The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1920-06-07
ALL At SEA- IN
CHICAGO, SAYS
MR.. VANDERBILT
IMPORTANT MEN NOT
ABLE TO SHED LIGHT
The Talk All of Men, Not Of
Issues, Declares Mark
Sullivan
BY MARK SULLIVAN
Especial -spatch to The 1ntelngencer
And Now york Evening Poat.)

CHICAGO. Jun" 6.-Iri any reader or
this dispatch had hccn able la drop into
Chicago AT II o'clock this morning; II
he had been n man Of such standing and
such wide acquaintance that all doors
are open to MIN and that public men OF
every degree and every shade of polltI-
cal opinion were glad {" talk 10 MN
frankly in ContidenCe-if in ahltlon ne
had been ncwSpapcrman. with Il news
paperman's eager curiosity about news
and a ewspapcrmans alert energy in
the collecting of informal ion-if the
reader had had this experience. Doubt
less he would feel satisfied that hc knew
what is happening h'rc in Chicago.
vandernp's Views.
Now. il happens that just such man
did have Just such an experience. MT
Frank A. Nanderlip is banker Retorc
he was n banker he was government
official and a ncwSpapcrWan. lie cam
into Chicago this morning with 1reSh
mind and a hungry curiosity. Hr haG
hcrIt in Japan for some months: hc had
recently landed on the Pacific coast. and
the train deposited him this morning at
II o'clock in the midst of the fluid mass
Of men who compose the situation h"rc
lie spent six hours going about from
leader To leader and at five o'clock this
afternoon these were the results OF ms
talks:
There is absolutely II" CryStallization
upon candidates. Things ar" in com
pletcIy fluid state. The ASTONISHING
Thing IS that important men d" not
know what Is likely 10 happen--impor'-
ant men do not even know what they
themselves are going To do. Th"y hay"
not made up their minds yet. !" u"
gree they are kept rom mklng up tne!r
minds bv the fact that no one else has
made up his mind. No leadership t.
developing.
As to candidates. there is no conf
dcncc among the followers OF any one
man There is quite general confldenC"
iha, certain candidates will not be able
To win hut no conviction IN any quarter
eve min the quarters most intimately
close TO the candidates themselves that
any one OF them can win. Inc Ereat
number Of uninstructed delegates have
no tmade up their minds. These dele
gates are Of a rather higher type than
ever hs fore men Of such st"adiness
and substance that one can have con-
fldonCc in what they ultimately do.
The talk is all of men-therc iS no
,,Ik If issues. There is not even any
discussion or any thinking about me
vote winning capacities Of the various
candidates There is almost no focus
toward which men tend to group. II IS
a situation In which accidents can nap
pen and out Of which dramatic crises
can arrive.
Tberc ,s no conception OF the serious
ness of the task. No one has yet set a
mote Of the sOlemnity Of the responsi-
hll,y which the convention has. NO
one seems TO realize yet the opportun,,
ity the convention has TO make "orIa .ha
rrc,t issues involved. No one Is Civ
ing his mind to principles. There is no no
world history and TO world affairs
These arc the net results oil Mr. van
,,rIin's observations. They Coincide
,dar,fcollv with the observations of
sTcrv newspapcrman here. since the
,,wsnanermen have said the same thing
50 often and have become sensitive
nhout their inability TO say anything
else with accuracy. one Is gao 10 ,T.i,I TT.l
Msss 10 explain the inability of the most
hilircnt hTir nj Correspondent to satisfy the
rna6crs quite natural hunger for some