The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-04-07
DID B| c OIL MEN PUT.
Up BUNDLES OF DOODLE
FOR WOOD IN OKLAHOMA
by LOUIS SKIBOLD.
In the New York World

80 AH' WV lbih w OilN.
Washinston-If the senate commit.
tee on privileges ana elections de.
cidcs to probe into the financial un.
dcrwriting Of campaigns for prcsi
Dental nominations the state of okla.
hnma will probably come in for spec.
ial attention. Whether the profession
al party leaders can head off an
inquiry into all nominating campaign
funds probably win be decided next
week.
The recent contest in South Dako
Ia, the manipulation Of negro dele
gates in southern states, and notably
the fight to win the twenty republ,.
can delegates from Oklahoma for Cen.
eral Leonard Wood will provide inter
estlng material for scrutiny.
The case Of oklahoma seems to
be Of special interest as throwing
light on the extent to which the
powerful oil interests Of that state
have participated, by means usually
devious, in the promotion of political
ventures.
General Wood won the state Of
Oklahoma ana then lost it under
circumstances very much like those
that cost Charles T.. Hughes the state
Of California four years ago. okla
homa republicans lined up for General
Wood last fall. Almost every one Of
the leaders Of Importance was for
him.
Then developed a factiona, row be.
tween two opposing state leaders who
desired the place of national commit.
teeman. The powerful oil interests
split into two in the fight over the
committecmanship. one of the aspir.
ants was Jake Hamon, picturesque
character in the southwest who has
cleaned up matter Of something
like $lO,OOO,OOO in oil promotions and
is "a man Of tremendous influence in
Oklahoma.
The other was Jim McGraw for a
long time member Of the national
committee. Back Of McGraw was
combination Of oil interests, conspic.
uous among which Is understood to
have been the Sinclair Oil Company
The Sinclair people are credited by
Oklahomans with having provided a
great deal Of money in the fight for
congress two years ago, ana the al
lance between the oil corporation and
McGrsw has continued into the pres.
ent campaign.
Just how much money was spent
in the fight over the national commit.
tecman until it eliminated in the de.
feat of McGraw by Hamon in Janu
airy is 1 matter or conjecture. Estl
mates run as high as 100000 on
each side, much Of ii oil money. Ham,
on spending his own ana McGraw
drawing upon the resources provided
him by the petroleum barons of the
state.
Both McGraw ana Hamon started
in to promote the Wood boom. There
was a third competitor for COMMITTEES.
man-Jim Harris a popular repub
ican in the state, but without any
great financial backing. lie was elm.
mated through the influence of Ham
lu. The latter made several visits to
;cncral Wood at Chicago and as.
3urcd him hc would secure the sup
iort of the twenty votes from Okla, .
Ioma to the Chicago convention. Mo- /.
iraw had made similar pledges, 50
hat as far as the general is concern
I'd, hc had nothing to lose.
But for some unaccountable reason /
he second crop Of managers Of the |
Wood campaign decided TO throw their
support to McGraw in the contest over |
he committeemanship. Ilamon, who !
'eally had started the Wood boom in .
he state, sent word to General Wood .
o keep his hands off. Instead Of heed. /
ng the warning the Wool managers .
McGraw as campaign man /
lger for the Wood forces in Okla. .
,oma. That precipitated a battle roya, .
hat is said to have been characteriz-
ii by the use Of largo sums Of mon.
y on both sides.
Uamon, being well up IN the mil.
ionaire class financed his own cam
,aign. According to the view of i'm.
Partial observers, MCGraw was aid
"a by the oil interests of the state
ricndly To General Wood and received
ONE additional helm from the grouI
If mlIionaires in New York ana
'hicago who had underwritten the /.
Wood boom. The injection Of an en-. u
irely eXtraneous religious issue into