Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-07-17
WILSON MESSAGE
TO GLASS HELPED
NOMINATE COX
By DAVID LAwsEucE

Copyright. 1920 for The Atlanta Journal
W4SHINGTro1sS ,.-.D.s-C-,s .JiIyi. 15,z:
The Wilson administration, meaning
thereby the influence of the White
House, was not exercised in opposi-
ton to the nomination of Governor
Cox, but on the contrary. an incident
occurred which had a great deal to
do with the landslide in the final mo-
nents of the San Francisco conSen-
ton.
On returning to Washington, the
writer has verified a story which
went the rounds>of the state delega-
lions at San Francisco in the last
moments of the balloting and which
Influenced some who had been hold
ing out for McAdoo to join the band
wagon for Cox. AS reported on the
floor of the convention, the story was
not exactly accurate, but as happens
in such moments of excitement, a
word of mouth STORY gets a variety
of versions by the time tits repea ted
by managers, workers and over-en-
thusiastic partisans. =
: The story which was circulated on
the floor of the convention was that
Senator Carter Glass had received a
ing Cox was not unacceptable to the
president, but that the Virginia sena-
| tor refused to give out the telegram
| because of the adverse effect it
might have on McAdoo's chances for
the nomination.
Now the facts are these: Senator
! Glass did receive a telegram from
| Secretary Tumulty, sent at the ex-
press direction of President Wilson.
1t happened this way The New
York newspapers quoted Senator
Glass as Having" said in San Fran
cisco, Cox won't do for the admin
istration." @~~ IT,.
Tulaulty Wires Glass.
These, stories were, called to the
attention of the president by Secre-
tary Tumulty, who was promptly au-
thorized to send message to Sena-
| tor Glass apprising him that East
ern newspapers evidently were COM
|
| in a contest in which he wished to
remain absolutely neutral. The mes
| sage was sent as a matter of infor-
nation to Senator Glass, but with it
went hegsuggestion from the White
House that, of course, these stories
must be unfounded, for the president
was not saying that anybody was un-
acceptable to, him.
| Senator Glass promptly wired back
that he had been misquoted by news
papers and that in his conversations
with reporters he was merely ex.
pressing his personal preference and
| was predicting that Cox would not
| win. He is reported to have remarked
that even If Cox got majority there
was the Clark precedent at Balti.
more to prove that he might not wiz
after all.
The White House has no impress
sion that the Virginia Senator tried
to commit the president to a posi-
ton of opposition to Cox's nomina
ton.
From this end,~Senator Glass or
the one hand working for McAdoc
and men like Vance Mccormick
working for Palmer, were expressing
their own convictions Both held anC
still have the confidence of the presi
dent, but plenty of friends of the
president were involved in the f1gh
as for instance Senator Pat Harri
son, of mississippi one of the
staunchest friends the president has
ever had in congress, who not only
seconded CoX's nomination, bu
worked like a Trojan for him on the
floor of the convention. Secretary
lTumulty's interest in calling the
presidents attention to the newspa
per reports was a consequence of per
sistent inquiries on the part of news
. paper correspondents at the White
House who insisted that in the alb
sence of some word from the Whit,
House the inference would be juSti
fed that the quotation COX won't d.
for the administration" was correct