood.
 Johnson has the republican party by the tail here in Washington again very much as he had it during the treaty fight. To be sure, in this instance Johnson had a powerful argument to use. Even if the inclinations of the or ganiZation had to be forced, there had been so much talk of the excessive use of money that the republican party must clear itself of scandal before be- ginning to elect a President
 The theory apparently is that after Johnson is satisfied that he has had every chance he will accept defeat gracefully and "be good" But the same policy with regard to the treaty ended in giving Johnson a great deal more than any one intended at the outset to give him and perhaps the process is not yet ended.
 The desire of the organization to
 get rid of the Wood candidacy is
 one of the difficult things to ex-
 plain. One motive is dislike of Frank H. Hitchcock, the former
 (Continued on Page Two)