Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-28
HARDING CERTAIN
HE OWES NO DEBT
FOR NOMINATION
Adds His Own Story to Ac.
counts of Conferences Be-
fore Nomination.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

MAINio4>. OHlo, July -o.-Mdny are
the version of the way in which
Senator Harding's nomination for the
presidency at Chicago was accom-
plished. Politicians have retold their
| own part in the affair with proud
boast. Col. George Harvey has been
credited with Influencing the choice.
The writer has gathered and written
many version of the tale as he in
terviewed returning delegates and re-
publican leaders in different parts of
the country.
But here at last. where resides the
man himself. and his most intima te
friends. the trus story must be and if
the details which one gets here are
not conclusive certainly the most i'm
portant thing is that Senator Harding
has the Impressions which he does
have and not the Impressions which
have hitherto been printed or been
current.
Not Owed to Group.
For Senator Harding told me he was
honestly convinced that he did not
owe his nomination to any one man
OF Group OF men; He said that he
recognized that three or four of his
Irlenos were perhaps more influential
than others and he feels deeply CRATE
Iul 10 all. but he is absolutely fixed
In MS conviction that certain people
including his much discussed col
leagues. did not dictate the result.
The republican candidate for the
presidency is a party man and he
isn't the Kind who would dampen the
enthusiasm or ardor Of any party
worker by denying or refuting inn
pressions of their work at Chicago.
Moreover. he is the last man in the
party to assume he did it all himsalf.
But what Senator la
refralns from saying there are others
in his headquarters here who do not
hesitate to say. And they insist that
several men conspicuously mentioned
aOd a good many others in the SEN
atorial group were seriously adyanc-
ing the candidacy of Will Hays. the
republican national chairman, in the
hours between the morning and aft
ernoon session of the Saturday on
which Mr.. Harding was nominated.
Series Of Conferences,
There was not one conference but a
series of conferences during the small
hours of Saturday morning. Senator
Harding himself went to see SEN
ator johnson at o'clock in the
morning to enlist the latter's aid in
a movement to preserve party har-
mony and keep the johnson strength
intact. AS he left the conferences he
met others in the same hotel. and
fell into friendly and unexpected
meetings In previous article the
name of Thomas w. Lamont of ]. p.
Morgan & Co. as present in one of
these conferences. Mr.. Lamont was
in the hotel. but the, writer is as
sured he had absolutely nothing to do
with the choice of Mr.. Harding and
Tested in the doings of the conven-
ton was not unlike that of scores of
other observers who came to Chicago
ito see the show"
Even at the very hours of the morn
ing. when it was supposed to have
been agreed to make drive for
Harding, the senator himself gives the
Lowden men credit for still clinging
to the belief that they might possibly
put Lowden over the majority mark
when the balloting was resumed SEN
ator Harding's friends point out quite
convincingly that in the morning
Sc ssion he got only a relatively small
number of votes and by no means
what had been anticipated.
Ticklish Moment In Ballotine.
There was ticklish moment in
the balIoting Saturday morning when
dtfections to Wood in the Ohio dele
cation might have been fatal to his
chances if help had not come al the
same moment from the New York
delegation so that the Harding gains
were consistently maintained.
But the interesting fact on which
Senator Harding's friends speak
frankly is that the recess on Saturday
was not asked for by his own man
ayers. but was really sought by the
Wood and Lowden generals. They say
, there was no objection to it. but in
/ the interval there developed dan
gerous opposition to Hardings can
| didacy, which. for the moment. SEEM
ed to threaten it's success. Talk was
heard about certain editorials which
| appeared in Senator Harding's news
! paper attacking Theodore Roosevelt
/ in 1912 But the drift toward Harding
was too strong to be counteracted.
/ The delegates had been impressed
I with the fact that the three leaders
were deadlocked and that new man
! must be chosen. They had watched