The Washington times., 1924-06-30
NJ AD00 FORCES
PREPARED TO
STAND PAT
Developments Have Strength
ened Western and Southern
Delegates in Attitude
By WILLIAM HARD.


vealed to be the following:
The Western and Southern
soldiers Of McAdoo are sitting
tight in their long encircling line
of western and southern trenches
and are successfully defying any
eastern or central northern min
ion Of mammon or servitor Of
demon rum to induce them to
desert or surrender.
The prophecies Of disintegra-
ton within the McAdoo forces
have been proved to be almost
totally erroneous. The basic fact
in the convention remains that
McAdoo has the largest bloc of
delegates that among these dele
gates he has several hundred en-
thusiastic and fanatical Christian
soldier last ditchers.
The Situation Now.
The great unrolling drama Of the
convention from now forward be.
comes accordingly in sum the fol-
lowing:
Candidate after candidate viii be
put up by the East to attract de-
serters from the McAdoo trenches
and to find out just how many Of
the McAdoo delegates really are
| last-ditchers and just how maliy arc
potential deserters who can be in.
duced to leave their trenches and
to help make a two-thirds vote In
the convention for an eastern or
central northern candidate.
Today the previous dominant in
terpretation on the struggle is
shown to have been fa1se.N Ac-
cording to that interpretation Nc
Adoo would disintegrate while Al
Smith also was disintegrating, and
then-and only them dark horse
would come forward and win.
New Interpretation Needed. E
Today, as the actual balloting be-
gins and goes forward, 1t becomes
increasingly clear that totally new
Interpretation is indicated by the
actually developed situation.
II is not a case Of McAdoo dis
indignation followed by dark horse,
II Is a case Of McAdoo's stubborn
/ continuance with dark horse after
/ dark horse trotted out to try to
| break that continuance and with a
certain dim distant chance that II
no one Of these dark horses sue
ceeds in breaking the Gpirit and
attracting the support Of the Nc
Adoo !ast-ditchers, why then, almost
Notwithstanding even the NOM
Ination Of McAdoo himself-might
happen.
Last week It looked like case
Of AL Smith and McAdoo colliding
and dissolving with the field then
clear for a fight simply among the
dark horses. Today 1t looks like q
case Of AL Smith himself turned
into a dark horse and then a
series Of successive dark horses
Underwood, Davis, Glass, Silzer,
Richie, Ralston-trotting and can
tering and galIoping up and down
In front Of the McAdoo trenches to
attract enough favor out OF them
to get an ultimate two-thirds vote
on the tally sheets Of the convention
tellers.
Underwood First Up.
If, and when, AL Smith fails to get.
that two.thrds and stops running, the
next dark horse up seems likely to
be Oscar Underwood, of Alabama.
who is q Southernor with a mind
very eastern in its tendencies ana
| with a set If ideas extremely con-
genial to conservative elements in
| New York.
The argument against him among
the McAdoo Christian soldiers is that
he is though to have held intercourse
with the demon rum and also that
he brought forward the anti-Klan
issue, as they allege, simply in order
to embarrass their hero McAdoo.
They also allege darkly that he is
a ''reactionary." He was against the
bonus. It is even alleged that IN
the Democratic Senatorial caucus he
was in favor Of the taxation reduc-
ton plan of Andrew Mellon. This
is regarded >as the deepest possible
descent into political sin.
Underwood's power of attracting
deserters from the McAdoo ranks is
believed to be slight.
Next will come John w. Davis,
formerly Of West Virginia, now Of
New York. He is a handsome dark
horse with q head undeniably and
admittedly buIging with brains.
| There is no doubt that he will be a
splendid show as he exhibits his
PAGES in front of the stern and bible
bound delegates Of William Gibbs
ATcAdoo, Of Georgia, of Tennessee,
Of New York and Of California.
Davis Faults. :
Unfortunately, for Mr.. Davis,
from their standpoint, he is attor-
ney not only for Morgan interests
lin New York but at present or in
retrospect attorney also for certain
coal interests in West Virginia,
which are accused Of attacking and
depressing and prosecuting union
labor.
In the West Virginia delegation,
which Is at the forefront Of the
leffort for Mr.. Davis, there Is Don
Chain, the great anti.union sheriff
OF the world, the Harry Hotspur OF
lanti-union activities, who thinks 1t
la cold morning when less than. q
dozen or so of union agitator, have
disappeared from the surface Of the
earth.
How this sort Of association and
this sort of support can be thought
to be able to undermine the devo.
ton Of the McAdoo delegates TO Nc
Adoo 10 regarded by them today as
la sort Of insulting mystery.
After Davis, IL Davis fails to en-.
] Il lce and seduce a sufficient mum.
J her OF McAdoo delegates, there will
come Silzer, of New Jersey, and
Richie. Of Maryland. about whom