Richmond planet., 1924-06-07

CLEVELAND, Ohio, June A let
ter from the grave suddenly upset the
plans of Republican party managers
for Cleaning up" the long standing fac
tional fight in Georgia and resulted to
day in the seating again OF delegates
headed by Henry Lincoln johnson, the
Negro National Committeeman from
that State, long a stormy petrel be-
fore the national convention.
Just as most of the old line party
managers ON the committee had decid
ed that johnson and his delegates must
go to make place for those represent
ing the faction formerly headed by j.
L. Phillips, which had been recognized
by officials of the national committee
as representing the regular organiza-
ton in a State, q letter was produced
written by President Harding to G.
Bascom Slemp, new secretary to Presl
dent Coolidge, saying that in recogniz
ing the Phillips faction blunder had
been made and suggesting that action
be taken to alter the situation.
LETTER. is TRUMP CARD.
Charles D. Hilles, committeeman
from New York, practically forced the
production Of the letter. 1t was
trump card for johnson and the COM
mfttee voted, % to ii, to seat his dele
gates
A submotion offered by Joseph 3.
Healing, committeeman from Indiana
to seat the contesting delegation was
rejected by the same vote. Then the
committee made the vote to seat John
sons delegates unanimous.
The Georgia contest which occupied
practically all Of today's session was
the only enlivening feature of the pre-
convention period. The session was al
ternately noisy. bitter, pathetic and
funny.
Johnson, as is his custom, had
charge of the presentation of his own
case and for nearly an hour he paced
back and forth in front Of the commit
tee members, combining argument
with appeals for consideration for the
people Of his race, and frequent
ly was subjected to running cross
fire of questions from committeeman.
VERBAL EXCHANGES ARE SHARP
often the Negro cc,nmittcema1 cNE
ing his associates by name, asked them
to confirm his statements. At other
tines he engaged in sharp ex;har ses
with members Of the contesting delega
tion, in which personalities figured
on several occasions. There were fire.
quent bursts of applause from specta-
tors and gales of laughter in which
members of the committee joined
A. S. Anderson, of Millen Ga. who
told his auditors he held office at the
hads of Democratic electors i'll his dis
trict, presented the case in chief for
the contestants, basing his argument
largely on the reorganization Of the
State party machinery at Atlanta in
July, 1921, at the request Of President
Harding and officials Of the national
committee.
Until that time, he contended, chaos
had ruled in party councils in ths
State.
Every time we would have Re
publican meeting" he declared, There
always was row, and we had to call
on Democratic policemen to separate
u.s." Denying allegations by the John
son faction that after the reorganiza-
ton Of the party Phillips, as State
chairman, had undertaken to read the
Negroes of Georgia out of the party
Anderson said an effort hal been made
"to draw decenty line" in the party.
He added that Negroes had participat
ed in the Atlanta convention and that
Negroes had been elected delegates at
the convention last April
OUT OF RUNNING.
Anderson, in concluding, said that,