Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-05-18
HAYS
CHARTSDES|RESOF
G. 0. ?. VOTERS

Shows Correspondents Nov
Ell Plan for Platform to
Offer Convention.
! BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
| Entirely apart from the question of
what the republican national conven-
ton may do with the vo1uminous re-
port of the special committee of poll
cies and platforms, today may be said
to mark an epoch in the evolution of
the party platform. Will Hays. chair
man OF the republican national COM
| mtttee. and his right bower. State
Senator Ogden L. Mills of the New
1ork legislature, came to town and
exhibited to foomful of Washing
ton correspondents the results Of
tions.
Later these two individuals sub
mitted the twenty reports of their
suocommfttees to the members of
Congress who are to help draft the
republican platform at Chicago. The
reports are in pamphlet form and
cover every subject Of Importance
except the peace treaty and league Of
nations, planks which members of the
Senate are drafting The unofficial
fplatfdrm conmtttee conducted. a mail
ssfellsss !x.,2 gri9.ss ssc.,1e form s's
question. The queries were not
DhFassdf suggestfvely. but in a way
that would bring out a variety Of an
1T dossnst make much diff4fAnce
aasA any .Sne taIfnks~ Of, rne fepab1f-
no yvne $Hz . f.
summarized in the big report brought
here by WIN Hays as a fair reflection
OF American public. opinion. But the
fact Is that heretofore platforms have
been made in the excitement and
haste OF committee meetings at the
nefionaa convsnfione and the conven-
t1ons nave usually adopted plank after
plank without much debate. The as
semoly Is usually too large to permit
OF lengthy discussion.
PateAwofk Has Embarrassed.
Both the republicans and democrats
have not infreQuently been embar-
raised by the patchwork Of commit
tees ON platforms. Candidates have
had to stand on these platforms when
they usually had no part in framing
them. The republicans have intro
dnced q novel plan. They have at
tempted to use the months before the
convention to get a true chart Of the
desires OF the electorate. Instead
Of leaving the subject to members Of
Congress who are often too close to
legislative tangles to get q good per-
spective. the republican national com
mittee has gone to the factory and the
farm. to employer and employe. Every
delegate probably will have copies OF
the volumeJbefore the convention be-
gins.
The democrats. of course. point to
- - 4tS2
contending that all the material can
be found in the daily newspapers and
magazines and that even if condensed
into platform planks the machine pol
iticians Of the republican party will
make the platform as innocuous and
inoffensive as possible.
But the republicans who have work
ed on the plan are not SO sure that
the o1d-line bosses who pull the
strings are going to be able this year
to brush aside SO monumental a piece
Of research work as was done by the
unofficial committee. They hope. and
privately they insist, that no body Of
politicians will be able to ignore the
work Of the platform committee il
public opinion should get stolidly be-
hind it.
Hays q Shrewd Leader.
Will Hays Is q shrewd leader. He
has used the progressives in the re-
publican party to draw up a series
Of platform planks. He is counting
the widest publicity. He hopes to get
the republican party committed to
these progressive principles SO that
no group Of conservatives or stand
pAtters can defeat the efforts of the
progressives.
| A conservative might even be nomi-
mated. but the platform will breathe
a forward looking doctrine.
Some eminent men have collaborated
In making the series Of reports, all of
which have been printed In a single
volume with margin indexes like a biz
distionary. Senator Capper heads the
committee on agricultural interests,
James r. Garfield. civil service and re.
Jackling. conservation: Frank Wander
lip. banking and currency and imitation:
Everett Colby Of New Jersey, federal
and state rights; Helen Rogers Reid.
wife OF the editor Of the New York
tive Gillett, immigration; r J. Caidwell.
industrial relations; George Wharton
Pepper. industry and commerce: John
NJ Switxer. insular possessions: former
Senate, Beveridse: law and order: Gen.
itive James w. Good, national economv
George b. Lockwood. postal servics.:
William Allen White, social problems:
Ogden Mills. taxation, and Frederick
IFrelnghuysen. war risk Insurance..
Reports to BE Made Public.
The foregoing names are printed a,
the top Of the various reports. show.
ling that each conducted the oues,
tionnaire on the subject assigned
The reports are to be made public ir
a few days. The series Of questions
have already been made public They
are far-reaching and exhaustive
Wfil Hays and his associates are quite
lproud Of their work. At least they
have endeavored to hnd out what the
people would like to see written In
one party platform. It is not extreme
sociahstio nor reactionary
4 but q. sort Of middle-of-the-road pro
lgram. It now reniAins to be seer
WA4t the experienoe4 politicians d.
it1 index sf 1uelic opinion