The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-06-13
MAN OF PIVOTAL STATE WILL
RIDE THE ELEPHANT Or Il. u.
r. THROUGH 20 CONTEST
CONTINUED From Page One

Continued From Page One
pkice Senator irwin l.. Lenroot, of
Wisconsin
The collapse Of the forces Of Gov
ernor Frank o. Lowden and their
transfer in large part TO Senator
Harding, put the Ohio candidate over.
General Wood lost heavily, how
ever, when the Harding drift began
and Senator Johnson. the third Of
the trio Of leaders on the early bal
lo;ing yesterday, also went steadily
down hill
Dark Horse Type
Entering the convention four days
ago, as candidate distinctly Of the
dark horse" class, Senator Harding
got only g. votes on the fist ballot
yesterday and on the second he drop
ped 10 Sc. When the convention
adjourned last night at the end of
the fourth ballot, he had 81
In all-night conferences among the
party chiefs, however, he was men-
toned many times as the most
likely to break the nomination dead
lock should neither Wood, Lowden
nor Johnson take commanding
lead today. They all failed to do so
Wood and Lowden running neck
and neck for leadership on four more
ballots while the strength Of the
California candidate dwindled steadily.
Conference Groomed
Meantime, Harding pushed his total
to 1888, individual delegates from
many states swinging to him from
the columns Of the leaders and of
various favorite sons. The Johnson
managers, fearing a landslide was
impending, made a last play to save
the fortunes of their candidate. They
moved to recess for a couple of hours
in order to take an inventory and seek
a new combination. The Wood and
Lowden forces, both already at the
peak of their strength, but disheart
ened at the long string of ballots
without material gains, fell in with
the recess plan and the convention
adopted it.
Intellectual Effort to Rally
In the dramatic succession of con
ferences that followed the fate OF
the candidate virtually was sealed
Some Of the Wood and Lowden man
ayers tried Intellectually for an agre
ment which would hold their dele
gates in line and kill off the Harding
boom. Some tried TO get a Wood
Lowden-Johnson agreement to ad
journ until Monday without making
nomination. There was also con
ference between Johnson and Harding
supporters in which the Ohioan's
supporters tried without success tc
have the remaining Johnson strength
swung to Harding.
1t was the parleys between the
Harding and Lowden men, however
which apparently bore the most fruit
when the balloting began again, fol
Governor Lowden came TO the conven
ton during the ninth roll call and
reversing a previous plan TO go before
the convention itself. issued instruc
tions from behind the scenes, releas
ing his instructed delegates. Sena
Tor Harding also was in the rear
OF the coliseum platform during the
voting and conferred with Chairman
Hayes.
Almost as soon as the alphabet
cal call of states began after the
recess, the ground swell for Harding
demonstrated that it could not DC
forestalled. Connecticut, when hel
name was called, took 13 of her l.
votes from Lowden and gave then
to Harding. In Florida he got sever
from Wood and then Kentucky, al
most from the first a solid Lowdey
state, flopped completely into the
Harding column.
Amid scenes of rising enthusiasm
other blocks of Lowden delegate.
followed suit while many of the
routed Wood supporters also wen
into the Harding camp. By the enc
of the roll call, Senator Harding
had rolled up total of 374. putting
him far into the lead and severa
score of votes nearer the nomination
than any candidate had been before.
Secede to Harding
Lowden at the end of the ninth
had only 121 votes left out of tn,
3O7, with which he ended the eighth
and General Woods strength haC
fallen from 299 on the eighth to "a.
on the ninth. johnson dropped from
81 to ". AS the tenth roll call began
delegates quit Lowden, Wood anC
Johnson, right and left, and the bi,
hall was an almost continuous ap
plause as state after state announced
secession to the Harding standard
1t was reserved for Pennsylvania
to add the crowning touch of en-
thusiasm. When the keystone state
was reached the Ohio senator needed
S2 votes to nominate him, and Penn
sylvania gave sixty.