New-York tribune., 1920-05-07
johnson Firm
In Refusal OF
Second Place
After Conference With
Lodge and Knox He Re-
iterates Announcement
Against Vice-Presidency

From The Tribune's Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, May g. Senator
Hiram w. Johnson, of California, an
nounced to-day he would not take
second place (on the Republican ticket
under any circumstances.
1T seems strange that the same
gentlemen who nominated me for the
Vice-Presidency insist that J. am
totally unfit for the Presidency" he
added
Senator Johnson conferred to-day
with Senator'S Lodge and Knox before
making his announcement. He dis
cussed with them the chairmanships
at the Chicago convention and the Re-
publican plank on the Versailles Treaty.
Major General Leonard Wood should
receive the "Big Four" delegates from
Indiana. Senator johnson said. The
technicality in the Indiana law that
binds the delegation to vote for a
candidate only in the event that the
candidate receives a majority instead
of plurality, Of the votes in the
presidential preference primary,
should not stand in the way of his
opponent getting the delegates at large
from Indiana, said johnson.
apparently General Wood has won
the preference in Indiana" said Sena-
tor johnson. "If he has won there bv
a plurality he is entitled to the four
delegate Large. l don't care what
the techncality of the law is, when the
people nave expressed their preference
for him even by a small plurality, no
man ma; IS justified in voting against him.
This is equally true in the districts.
plurality in the districts he is entitled
to delegates from those districts"
Opposes Hoover's English League
Senator Johnson, in a statement or
the California election, said:
81 am very glad Mr.. Hoover accepts
SO philosophcally the result in Cali
fornla. His organization, probably the
strongest our state has ever seen, in
sisted that he would carry the state,
and his principal newspaper in the
East so declared on the morning of the
primary. Mr.. Hoover says his friends
introduced no personal issue but reg
istered their protest at my extreme
opposition to any league to prevent
war and reduce armament Neither
statement is correct. His friends intro
duced in the campaign every conceiv-
able personal issue, including personal
abuse, and have never expressed oppo-
sition to any league to prevent war and
been to Mr. Hoover's English league,
which did neither of these things.
MIR. Hoover's chief newspaper ex-
ponent David Lawrence, publishes an
anonymous telegram which says that
Senator Phelan's Democratic lieuten-
ants supported me in the primary be-
cause of an agreement on my part to
support Phelans reelection to the SEN
ate. At the very beginning of the cir
culatlon of such falsehood l want to
nail it. There is not an atom of truth
IN 1T. Senator Phelan has been a part
of the Hoover game. The statement of
llshed Wednesday morning in The
New York Times boasts of the Demo
Gratis voting strongly for Hoover. The
hshy character OF Lawrence's anony-
nous telegram is indicated by quoting
Joseph Scott as a leader in the Demo-
cratic party, when Mr.. Scott has been
lifelong Republican who never
affiliated with any other party than
the Republican party. No amount of
cApld HatIoH Will GlCor the TACT that
California has overwhelmingly repudi-
ated Mr.. Hoover"
Urge Beveridge as Chairman
Should the four Indiana delegates
large go to Wood, it was pointed out
to-day, former Senator Albert j. Bev-
eridge, who has been proposed by the
Progressives in the Senate as their
candidate for permanent chairman at
Chicago, and who has supported the
Wood candidacy, could be selected as
delegate without embarrassment to any
one. Senator Johnson, it is understood.
has not indorsed the selection of Bev-
eridge as permanent chairman, and has
urged Senator Borah to continue to be
a candidate for the position. Senator
Borah, however, is working in behalf of
Beveridge.
Republican leaders in the Senate
said to-day a tentative agreement has
been reached on the treaty plank in the
Republican platform. 1t is more drastic
than the original proposal, but the
Continued on next page)