Evening star., 1924-04-18
PENROSE PROPOSAL
SPURNED BY WOOD,
OIL PROBERS TOLD
Witness Relates Story Re-
puted to Come From Friend
Who Heard Offer Made.

Five more witnesses were called
before the Senate oil committee to-
day in it's quest for scraps of infor-
nation bearing on the inside story
of the Republican national conven-
tion in Chicago in 1920.
One of them, T. A. Harmon of In
dianapolis, related story he said
had been told him by DIR. James l.
Himrod of Mooseheart, Ill, of how
Leonard Wood refused to accept the
support of Senator Boies Penrose of
Pennsylvania on condition that Pen
rose could name three cabinet mem
bers. Himrod had claimed. the wit
ness said, that he himself had a part
in the conversation.
Another of those heard by the COM
mittee was William Cooper Proctor
of Cincinnati. Woods campaign man.
ager. who denied he had conferred
at Chicago with either Harry F. Sim
clair or Jake l.. Hamon, at that time
Republican national committeeman for
Oklahoma.
Did Not See Hamon.
Proctor denied that he had COM
municated with the late Senator Boies
Penrose during the convention; de-
clared he had not seen Jake l.. Hamon
there, and said he had not conferred
during the convention with Harry F.
Sinclair. although he had asked Sim
clair beforehand for campaign con-
tribution and it had been refused.
He had not learned until the last
day of the convention, the witness
said. of the plan to nominate Warren
q. Harding.
Did you see Harry Sinclair there?"
asked Senator Walsh.
"Yes, | did see him.
Was he something Of a factor
there?"
Not that 1 know Of
Did you talk to him about Gen.
Wood?"
Not at the convention. 1 talked
to him about it before in New York"
How could he help?"
Law Financial Help.
"well, he was an influential man
and could have helped financially at
least"
Sinclair, in March or April, 1920,
had spoken in friendly way about
Woods campaign, but would not con-
tribute.
Senator Walsh pressed Proctor as to
why he did not see Sinclair at the
VI
Il did not have a conference with
him in Chicago" Proctor said. Why,
do not know"
Did you confer with A. T. Hert
erty .(Harding's manager) at Chicago?
II conferred with Mr.. Hert, but not
with Mr.. Daugherty."
The witness was excused, and the
committee called l.. w. Dixon, a
Chicago telegraph operator. who said
he operated the private wire between
Chicago and Senator Penrose's sick
room in Philadelphia during the con-
vention period.
Says Cipher Used on Wire.
Dixon said cipher was vas, used $; sa,1d and
msTs ~ere There also sUs %as
a private telephone wire.
lust what was it Senator Penrose
expected to accomplish at Chicago as
you gathered it from the messages.
asked Senator Walsh.
II suppose Senator Penrose was in
terested in seeing a certain candidate
nominated" the witness said Inc
senator's representative was Jonn /.
King. / assume the senator was try
ing to eliminate certain prominent
candidates so as to bring his candi-
date to the front later"
What candidate did he desire to
eliminate?'
well. there was Gen. Wood and
VI.
son: they were the prominent ones"
did you learn of conference on
the night before Senator Harding
was nominated?
-"Oh, l think everybody knew the
conference was on ;,
Everybody except Col. Proctor,
remarked Senator Walsh, and excused
the witness
John B. Alcorn, telegraph oper
ator of Terre Haute, Ind, then testi-
fed that he also had worked at Pen
roses headquarters in Chicago. He
had been told by the city editor of
Chicago paper that a man was want
ed at Penrose headquarters for tele-
graph work, he said.
Told Tirse of Nomination.
"This was about 6 o'clock on the
day before Harding was nominated"
he continued. "The city editor told
me there was to be nomination the
next day and that Penrose would
name the man..
Alcorn said he went to the Penrose
two hours later and
worked there practically all night
He operated wire for his newspaper.
Asked If he could tell what had
gone on on the Penrose wire. the
witness said he had been unable to
get enough words to make readable
sentence, but he did hear the name
Harding" several times along about
2 am.
"A hundred or more people were in
and out of the PenroSe headquarters"
Alcorn said.
Continued on Page 4. Column %