The Alaska daily empire., 1920-05-31
CHICAGO MECCA
 FOR DELECATES;
 INFLUX BEGINS
Republican National Conven- ton City Thronged With
 Early Arrivals
CANDIDATES CONFIDENT
Wood, Johnson, Lowden Headquarters Claim Vic
 tory Virtually Certain

CHICAGO, May 31-The influx of delegates to the Republican Ma tional Convention, opening here June 8, from all parts of the United States, was well under way today Many of the members of contesting negro delegations of the South have also put in an appearance.
 Undiminished confidence in the ultimate victory of their respective leaders was reflected in announce ments today from the campaign headquarters of Maj-Gen. Leonard Wood, Senator Hiram w. Johnson and Gov Frank o. Lowden, leading ination for President in number of delegates actually pledged.
 Will H. Hays, chairman of the Republican National committee was on the ground today to inspect ar engagements for the convention. He visited Presidential Row yester- day, but found none of the candi- dates at home.
 Earring To Co., Says Hays
 h every WHcit dI6 in to go,' was Hays summary of the pre-conventicn situation.
 The Chicago Coliseum, where the Convention will be held, has a his tory rich in political interest. Five national political conventions have been held within it's walls a record unsurpassed by any building in the United States.
 Every four years since 1904 the Republican party has met in the Coliseum to nominate it's candidates for President and Vice-President, and in 1912 the Progressive party also met there to nominate Colonel Theodore Roosevelt for President.
 Model Convention Hall
 The Coliseum was completed in 1900 u was designed as mod el convention hall and erected on the site of the old Libby War Prison Museum, at Wabash Avenue and Eff teenth Street, less than a mile from the hotel and retail shopping dis trict.
 The castellated walls of the old war prison were used for the Wa bash Avenue side of the structure. It was built of stone, brick, steel and glass and is 403 feet long, ITO feet wide. It cost nearly $1,- O00,000. It has wide balcony extending around three of the walls, and this has been amplified for this years convention by the addition of a second stairway on the north side.
 As result the seating capacity, 13,1..7, is the greatest in the build ing's history Only 12,400 were seated at the 1916 convention.
 Army of Guards
 The main floor of the Coliseum will seat 9,400 delegates, alternates, press representatives and spectators. There will be 100 doorkeepers, 200 ushers and 2,000 sergeants-at-arms. All the uhers and doorkeepers will be overseas soldiers, sailors and mar ines, working with military disci- pIine under the direction of former army officers. By this system the national committee hopes to avert the overcrowding of four years ago when hundreds of persons stormed the doors. forced their way past the untrained doorkeepers and pre- empted seats for which they held no tickets.
 The Speakers platform at the south end of the building will pro vide seats for the officers of the convention and members of the Re publican National committee. Be- hind this is a raised platform with 2,000 seats for the use of Presiden- tial candidates and other distin- guished guests. On either side or the speakers platform. extending across the building is a press ec- tion containing 575 seats for work ing newspaper men.
 Speaker Protected
 Facting the speaker are the seats for the 9s5 delegates and an equal