Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-06-10
Senator Borah Had Threat
ened to Leave Party Over
League SquabbIe.
WOULD JOHNSON GO, TOO?
A CONVENTION QUESTION
Other Factional Leaders Still
Plotting for Their Can
didates.
BY n. o. MESSENGER.

Q1QdLeS.
By \. o. MESSENGER.
CHICAGO, June 10. = clustering
around. threatening he would leave the
republican party unless the minority
faction on the league of nations was
permitted to have it's way, Senator
Borah had set big lighted pumpkin
on the gatepost of the convention tc
scare the delegates into giving SEN
ator Johnson opportunity to reach for
a distinct lead in the candidacy fight
This is the Senator Borah who is a
delegate from his state only through
favor and by compromise, and does
not have the whole state. of Idaho
with him.
His purpose was alleged to be to Gre
ate situation over the league of ma
tions plank which would allow Senator
Johnson to spring upon the rostrum
and try to stampede the convention
into nominating him for the presi !
dency. Senator Borahs threats were
considered to possess essential eIe-
ments of bluff and there was strong dis
position to knock the candle-lighted
pumpkin off the gatepost and tell him
10 take a running jump and go where
he pleased.
Some Convention Sentiment.
That sentiment exists in the dele
gate body favorable to the irrecon-
cilable attitude was evidenced by the
applause given that portion of Sena-
tor Lodges keynote speech, which re-
ferred to reputation of the league of
n q nrrfr ierh hot hot
sentiment would have been recorded
by votes. had the plain alternative
been presented of league with res
ervations or no league at all, could
have been determined only by the bal
loting.
Outside of the minority group of
senators known as irreconcilables it
is known to a-certainty that the vast
ly predominating sentiment among
republican leaders is for a league
with reservations, the plank SO stat
ing having the qualification, however.
of a clause which saves the face of
the irreconcilables who voted against
in the Senate and does
not condemn them.
Acceptable to Opposers.
That plank was known to be ac-
ceptab1e to Senator johnson. to SEN
ator Moses and other irreconcilables
days. before the convention met. The
atteMpE by Borah to- force Its com
plete reteetion is susceptible Of but
one construction, that it would have
johnson to take the rostrum and try a
cross Of gold and crown of thorns"
speech on the delegates, in hope that it
would bring him the nomination.
The leaders-and this does not refer
alone to the old guard, but to such
4r,f fri ier1, coiN nd
Kellogg and other influential repub-
licans from the middle west-were
disturbed today over the situation
presented by Borah's outbreak, but
not dismayed. =
Borah said that unless the irrecon-
cilable attitude of the minority was
adopted as the policy of the majority.
he would leave the party and denounce
the republican platform. He charged
that the modified league is proposed
by a group of international bankers.
whereupon he was asked if league
unreserved, as proposed by the Pre2i-'
dent. would not be still better for the
bankers. and how therefore could he
go to the democrats. The reply he
gave left the inference that a third
party would be formed, headed by Hi
ram johnson and backed by William
r. Hearst.
So, the republican national conven-
tion today faced the astounding prop
osition that Senator Borah, once in
clined to, the notorious non-partisan
league, with it's ultra radicalism, and
Johnson, who helped beat the
party in 1912 and did not
do anything to prevent it's defeat in
1916, to put it mildly, along with Will
liam r. Hearst, avowed democrat,
were to dominate the republican party
and dictate it's policies. under pain Of
bringing it to crushing defeat
Would johnson Go Along:
Would Senator Johnson. have gone
along with such a program? is the
question which all are asking. His
best friends did not believe he would
carry it to such extremes as were
in it's full force and eff
fects, that is to bolt and head a third
party They think he would have
ridden the program, to mount the
rostrum. but that if the delegates re-
jected the irreconcilable position he
would not desert the party.
In talk with newspaper men the
senator said:
II say to you, gentlemen. that / am
against it, the present covenant of the
league of nations, and if the commit
tee on platform asks its adoption.
am going to ask the convention and
the people of the United States to re-
ject it. That is my attitude on the
subject"
The words "and the people of the
United States" started the idea of a
possible bolt, as meaning an appeal to
the public on a third ticket. But it
will be noted that he refers to the
league in it's present form, which
should mean the Wilson draft, and no
republican is for that.
"Pl0tting" Goes On.
While the discussion of the plat
form and the possibilities of split
attracted public attention, the fac
tional leaders have been going ahead
steadily with plotting for their ia
The dark horse cavalry are champing
at the bit, eager for a charge and
their brigadiers are much in eyi-
dence.
Sproul of Pennsylvania heads the
list of the dark horses by virtue of
the political and other interests back
of him. Whether the ultimate out
come of decision would read Sproul
and Johnson or Knox and Johnson is
a question of strategy locked in
Senator Penroses bosom. Senator
Harding is regarded as the next
strongest dark horse of the practical
availability.
But before talking about dark
horses the leaders realize that Wood
and Lowden must first be disposed Of
The contest between them Is close
and acute. While there is volume of
Wood strength. the influential men in
the party fear that he could not be
elected, IL nominated, and they do not
concede his nomination. Lowden will
poll a heavy vote on the first ballot
in the hope of discouraging the set
. Il