The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-05
Moses Attack on Committee May Entail Readjustment of
 Wood Campaign Management
Col. Proctor Calls Confer ence and Steam Roller"
 Charge May Be Repudi- ated-Statement Was Is-
 sued Without Knowledge of Other Wood Managers.
By Associated Press

By Associated Press
 Chicago, June 4.-Decisions of the republican national con- mittee which today disposed of twenty-five contests for seats in the national convention of the party tonight brought a charge of steam roller" tactics from Senator Moses of New Hamp- shire, who conducted General Woods pre-convention cam paign in the southern states.
 He issueda lengthy statement. whose tone was in sharp ontrast to the jubi- lant notes that came from the Lowden headquarters.
 senator Moses statement was
 issued on his own responsibility
 and without either the knowledge
 applovaI of other Wood mana
 gers.
 It was predicted by some of the Wood partisans that repudiations might develop and possibly entail a read Justment ot the Wood manag cement
 Colonel Procter and others in
 Wood headquarters called con-
 ference tonight fter hearing of
 "as ""'' indicated ] E' ' statement tenn
 from the wod hrH 'uarters was
 under considerati61 2y
 Lowden and Johns lagers both hailed the Moses st4 MaiA with sat- isfaction. The Lowda ters pro- fessed to believe ttAt atement would not injure, but n elI the governors campaign.
 ATTACK ON COMMlTA
 They pointed out that SenateN. ses' attack was made upon the ua nal committee with it's influential | em- bership and not upon the governor or his managers.
 From the Johnson rafus ealne the declaration that SeJat0r sfoyQs po-
 sitiOn indicated that R0iN the
 Wood and Johnson torees egessi be
 expected to oppose noun .atBen of
 any man named bv tie Hi A ilrd."
 The friends of %cnafpr fehnson,
 however. secuted the pEesea pos
 sibiiity of a coalition Vfh the
 Wood strength in thc convection in
 behalf of either Wood or 3ghnsOn.
 TEXT OF SfAT LENT
 "Evidently mistake has been made" said Sens pr Moses statement. 'orhe steam roller which was used so effectively in the eohWntiou of 1912 and with such disastrous results to the party in the lection following, has not been scrapped after all. It has merely been in the machine shop for repairs and for some new attach ments The most important of the lat ter appears to be d patent reversing appartaus which enables the national committee at will to disregard it's prior formal action in recognition of certain national committeeman and state chairmen against whose organi- zations there have been trumped up a series of fraudulent contests,
 THREE-LINK CHAIN
 "The. chain of procedure which the na- tional committee formed at it's St. Louis meeting in 1917 and at the Washington meeting in 1919 contained three links. The first connected the national chair man with the recognized national com mitteemen in the state. to whom were sent the official calls for the convention which assemblies next week. The na- tional committeeman transmitted this call to the recognized state chairman, thus constituting the second link in the chain. The third link contained the state chair man with his organization in the counties. Through the operation of this mechanism delegates friendly to General Wood have been elected with entire regularity in ev- cry. southern state, save two The func- ton of the national committee at this juncture is not to determine quallfica- tions of members of the national conven- tion; it is merely to establish that regu- larity which entities delegate to be placed upon the temporary roll, leaving the ultimate question of his right to seat to be determined by the convention through it's committee on credentials.
 ADVANCE DECISIONS
 "Yet. the national committee, with Chairman Hays conveniently absent from the chair. is assuming to decide the mat ter in advance, but to decide it upon the narrow lines of the committees per sonal preference.
 General Woods friends have always understood that the national committee as at present constituted favored the of Governor LoWden. we have never questioned their right to hoid such A preference, but we do question se- riously and vigorously their right to color their decisions, which should be merely ministerial if not judicial, by such prefer ence and the conditions under which so many of the present national committee men hold their places only increases the strength with which we now assail the course which they are pursuing.
 TRYING TO IMPOSE PURPOSE
 "As a result of the primaries and con- ventions held throughout the union. sue- sta ntially one third of the members or inc present national committee have failed to get in the confidence Of tneir and they will go out Of or flee the day the convention adJourns- Vet these repudiated committeeman, m defiance of the popular judgment already rendered. are seeking to impose their peevish purpose upon the convention, the party and the country
 Certain facts are outstanding Tn the of pre-convention events. Chief among these is the demonstrated fact that three men have shown them selves to possess widespread and well founded popular support among repup- licans These men, in the order of their strength, are General Wood. Senator Johnson and Mr. Hoover Except in his own state. Governor Low den has never succeeded In r1innno het- ter than a poor third in any primary. This is not said in any deroga tion of any of Governor Lowden's many good quai- ties It is a plain statement of political fact tc which the country is not imper- vious. even though the national commit tee is.