The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-18
By HUGH ". ROBERTs Washington Bureau The Age Herald
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ouQ UaNtcson Building
 Washington. July 17.-(SpeciaD -Tenta- lively admitting that their convention was bossed by Senator Penrose, the re- puhlicans are endeavoring to prove that the democratic convention was bossed by President Wilson.
 Senator Penrose named Senator Lodge for the permanent chairmanship of the Chicago convention and Senator Watson for the chairmanship of the platform committee. He directed the writing of the platform. President Wilson named Senator Robinson for the chairmanshp of the San Francisco convention. and Senator Glass for the chairmanship of the pIatfofrh committee. He directed the writing 4 the platform
 There the comparison comes to an end Senator Penrose prevented the nomina- ton of General Wood and Governor Low den, and engineered the situation so ex- pertly that the convention had no other alternative than to nominate Senator Harding. There is no man in the United States who has ventured to assert that President Wilson had anything to dc with the defeat of William G. McAdoo or the victory of James M. Cox.
 Tn consideration of the charge of boss ism by both parties, it is well to con- sider the personalities of Penrose, Lodge and Watson on the one hand and Will son, Robinson and Glass on the other a to the relative merits. progressivism and real Americanism of Harding and Cox.
 In several respects the two conven- tions> reached the same result. but by different methods. The democrats were direct, open, four-square. The republic ans were evasive.
 For instance, it was necessary for both conventions to free themselves of dis cordant clements. The republicans had Senator Johnson of California. apparent ly anxious to bolt. The democrats had William Jennings Bryan, willing to. do many things judged harmful, and able to do several. The republicans yielded principle to trick Johnson. The demo- crats beat Bryan in an open, free-for- all' fight before lhe convention.
 Johnson demanded League Of Ma tions plank which practically repudiated the League of Nations. Penrose knew that If he yielded in this respect the cost would not be so heavy as it would be were Johnson to bolt. And having yielded, he ran Johnson into as cruel a defeat as man ever suffered in con vention-unless the defeat of Bryan :. might be termed even more heart rend- ing-for Bryan.
 Like Johnson, Bryan made his fight in the chambers of the committee on platform. He was defeated. Very we'll" he said. 'I will carry the fight to the floor of the convention and he did. He lost But he had had square deal
 The republicans would have dared any thing rather than a fight on the floor. They feared Johnson and Borah. In con- sequence, they yielded points in the com mittee, and these points yielded might tell the story of the campaign.
 Neither party was venturesome enough to nominate a prohibition candidate.
 
 prohibition Both, however will enforce the law as it ia written. There is no question regarding this fact. Both, however, will approve of any action Congress might take relative to an amendment of the Volstead act.
 On the subject of prohibition, both parties declined to write anything Tn their platforms. The democrats took such action boldly and openly The re- pubicans pursued the course of evasion which was their most significant char acteristic. Mir. Bryan appeared before the platform committee of the republic an convention He made his den}ands. They were accepted And then in the quiet hours of the night the plank which Bryan wrote and Watson accepted was Host" In some mysterious fashion IL slipped from Watsons portfolio. And thus it was impossible for it's incorpora- tion in the platform.
 democrats committed They rejected his plank. He carried his fight to the floor. It ragged for four hours-hours in which Bryan had full and untrammeled resort to ms wonderful oratory and incomparabie his trionic-hypnotic-a ability. But he lost. The democrats, in an open free-1or-ali fight, stood firm. The republican mas ters dared not risk such a fight. So tley suffered Bryan's plank to float out on the ozone of Chicago. and find an abiding place on the palpitating breast 0i va WOMEN E;rT'e CHARGE 1EI EVASION
 This Characteristic of the republican convention of evading all issues on which controversial differences might be hinged is also characteristic of the nominee Harding At any rate, the women poll tcians, regretfully. it seems. So charge
 Regarding Asrage." says Miss Aice Paul, the onlsD suffragette who has fought effectively for the cause, Hard irg, prior to 1919, when submission was judged certain, was evasive. He said that he did not see how he could vote against prohibition and for suffrage
 .'Governor Cox had left Congress be- fore the suffrage fight reached it's red hot stage. But as governor of Ohio. he vas always cooperative, and when re- uuested called upon the senators and representatives of Ohio to support the suffrage amendment.
 And about labor, the republicans were evasive. They received samuel Com pers. president of the American Federa- ton of Labor, with open arms and promised much But when his back was turned they threw out his blanks. And thus labor is frank in an official com munication to the press, signed by Com pers and other chiefs, in stating that the democratic platform more nearly meas to hA Ia the republican. And yet the democrats, by no means, gave labor what 1t de- handed On the other hand, it upheld the right of the public in insisting that there be no strike or lockout in indus. ; try of vital consequence to the people