Evening star., 1920-03-21
WATS0N-HARD|NG
MEETING PUZZLES
Race of loWden and Wood
Causes Speculation in
Indiana.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

=! iNDlANAPOLlS, Ind, March 90
one of the interesting high lights of
me present week in Indiana politics
was conference which was held a
rev days ago at the Indianapolis
headquarters of Senator Watson he
tween John Owens, Senator Watson's
manager in Indiana, and w. H. Miller
OF Columbus. Ohio, and Miles Furnas
of indianapolis. representatives of
Senator Harding in the republican
presidential contest. While Senator
Watson. it is known. has favored
Harding right along. his lieutenants
more recently had been passing out
the word 10 their friends to vote for
any candidate they wished to vote
( Wood.
! Since the Watson Harding confer
ence was held there has been great
deal of speculation as to what it
means. The most commonly accept
! ed guess seems to be that since the
/ Minnesota primaries there is a fear
4 mat Gov. Lowden will make a poor
showing in Indiana. There had been
! indications recently that the elder
\ statesmen of Indiana had about de-
! cLded to concentrate considera bic
i part of their effort on Lowden. While
I their main object was to keep enough
| votes away from Wood to prevent his
! getting majority and an instructed
delegation, they nevertheless realized
! that they would have to make the
| appearance of pushing some particu-
, lar candidate, in order to arouse the
| desired enthusiasm among the rank
! and file. 1t is conjectured that a poor
| showing by Lowden in South Dakota
next week may relegate him to fourth
| place in the Indiana prophecy. Prac
tically all political observers and all
political writers who have come into
Indiana have agreed that Harding
| would not get better than fourth
place.~so if there is to be an effort
| toward more concentration on Hard
/ ing it will mean practically a revival
of his campaign.
| Harding Not in All Primaries.
! In many of the important primary
states Harding has not entered. He
| was not in Minnesota and is not in
Michigan. But he is in Indiana and
if he is to stand any chance at all
1 at Chicago it appears he must make
some showing in Indiana. 1t is sup
posed that the WatsonHarding con-
| ference was held with the approval
of both Senator Watson and Harry
| NJ. Daugherty, Senator Harding's gen.
! eral manager. Watson and Daugherty
are close political friends. and Miller.
who was in the conference, paid
visit to Indiana recently in company
with Mr.. Daugherty.
Indiana is now looked on as the
most important state in the middle
west in a political way. 1t is the one
state where there is an open field and
all the principal candidates in the
fighting. The whole fight is on the
question of whether Wood shall have
majority. A plurality would give
him a psychological advantage, but
la majority would give him the psyche
logical advantage plus Indianas thir-
ty delegates to be added to those
he has already picked up or may pick
up between now and the convention.
Humorous Side in Indiana.
One of the features of the Indiana
campaign which has humorous side
is that the entire interest of the state
is centered in the republican presi-
Dental contest. Candidates for the
republican nomination for governor
are out beating the bushes, but the
reports that come in from the'countles
indicate that nobody is thinking about
the governorship. 1t is not at all
difficult to meet a dozen men in
comparatively short walk who do not
even know the names of the candi-
dates for governor. Never in the his
tory of the state, say the old poll
ticians, has there been a presiden-
tial campaign that measures up TO the
present one.
Leonard Wood when he was in the
city few days ago addressed four
meetings, and at each meeting the
hall was crowded. At one OF the
meetings held in the assembly room
of the Claypool Hotel the hotel lobby
was crowded with those trying to
get to the meeting and standing room
in the hall was at premium AND
apparently the campaign is just get
ting started, because all of the candi-
dates are to appear in the state and
| Cen. Wood is to return for a speech
making tour.
| There has been nothing to change
| previous predictions to the effect that
the standing of the candidates after
the primaries will be in the follow
| ing order: Wood. Johnson. Lowden
| and Harding. If any change at all is
! to be noted in the predictions gen
| orally made it is that there seems TO
Johnson will take second place from
Lowden by good figure. II LoWden
, makes q poor showing in South Da-
kota it will be a question as TO whetner
| Lowden or Harding will be in fourth
place-an uncertainty which will de-
pend for it's outcome largely on the
activities of the politicians. But the
| big question is whether Wood will or
will not get a majority.
| Fesler Sounds keynote.
| James w. Fesler made the keynote
speech of his campaign this week as
candidate for the republican nomi-
nation for governor. His attitude on
the state tax law was about the same
! as that taken by Warren McGray, an
other candidate. Fesler favors proper
amendment of the law and indicates
that he would not favor giving too
much power to the state tax board
He came out plainly for more local
| controJ in taxation matters Edward
C. Toner, the third candidate. is the
only one who has indorsed the tax
law unqualifledly. The common pre-
diction is that McGray is leading in
the race, but the friends Of the other
| candidates say that much will be done
| for their mon between now and the