Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-06-25
ANOMALY OF COMFORTABLE
CONVENTION AT FRISCO
Homer Cummings Has Proued Acme of Efficiency Arang
ing Details and California Weather Proues to Be
Irreproachable
BY CLINTON w. GILBERT

san Francisco. Calf, June 2j.-A
national convention in comfort. that is
What the Democrats have at San Fran
cisco. The comfort is Of various kinds.
First, there is the climatp-you Slecp
under blanket in San Francisco and
debate whether or not to wear an over
coat in the daytime. 1t is something
to escape the Sweltcring heat of Chicago
where $4,000 leople Oozcd away under
the thin roof of the Coliseum. Then
thcrc is the lack Of crowding. San
Francisco is much smaller city than
Chicago. but il is swallowing up ma
tional convention and its crowds much
more easily than its Great Lake rival.
This is be 'ause Chicago for convention
purposes consists of three hotels and
about as many blocks on Michigan ave
nuc, while tho convention is distributed
over San Francisco with its many
modern hotels all about the center of
the city.
Now thc-n Is the comfort If good
food. San Francisco is that rareSt OF
American cities, one with many excel
lent small restaurants. 1t is almost
Europcan in this respect. Chicago IL
not. In Chicago during convention time
at the leading hotels you pay n largo
price for a view of much silver and for
a small quantity of not very edible
foods; fortnight's search failed to dis
close anything but few ordinary res
taurants. Evidently Chicagoans do not
know how % cat.
Prices Moderate
Al the San Francisco restaurants
prices do not seem to have been ad'
yanced TO tighten the pockets Of the
cCnyrntion's crowds. At the leading
hotels here YOU get a breakfast con
si,ting of fruit. that is to say, Tor "X-
amplc, half melon or dish Of Der
ries. bacon and eggs. Il good sized pot
az coffee and rolls for ninety cents the
same food would have cost Sl.II or
81 in Chicago. Food prices generally
nrc lower than in New York or WASH
incton. 1t may have cost the delegates
something in railroad fares to get mere,
hut il will cost them less to stay than al
Chicago, for not only are 1000 prices
Ioss hut rooms in hotels for the con
,,oniion rosi about half what they did
Right here justice should be- done to
Homer 4 Cummings. chairman of the
Domocrati" National Committee. rms
;e Tho first convention which has been
managed in all respects by the party
managers and not by the prohtecrs.
JIsunijy n party collects what it can
frnm the hotel and restaurant men of
n convention city and then turns the
delegates and the press over to the hotel
and restaurant men to he robbed. Mr..
Trimmings did not. First he made a
reservation for the national com
mittcc of all the hotel rooms available
and suitably located in San Francisco.
Then he caused these rooms to be allo-
Gated to the delegates and to the news
paDcr representatives, seeing that they
rot the first choice of all the rooms.
that there was no overcrowding, and
Insisting that no more than reason.
able price should be charged The
hotels here are rather better than those
in Chicago and none Of them are cx-
filled. The various state dele
cations. have each of them different
hotel, or at least few hotels have more
thon one or two delegations in them.
Well Managed Throughout
The handling of the hotels is typical.
This is Il well managed convention, the
first we'll managed convention ever held.
The press facilities are admirable. 4
working newspaper man has roomh for
his elbows upon the desks in the Audi
forum. and the aisles in the press sec
lion are wide enough 10 permit npces.
snry moving about. For the proper
taking care Of the press thanks 90 TO
William ]. Cochran, who has all along
shown an understanding of the press
needs and an ability to supply them
that has not always been conspicuous in
headquarters and certainly
was not at the Chicago convention. Mr..
Cochran has done better job in looking
after the press than has ever been done
by any national party before.
The Auditorium here Is smaller than
the Coliseum IN Chicago, smaller prob.
ably by A000 seats, but II Is splendid
not the poor shack admitting
the suns rays through the roof IN
which national conyentions are hold In