New-York tribune., 1920-04-22
Hitchcock Forces Issue on
Leadership With Proc
ter, and Is Expected To
Be Campaign C hi e f
Result i'm Illinois
Is Cause of Clash
Lowden Contest Opposed
Victories in New .Jer-
sey and Ohio Predicted

Frank H. Hitchcock, former Post
master General, since March the field
marshal" in charge of the national
campaign for General Leonard Wood.
forced showdown yesterday on the
question Of who's who in the Wood
camp, as between Colonel William
Cooper Proctor, chairman of the
Leonard Wood national campaign COM
mittee, and himself.
General Wood, who is campaigning
this week in Ohio, will have to act as
umpire between Hitchcock and Proctor
as he did in February last between
Colonel Proctor and John T. King, of
Bridgeport, who for months up to that
time had had virtual charge Ct the
delegate-hunting for the candidate
When General Wood, who was speak
was shown telegram concerning the
alleged retirement of Mr.. Hitchcock
he said
"The report of the withdrawal Of Mr..
Hitchcock from the Wood campaign is,
so far as l know, entirely incorrect" +"
Proctor to Meet Wood
day on the Twentieth Century Limited
for Cleveland, to meet General Wood
and learn from him frst-hand the
status Of Mr. Hitchcock in the cam
paign.
The Chicago headquarters, in charge
of Representative Norman J. Gould
and Colonel Thomas w. Miller, IS in
clined to side with Mr.. Hitchcock, al
though the New York men have kept
out of the trouble.
The strong probability is that Mr..
Hitchcock's status will be clearly de-
fined after Mr.. Proctor sees General
Wood. and that thereafter the control
of the campaign, in all it's more i'm
judgment of MI. Hitchcock.
Colonel Proctor when asked yester-
day afternoon on his arrival at the
Eastern headquarters in the Imperial
Hotel from the West about the strained
relations with Mr.. Hitchcock said he
would make statement to-day.
Mr.. Hitchcock, whose office is at the
Hotel Manhattan, refused last night to
discuss the pending difficulty. His
friends, after talking with him, said:
"Mr. Hitchcock is going ahead with
his work as the Wood manager. He
was asked by General Wood to as
operations, leaving the money raising
and propaganda TO the bureaus i'm
mediately under the direction of Col
onel Proctor. Mr.. Hitchcock is re-
sponsible to General Wood alone. If
General Wood wants Mr.. Hitchcock to
quit all he has to do is to say so, but
there is hardly a chance that the gen.
eral, after asking Mr.. Hitchcock, on
account of his great experience as a
political manager, to take charge of
the campaign, will ask him to retire"
Disagreement Over Illinois
The thing that "broke up the game
was the primary election in Illinois on
Tuesday Of last week, in which the
Wood men did a vast amount of work
in battling with the Lowden men with
out getting q delegate. General Wood
carried Chicago and has a moral claim
General Woods campaign for the
Illinois delegates was, until Coone
Proctor and his lieutenants at the Chi
cago headquarters decided upon the
course to be adopted, matter provok
ing the livclicst discussion among the
Wood managers in New York anc
Washington. Messrs. Gould and Mil
ler at the Imperial Hotel Headquar
ters here, and Senator George H
Moses at the Southern headquarters
in Washington were opposed to it
They took the ground that Governor
I.owden was entitled to his own state
that he stood to win it anyway ant
that it would leave the Wood men ir
bad shape if they lost out in the fight
The decision to go in was made be
fore the entrance Of Mr.. Hitchcock a.
Wood manager on March s.. The re
suit was as anticipated. Governor
Lowden got the delegation and there is
so much bitterness against the Woot
men on the part Of the Lowden mer
that there is no ground for com
promise at the convention.
Moreover, Mr.. Hitchcock has beer
criticised for the i'll result. AS he hat
nothing to do with the original de
cision to 60 into the contest, he i.
wroth that he should be blamed, ane
ever since the defeat in Illinois ha!
been determined to have his status il
the Wood organization clearly defined
The friends of Mr. Hitchcock believe
that General Woods canvass from thi!
time on will go along with fewer mis-
takes of judgment, assuming that Gen
eral Wood will make it clear that Mr.
Hitchcock remains in the Wood camp
and becomes the real directing voice.
Hitchcock's Work Defined
"The fact is," said Mr.. Hitchcock
| friends last night, "that General Woot
personally asked Mr.. Hitchcock to tax,
CONTINUED on page seven)