The Mena weekly star., 1920-07-08
HOW GOV. ]. N. COX
WAS NOMINATED
Palmer Delegates Released After Seth
Ballot, and McAdoo Forces Fought
to the End--A Test Of
Endurance.

San Francisco, July Governor
James M. Cox was nominated for pres
ident by the Democrats on the 44th
ballot at lao o'clock Tuesday morn
ing. The McAdoo people fought game
ly to the last but finally went down TO
defeat under terrible pounding by
the Cox forces.
Fourteen ballots from ten o'clock
Monday morning to five o'clock in the
afternoon failed to break the dead
lock which held the convention as in
wise. Then from sheer exhaustion
and in the hope that during the ad-
journment some solution of the pro-
blem of how to get 729 votes for some.
body might be found, an adjournment
was taken until $3.50 in the evening.
During the fourteen ballots the pen
dulum Of favor swung back and forth
from Cox to McAdoo, the net advan-
tage being with McAdoo iMcAdoo
started the day with 364 1-2 votes and
Cox with AIS. At the five O'Clock ad-
vote to 399 and Cox had fallen back
to 377. Palmer got sudden boost just
before the adjournment and finished
with 241, his biggest vote since the
11th ballot and within 26 Of his high
mark at any time.
During the adjournment Palmer and
his leaders conferred and it was de-
cided that If during the first two bal.
lots at the evening session he fell
back he would release all of his dele.
gates from any further obligation 10
him and permit them to vote for
whom they pleased. This announce.
ment was made after the 36th ballot
the second ballot of the evening ses
sion and a recess of twenty minutes
was taken to give the McAdoo and
Cox managers a chance to work on
the released Palmer delegates.
During the 39th ballot following the
recess the air was electric with sup
pressed excitement.
Would McAdoo or Cox get the bulli
OF the Palmer vote? Georgia's rs
votes went to McAdoo and the Me
Adoo delegates paraded and yelled fol
five minutes. The Massachusetts
Palmer strength went to Cox and, lee
by Senator Walsh, the Massachusetts
delegates headed Cox parade which
lasted ten minutes. The Pennsylvania
delegates stuck to Palmer on this bal
lot, the net result of the ballot belnl
in Cox's fayors The figures were Nc
Adoo 440, Cox 46S and tln deadlocl
/ was tighter than ever.
On the fortieth ballot the Palmer
vote in Pennsylvania began to dIsin
tegrate. McAdoo got A of them ant
Cox IA, the balance still voting fol
Palmer. On this ballot McAdoo gain,
ed q, to 467, and Cox gained q
and half, going to 400,
/ Davis got rs votes, his high, ant
| Owen was still in with 49,. With al
but 10 Of the Palmer votes divided
Cox was still 23S short OF the neces
sary two-thirds and McAdoo 261 shor
on the fortieth ballot.
Here is where we dig In and stay.
was the sentiment of both the Meade,
4 and Cox leaders at midnight as th,
forty-first ballot was being taken. Coz
gained and McAdoo lost slightly OF
the 41st ballot and at 1915 o'clock {
delegate from Oklahoma moved to ad
journ till 10 o'clock Tuesday morning
The purpose Of the motion was OBJ
viously to arrange to have Owen chos
en- as the dark horse. Owen and hi
delegates had been busy all day OF
the floor and In the corridors tryini
to popularize the Owen idea and b,
was probably as much talked of al
| anyone else as a dark horse. The Coz
delegates voted against adjournmen
Continued on Page Five.).