The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-11-13

ing desire to take seat or decline
that is beginning to make folks
nervous.
Doped for POSTMASTER Here.
Weeks before the election. Grimes
was doped for postmaster in Topeka.
Grimes hasn't said he wants the job.
Nor has he said that he doesn't want
it. There are a whole lot of other
people who would take the federal
building job just to help make Presi-
dent HardingS administration sue
cess. And il Grimes would only say
the right thing they might get in the
race.
Then, too. the Topekan has been
doped for the United States marshal
ship. internal revenue collector and
prohibition enforcement officer. All
are perfectly good jobs. None seem
entirely out of the range of Grimes-if
he wants one of them.
Grimes is willing to talk about
Harding, Dave Mulvane. Charley Cur
nations, the base ball scandal and
the weather He discourses by the
hour on events in the campaign-and
says never a word about the things he
may want as personal reward.
Shaped Kansas Affairs
Frank Grimes political activities
during the last ten or twelve months
have been. quite an incident in Kansas
affairs He started into the Lowden
organization long before the winter
began to break up. 1t is ordinarily
a sufficient problem to attempt to
deliver a state delegation to a faYorite
neutrality-suspicious. when the OPP
position is decidedly petulant and well
organized. But it didn't seem to
bother Grimes in the least. He not
| only kept the Lowden game going,
but he took over the foot work and
| underground and high wire service in
the organization OF the state for Dave
| Mulvane for national committeeman.
| Kansas was listed for Wood long
| before the Chicago convention. It was
chalked up on the same bulletin board
as entirely unfriendly to Mulvane.
But wnen the balloting began in
Chicago, Grimes himself was sitting
and voting with the Kansas delega-
ton. Wood was receiving most of the
Kansas votes as q courtesy to Gov
| ernor Allen who at that immediate
moment lcomed big as the lake front
for vice president. Then the delega-
| ton began to tear at the bit and
| threaten 20 bolt. 1t would have gone
| to Lowden early-much earlier than it
broke for Harding-had Kansas been
| able to join in delivering a knockout
for the Illinois governor.
Swung to Ohio Delegates.
OF course it just seemed to happen
| that when Kansas broke the impend-
| ing deadlock and swung to Harding
that Frank Grimes of Topeka was in
| the parade which carried the Kansas
standard to the Ohio delegates. And
then, too. it perhaps just happened
4that few hours later Dave Mulvane
was elected national committeeman.
Perhaps, too. it was just an Incl
dent that Grimes seemed to have
something of a direct line on the or
ganization plans for the middle west.
| 1t was Grimes who howled like wolf
when the national organization. threat
ened to keep Harding on the front
porch. And it may now be recalled
that when Harding came thru Mis-
souri,, Kansas and Oklahoma, Grimes
was a guest on the train. . Ella
Now just what is Frank Grimes GO
ing to get out of it? There isn't one
Kansas politician in ten who isn't con-
WINGED the Former state treasurer is
after one OF the big Jobs. Viewed
from almost. any angle, Grimes is in
a strategic position to ask for some
thing really worth while and get It.
Just what all it be?
In Good With Senator'S.
Apparently Grimes is in a logical
lposition to ask for and receive the sup
port of both senators, the Kansas dele
cation in washington and almost any
one else in the political game in this
state. There is little need to juggle
facts. Grimes has somehow gathered
an association with the Harding crowd
and the former Lowden forces which
a good many men would pay dearly
to possess. Incidentally Dave Mulvane
is closer to the powers which will rule
in Washington than any man in Kan
sas.
I Yet with 1t all, there is no one In
J Kansas politics who has any sort OF
direct line on just what Grimes wants
Maybe when the time comes and the
Harding administration gets under
way. Grimes will suddenly express g
! wish. Maybe, on the other hand
Grimes will elect to play the game
and continue to build fences in Kansas
rather than hold jobs that carry pay
| checks. Maybe.
Grimes talks untiringly about the
returns, the Harding invasion of Ok
lahoma and Tennessee and the Eighth
district victory. But as to jobs-not
word. And a great many people are
finding it very tedious business waiting
for Grimes to express himself on this
| ~