Evening star., 1920-06-01
PROTEST SEATING
OF NEGROESFROM
SOUTHAT CHICAGO
"liIy White" and "BIacK and
Tan" Factions in Hot
Fight.
nv G. GOULD LINCOLN.

CHICAGO. Ill. June Lilly white
and "black and tan factions OF me
republican party in the soutHeI u
states are engaged in knock down and
drag out" contests before the national y
committee for seating OF delegateS u
the national convention NaHacc
Townsend republican nominee for
governor in the state OF Arkansas.
electrified the committee hearing to-
day when he said:
'You might as well understand first
as last that you can never break the
solid south with negro republican
votes: you have got 70 have me "hi'e
vote"
This sounded like heresy 70 many
of the national committeeman. inne-
diately there was expression from
number of them calculated 10 let the
colored brethren down easily
Among those who protested WAS Ma
tional Committeeman Rogers OF WIS
consin, who wanted 10 know II II was
the purpose of the .li:- whites" in
Arkansas to exclude the negro from
the republican party. Every duly ac-
credited negro to the state conFen-
tion was seated, insisted MIR. Town
send. who realized that perhaps he
had gone too far in his first state
ment.
J. A Hibbler. colored lawyer.
spokesman for the "black and tans.
insisted that the idea that white votes
W0uIO ever DEeah tHS ueIilOSIdll1 Hoiu
on the solid south was utopian.
Members of the committee strove to
eliminate the race issue from the con-
test for the Arkansas delegation to
the convention, but with little sue
cess. They urged that the contestants
keep to the real issue before the COM
nlittee the regularity of the elections
held by each faction.
In the end the lilly whites" prevail
ed and their delegates were seated by
the committee. but the decision was
rendered strictly upon the regularity
of elections. and the colored delegates
retired. probably TO take their contest
10 the credentials committee of the
convention. Later the four delegates
at large from Arkansas and delegates
in the first and fifth districts were in
volved in the contests.
In a measure this contest was
victory for the Lowden supporters.
for it is understood that the lilly
white" faction will vote for the llli-
nois governor in the convention. Who
the black and tans" would have sup
ported is more of a mystery
1t may be mentioned that out of
the contests for some 122 seats in the
convention before the committee all
are from the south, with the exception
of those from the District of Column
bia, a couple in Minnesota ana four our
in Missouri. To have contests for
delegates from the south is nothing
new to the republicans. but it is Civ
ing them food for thought this year,
particularly in view of the heavy ex-
penditures which have been made by
has been intimated in some quarters
that something will be done" to clean
up the situation in the future.
The question has arisen as to
whether the republicans in the south
ern states are really entitled to their
MT n
national convention. In view of the
perennial contests and the fact that
none of these states ever hgure IN the
republican. column when the electoral
votes are counted. the Florida con-
tests, which followed those of Ar
kansas, gave the southern situation
an even blacker eye. Three sets OF
delegates appeared. 1t appeared that
for a number of years the republican
vote in Florida had not been suffi-
cient under the state primary law 10
establish officially that there is any
republican party in the state. The
law provides that for party to be
recognized it must cast at least per
cent of the vote. One OF the factions
urged its regularity on the ground
zaion. It has perpetuated itself
through the state committee, wnlcn
has never entered the primaries, al
though in 1913 the primary law was
enacted
A second faction protested that the
old ORGANIZATION was defunct because
/ had not entered the primaries, and
charged that it was in collusion with
the democrats to perpetuate a pa
tronage trust. 49,.
The third faction insisted that
neither of the two others could be
recognized officially and that it alone
should be recognized as an entirely
new organization of republicans. This
was the lilly white" crowd Some OF
fhe members of the national commit
Toe frankly declared that in view OF
the situation they did not believe
that any of the contestants were en-
titled to seats in the convention. The
old organization, headed by George
" Rean. the present national com
w;ttaeman from Florida is supporting
CEN. Wood for President