Evening star., 1934-06-05
FLETCHER BOOM
GAINING AS c. D. P.
PREPARES TO VOTE.
Hoover Faction and "0Id
Guard" in Fight Over
Chairman.
EFFORT TO AVOID OPEN
BREAK SPEEDS CHOICE
Closed Meeting Follows Routine
Opening Session-Ex-President
Urges Middle Westerner.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN,


CHICAGO, June 5.-The Republic
an National Committee, after a brief
routine session this morning, ad-
journed to meet again at 2:3o pm,
with the veXed question of a new
national chairman still up in the air.
In some quarters it was insisted
that the boom for Henry P. Fletcher
of Pennsylvania. former Ambassador
and former chairman of the United
States Tariff Commission during the
Hoover administration, was gaining
ground.
No Young Lochinvar" has come
out of the West so far to carry off
the Republican national chairman
ship, although many eyes Of many
committee members have been turned
anxiously toward that section of the
country.
Agreement Urged.
There were two schools of thought
about the handling of the chairman
ship matter when the committee re-
cessed, one was that the question
would have to be fought out on the
floor. that many of the members
wanted to have the list of candidates
presented before they finally reached
a conclusion. The other was that an
agreement should certainly be reached
by the leade.s and the various fac
tions on the Craftsmanship before it
was brought up. Walter Brown of
Ohio strongly urged that every effort
should be exhausted to get an agree
ment and that a fight on the floor
be avoided.
Conferences by the leaders were
begun Immediately after the recess
to pass upon the program for the
committee sessions.
At the afternoon session it was
predicted the committee would deal
with the proposed declaration of
principles" which the committee ap-
parently intends to put forth.
Closed Session.
The committee voted to hold its
afternon session behind closed doors
Before recessing the committee ac-
cepted the designations of a number
Of members and elected their sue
cessors, including Ned Creighton of
Arizona, John M. Perkins of Ken
lucky, A. B. Fontaine of Wisconsin,
William S. Ware of Pennsylvania,
Frank Burns of Washington, John E.
Jackson of Louisiana and Juan B.
Huyke of Puerto Rico.
Everett Sanders, whose resignation
as national chairman has been sub
nlitted to the individual members in
the committee meeting call, presided at
the meeting this morning. 1t is the
plan to keep him in the chair until
the committee is ready to elect a new
chairman.
The committee formally ratified the
choice of George F. Getz of Illinois
to be treasurer of the National Com
mittee. Mrs. Paul Fitz-simmons of
Rhode Island asked that the treas
urer'S report be submitted to the
committee prior to action on Getz's
name. Her request, however, was voted
down. Later she explained that she
favored Getz for treasurer, but be-
lieved the committee should have laid
before it the treasurer's report. since
there had been many rumors about
the financial situation of the COM
mittee. y
Midnight Farley.
Party leaders conferred last night
until early morning hours but were
unable to reach an amicable agree
ment on candidate for chairman
ship.
The heart of the matter seems to
be that the 'old guard" as repre-
sented by Charles D. Hilles of New
York, and the Hoover group, whose
recognized leaders are Brown, former
Postmaster General, and Mark L.
Requa of California, are engaged in
fight for control of the proceedings
and domination of the committee, as
we'll as over the selection of the
chairman.
Despite the jockeying for control
between Brown and Hilles and their
followers, there was a strong DISPOSE
tion among members of the committee
to go ahead anG select the best chair
man available. Many names were put
forward this morning in the CONVEX
sationS.
The fly in the ointment was the
definite declination of Walter j.
Kohler. former Governor of Wiscon-
sin. to accept the Craftsmanship.
When the conference of Is or more
members of the committee broke up
at the Blackstone Hotel early this
morning, the same hotel in which
Il years ago a midnight conference
of the leaders ordained the nomina-
ton of the late President Harding,
veteran member of the committee
said Kohler had been acceptable to
both groups, and if he had not taken
himself out of the race the matter