The Washington times., 1924-02-21
now WANT
PLEDGES
TO BIND
Find Johnson's and LoWden's
Friends Active, Making
Roadway in West.
BY WILLIAM HARD,

Keeps rOIllng. through all the
slush Of the oil Investigations it
keeps its gait. 1t even gathers
speed.
The Coolidge managers were
found today to be intending to con-
test Illinois absolutely for Coolidge
In the Cleveland Republican Ma
tiOnal Convention. The local Illi-
noise Republican organization has
put up an "uninstructed" slate Of
delegates to the convention. The
Coolidge managers now demand
that the Illinois delegation shall be
outrightly pledged to Coolidge.
Adopt Aggressive Policy.
A month ago the Coolidge man.
tions uninstructed for Coolidge and
merely sympathetic to Coolidge.
Now they are more aggressive,
Now they want the delegates to
be pledged to Coolidge absolutely
from the start.
They have found that hidden
forces are working against them.
They have found that in various
states the Hiram johnson move.
ment is making progress. They
have found that in numerous
places the friends Of Frank o.
Lowden, of Illinois are active. They
have found that the oil scandals
are creating trouble.
They accordingly in numerous
parts Of the country have deter
mined to take no chances. They
have resolved to cease to be con-
tented with uninstructed sympa.
thetic delegates. They begin now
to demand that the delegates shall
be outrightly pledged to nominate
Coolidge on the first ballot.
Plan Rival Slate.
The Illinois local State Repub.
Hcan organization has put up a
slate Of eleven delegates at large
uninstructed. In conferences in
Washington the active friends Of
Coolidge have determined to put UP
rival slate. This rival slate will be
Of delegates pledged to Coolidge
from beginning to end.
Already three States have chosen
Coolidge delegates to the Cleveland
convention. These three States are
the only States which 80 far have
chosen any delegates at all to the
Cleveland convention. They are
Virginia, South Carolina and Ken.
lucky. All three are convention
States. They are not Presidential
preference primary States. The
delegates in all three are chosen by
conventions without further voting.
In all three the results have been
entirely pro-Coolidge.
This has given encouragement to
the Coolidge supporters. On the
other hand certain other things
have given them anxiety.
LOwdon's Friends Busy,
In the West the friends of Frank
y. LoWden have been actively at
work. They have declared that
Coolidge cannot carry the Western
farming districts. They have spread
the idea that Lowden could carry
them because Of his being a farmer
He Is a millionaire gentleman
farmer, but he is a farmer.
The friends Of Lowden, alona
with this argument, are found to
have been doing their best to put
Lowden sympathizers into unin.
structed delegations to the Cleveland
convention. They have argued that
II the oil scandals should make II
inadvisable to nominate Coolidge
the next thing to do would be to
nominate Lowden.
For this reason and for other
reasons the friends Of Coolidge in
many parts Of the country have
begun to be afraid Of uninstructed
delegates.
In Illinois the proposed unin.
structed delegation is headed by
United States Senator Mckinley
Mr.. Mckinley has expressed him
self favorably about Coolidge per
sonally. The local proposed unin.
structed delegation includes also
such undeniably regular Republicans
as Fred w. Upham, treasurer OF
the Republican National Committee
and Martin B. Madden, chairman
Of the Appropriations Committee OF
the House Of Representatives.
Seek Legal Pledges.
Coolidge friends here nevertheless
have determined to go into Illinois
with q slate Of delegates at large
committed by legal declaration Il
Coolidge from first to last. They
will invite Senator Mckinley and
Mr.. Upham and Mr.. Madden tt
join this new slate. They will ask
these gentlemen to change. theil
commitment from being uninstructet
and without preference to beins
pledged and to being specifically
for Coolidge.
They are doing the same sor
Of thing in other states, and not
ably in New Hampshire. There ar
uninstructed slate of delegates a
large was prepared and 1t included
United States Senator Moses. Mos
Of the members Of this slate wAr,
brought over from running unin
structed to running pledged fol
Coolidge.
LcSll Coolidge friends in New
Hampshire were not willing to ALLOW
the New Hampshire delegation t.
go to Cleveland free to change theil
minds Immediately upon arriving II
Cleveland These friends of Cool
ldge, including Ex-Governor Bass
former leading light Of the Roose
welt Progressive Party, demand nov
that Senator Moses declare himself
Outrightly for Coolidge or else rur
the chance of being opposed in tn,
New Hampshire primary by &