Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-06-10
OLD GUARD HOLDS
THREE STATES MEN
TO BEAT LEADERS
N. Y, Pa. and Mass. Dele
gates Stand Pat Against
LoWden and Wood.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

/ CHICAGO. June 10.-Nothing as
usual-not even the perfunctory meet
| ings of the committee that drafts
platform. This republican national
convention spent one day trying to
agree on something which the Senate
| had spent year debating-the treaty
of peace-and the prospect is that at
least another day will be spent doing
the same thing. This gives more
time for the negotiations between
| leaders and more time for deals and
| transactions on second and third
/ choices.
! Situation Changes.
| Briefly the situation as to candi-
| dates has changed in this respect:
Gen. Leonard Wood is dangerously
near the goal and his crafty manager.
Frank Hitchcock, realizing that the
\ key to the whole puzzle is in New
York, Massachusetts and Pennsyl-
vania, is making inroads in the dele
cations from those states. The count
er move of the Lowden forces. and in
i deed the old guard who don't want
Wood nominated, is to hold Pennsyl-
vania and New York and Massachu
; sets solid for the first few ballots at
! least.
Accordingly the New York delega-
ton held meeting and talked lot
about solidarity and sticking together
and exerting the most influence by
tactics of unity instead of division.
No vote was taken and many New
York delegates would have liked to
get Senator Wadsworth, who was in
the chair, committed, but he main
tanned a discreet silence. There are
several Wood delegates in the New
York contingent and several in the
sol TO L. IL
folks have practically agreed to vote
for Nicholas Murray Butler for few
ballots. which really means that the
anti-Wood people are dominant for
the time being.
Wood Men Pound in Bay State.
Over in the Massachusetts delega-
ton the Wood forces are pounding
away at the Coolidge votes with fair
success. If Gen. Hitchcock can once
York, Pennsylvania or Massachusetts,
delegations he will win out. Already
his boring tactics are growing a bit
| uncomfortable to his opponents.
1t is in the Pennsylvania delegation
that the cleverest plays are being
+. made. Senator Penrose is against
Leonard Wood He is also against
| Gov. Lowden-not because he person.
ally dislikes either candidate, but
simply because he believes neither
would win next November The Penn
| sylvania delegation in a considerable
proportion would be for Wood if once
released from the pledge given Gov.
| Sproul, it is claimed. So the way to
| hold the seventy-six Pennsylvania
| delegates together as a unit-at least
the way to keep them from boiling to
Woods to bangle the prospect of
sproul as dark horse before the
eyes of both Sproul and his delegates,
! and Senator Penrosef goes SO far as
to issue a statement openly favoring
the aspirations of Gov. Sproul.
Old Guards Move.
! That move is another counter stroke
against Gen. Hitchcock. The old
| guard is evidently determined to hold
New York. Pennsylvania and Massa-
| chusetts together until Wood and
Lowden are both eliminated and then
trot out somebody on whom agree
ment can be reached.
In the meantime Hiram Johnson has
| executed an effective maneuver on his
certain states slipping away from him.
| 1t was openly avoWed by folks from
Michigan, Nebraska and Oregon that
although their states voted for john
son, the delegates wouldn't stay
hitched very long. Mr.. Johnson now
gates, who are instructed for him. to
continually cast their ballots for him
until he personally releases them.
johnson His Own Manager.
Johnson, by the way. is his own
campaign manager here. He takes adj
4 vice freely, but does as he pleases
about acting on it. His game is to
hold his meager forces together wnlle
the Wood and LoWden machines crush
each other, hoping against hope that
he will be the beneficiary in the end.
Also the California senator figures
that il the convention supports MN
on the league Of nations platform
fight. he will gain delegates. Certain
Iy if the treaty and league are repu-
dated, Johnson would be the Ioglcai
nominee, though in that event. the
wise old leaders are calculating that
Knox for President and Johnson for
Vice President would be a more ac-
ceptable ticket, especially If Johnson
would accept the vice presidency.
Desire for Harmony.
The desire to get harmony would
transcend every other consideration.
The mere fact that Johnson would
agree to run with Knox would give
tremendous impetus to the latter's
chances and it must not be forgot
ten that Senator Boies Penrose would
rather have Knox than any other
man.
Knox and Senator Johnson have been
in communication on tHe supJect anu
that they are still as close friends
as ever. Certainly IL Mr.. Johnson is
convinced that he cannot be nomi-
mated he would probably feel that his
| viewpoint had been vindicated in the
selection of another senator like Mr.
| Knox, whose views on the treaty and
/ league were in accord with his own
ii Big business would rather have
II Knox, former Attorney General and
Il former Secretary of State, than Hiram
Johnson. and if the California senator
| i gave his assent to the choice OF
NJ n x nax ha 1Iauid la aSSurRl the l.