The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-07-12
BOURBONS BADLY BATTERED
Kansans Made Perfect Score in Bad
Guessing at Frisco.
BY A L. SHULTZ


Kansas Democrats came out of San
Francisco almost as badly damaged as
did the Republicans when they went
to Chicago to select a presidential
nominee. There is just one difference.
The Republicans had more chances.
But with the limited opportunities at
hand, the Democrats maintained an
almost perfect score for bad guessing
and missing the party band wagon.
At one stage of the game. the Kan
sas vote might have swung the tide
to Cox and caused his nomination as
early as the twelfth or fifteenth bal
lot. But the delegation was afraid of
criticism which might come, should 1t
follow the Tammany crowd and the
New Jersey delegation in the move to
nominate the Ohio governor. So Kan
sas sat tight and threw away its
chance to win high place with the
Cox organizations
1t was largely thru the efforts of
Sam Amidon. national committeeman,
and Jouett Shouse, assistant secretary
of the treasury that McAdoo held the
Kansas delegation in line. The Kan
sans had agreed in advance of the
convention to vote for McAdoo as
long as he was winning. When Nc
Adoo began to slip. the luke warm and
-McAdoo delegates wanted to start
New York and New Jersey had gone
to Cox and timid delegates feared to
follow their course. They were
equally fearful to take up the Owens
burden on the second day of ballot
ing lest McAdoo might leave the
home state folks without shelter
should he later win his fight.
FAILURE of the Kansans to swing to
Cox sarly in the contest created both
bitter feeling and severe criticisms
j from some of the party workers who
attended the convention. It is gen.
orally known that Judge A. NJ. Jack
son Of Winfield urged the delegation
to take seat with the driver of the
Cox wagon as early as the tenth ballot.
His expression is said to have met the
approval of Henderson S. Martin, but
delegates stayed with the former sec
rotary of the treasury thruout the day
and over the weekend
Two things connected with the Cox
campaign frightened the Kansans and
caused them to overlook the opportun-
ity to jump to the Ohioan early. One
was fear the prohibition vote at home
under suspicion that Cox is at least
mildly damp. This conviction was the
stronger by virtue Of the action of New
York and New Jersey in giving big
blocks of votes to Cox. The second
rear fas inspired by the story thai
1 Cox was once divorced. Several wo-
men members of the delegation are
said to have fatty refused to support
Cox because of his record of a former
unhappy home life. So Kansas limped
along with the McAdoo cause until
long after the owl cars started.
Once during the voting the -delega-
ton was polled. It showed ten for
McAdoo and ten divided between Cox
and Owens.
In the Bryan fight for a clearly de-
fined dry plank. the Kansas delegation
supported the Nebraskan. George H
Hodges, Kansas member Of the resolu-
tons committee, also supported Bryan
in his committee fight. The Kansas
standard was one of the first to go tc
the stage when the monster Bryan
demonstration started. Less than ar
hour later delegates who had failed t.
! join in the Bryan celebration carried
the Kansas banner to the platform fol
| cambridge Colby after he had shorr
Bryan of his temporary glory and bat
tered down his arguments for provi-
sions of the minority report.
Had McAdoo won, Kansas would
| have been sitting on the moon. With
I Cox the nominee, tho. the home state
delegation will be compelled to consult
the directory to learn the Ohio gov
| arnOrfS address