Evening star., 1924-06-22
LONG, BITTER FIGHTS
AWAIT DEMOCRATS
None Can Tell Even When Bal
loting for Nominations
Will Start.
SMITH GAMER BY DELAYS
Voting MAY Continue Into Another
Week.
BY ROBERT II. SMALL.

NEW YORK, June 21.-As the dele
! gates gather here for the Democratic
national convention there is general
! feeling that the coming week Will
not witness the naming of the preSl-
! Dental ticket. This is to be an open
convention and ii has been impos-
! sible up to this time to fix a program
| for anything more than the opening
! ceremonies
At Cleveland it was possible to
! foreteIl almost 10 tire exact moment
the time of the nomination OF I'resi-
dent Calvin Coolidge. Here there is
no way to tell at this time who will
be the nominee or when he will be
named.
The Democrats are an untrammel ed
| lot and generally the delegates ia he
the Cnnvertion,s into their own hands
and run them accordingly.
Many Battles Due.
Consequently there are to be a
whole lot of battles even before the
grand battle of the ballots begins.
Some of the older hands at the Dem
ocratic wheel are doubtful if even
the first ballot for the presidential
nominee can De taken DeloTe next
Saturday Others think the voting
may go over until the following
week.
There is TO be the battle of the ku
kluX klan plank.
There is to be the battle of the
VETS and the drys.
There is to be the battle of the
two-thirdS and the majoritics.
AS all of these battles have a
potential influence upon the prospects
presidential aspirants, they will be
fought out in committee with all the
bitterness that will mark the fight
on the floor for first honors on the
| ticket.
Two-Thirds Rule.
! The rules committee which will
hear whatever fight is TO be made on
a candidate must be chosen by a
two thirds vote of the delegates
present at the convention and the
resolutions committee which will hear
form plankS will be appointed some
time Tuesday, but will not get to
| work before Wednesday, This is
due to the fact that the opening day S
program has been somewhat upset
Ordinarily the temporary chairman
| of the convention would be chosen and
would deliver his Keynote" speech
soon after the national chairman
called the first session of the cOnven-
ton co order. 1t has been decided
this year, however, that the opening
session, at II am, shall be more or
less of a perfunctory affair, with the
big blow-on to come Tuesday
| evening, when Senator Pat Harrison
Of Mississippi, as temporary chair
man, delivers his address. The eve
ming has been chosen for this per-
formance because Of the better radio
transmission. Also the evening will
be more of d gala occasion. The
audience will not be tired with the
preiiminaries. Senator Pat will face
a fresh assem emblage when he let's go
his opening guns.
Work on Committees
While the rules and platform fights
are proceeding in committee, the con-
vention will be virtually at a stand
still. The committee on rules also
deals with the matter of permanent
organization and while Senator
Thomas j. Walsh of Montana, the man
who unearthed the famous s100,000D Do
heny loan to Secretary Fall, has
been decided upon as permanent
chairman, his selection must be rati-
fed by the committee yet to be ap-
| pointed. Furthermore, the permanent
chairman cannot organize the con-
vention until the rules are prescribed
There has been talk that if the COM
mittee on rules decided to uphold
the time worn precedent of a neceS-
sary tWo-thirds vote, the believers
in d majority selection of d candidate,
may take their fight to the convention
floor. This would further delay the
actual convention proceedings. There
is chance that the rules fight will
be complicated by move to abrogate
the unit rule in the conyention-the
state delegation must vote as the
majority of the delegation dictates
| and the vote of the state be cast en-
| bloc. This rule applies now only tc
| rule instructions from their state
| conventions.
Bitterness Over klan.
So much of bitterness has develop
ed over the Ku Klux klan or relig-
iouS elements in the convention that
the platform fight may also be taken
platform must be adopted before the
voting for the nominees begins.
Therefore. there seems to be gooG
reason to believe that a great deal
| or fireworks must be exploded be.
fore the long-drawn-out balloting be-
gins.
| This situation really is to the lik.
| ing of the anti-McAdoo delegates
They are desirous of forming a hare
and fast alliance against the mar
| lIOlu SdlllOTHld, VINO admittedly Is
| leading the procession of candidates
| at this time. Something of a pre-.
| liminary organization of this sort ha:
| been formed. but the delay in reach.
| ing the balloting next week will give
the anti-McAdoo forces their oppor.
tunity to get together on what they
| hope will be a working basis. The
| McAdoo managers are right in sayins
! it is their candidate against the field
at this time. The delay in going tc
the post will give the field an oppor.
tunity to maneuver and the coming
days will be filled from dawn to dawr
with conferences and combinations
| The Democrats don't care much fol
sleep. They generally nominate
Both McAdoo and the Smith fac,
tions have been throwing out smok,
screens during the past few days tc
cover up their real convention inten.
| tions-
| The chances are that the McAdoe
| people will not be able to change the
rules and that the Smith forces will
be defeated in their attempts to have
the Klan denounced by name or tt
force a damp" plank into the plat
4 form.
| After all this is settled the con-
vention may be able to proceed on~s