Evening star., 1940-06-24
GOPHopefuIs Not Coy This Year AppearinPe w
Old Political Maxim
Of Dignified Wait
In Wings Is Forgotten
Candidates Scramble
For Every Delegate Not
IrrevocobIy Pledged
BY the Associated Press.

PHILADELPHIA, June 24.-The
old political maxim that 'he who
stays away can make more hay"
was ignored today by nearly a dozen
candidates for the Republican presi-
Dental nomination.
In contrast with previous years
when most hopefuls remained in
the background waiting to receive
the call" the current flock of aspir-
ants was on hand battling for every
delegate not nailed down.
Party leaders knew the reason
Tor so many personal visits. Not in
years have so many delegates been
uncommitted to a candidate. Thirty
seven States, with more than a ma
jority Of the 1000 convention votes,
sent delegations uninstructed until
they hold their State caucuses.
AS one leader put it, this was
simply case of coming here for
self-protection or letting your op-
ponent gather in the gravy"
II Candidates Available.
There are IL candidates and the
party's task of choosing among them
may make the convention one of
the longest on record.
The II, each of whom is either
an avowed candidate or has dele
gates pledged to him, are Senator
Styles Bridges of New Hampshire,
Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas,
District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey
OF New York, Frank E. Gannett,
New York newspaper publisher; Gov.
Arthur H. James of Pennsylvania,
Senator Charles L. McNary of Ore
gon, Hanford MacNider of Iowa,
Jerrold L. Seawell of California,
Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio,
Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg of
Michigan and Wendell L. Willkie
Of New York.
Hotel lobbies advertised the po-
tential nominees to late arrivals
with huge pictures, slogans, stream
ers and flags and bunting of all
shapes and sizes. In each head
quarters room and in luxurious
suites on upper floors were the GUS
tomary supply of buttons and bio
graphical literature.
Not content with all this, the can
didates came and spoke their pieces
and sent messengers scurrying to
check sentiment among the untag-
ged delegations.
Individual Portraits.
Here are the ways some of the
aspirants put in their last hours be-
fore the convention opening:
Mr.. Willkie, rumpled and busy,
was spotted shouldering his way
through the throng at the Benja-
min Franklin Hotel, and in a few
brief sentences emphatically deliv-
cred his opinion of the situation.
His drive was coming along mag
nif1cently," he said. Then he added
that he would have support from all
States except three - Mississippi,
Louisiana and South Carolina-and,
to cap it, he would be nominated
damn quick"
Senator Taft said he had talked
with delegates from half the States,
and found "the prospect very en-
couraging." He had been holding
his strength, he added, and had
"lost no primary strength" How
ever, as to secondary strength"
among delegations with which he is
second choice, he could not say. He
said he would appoint woman to
the cabinet if he became President.
Vandenberg Makes Speech.
Conofnr Uo~lorkorr Loaf %Lo
candidates to reach the city, drove
up to the Adelphia Hotel to receive
q noisy welcome from the Michigan
delegation. All followed him to an
upstairs ballroom-some carrying
big placards saying: welcome Van,
You're Our Man." The Senator
mounted a lottery ballroom chair,
from which precarious position he
delivered short address with all
the vigorous gestures which char
acterize his oratory.
1T is patriotic politics that has
moved me repeatedly to say" he
asserted to the cheering throng, "the
presidential nominee of this con-
vention should personally be pre-
pledged to one term so that from
the moment of his Inauguration he
may be free even, of the suspicion
Of any incentive other than to pro-
duce an all-American administra-
tion devoted to the single purpose
of serving the best welfare of the
whole United States.
80, my friends, let's carry on. I
think six ballots will do it."
Dewey Holds Reception.
Mr.. Dewey received a string of
visitors, including members of the
California and Florida delegations.
He held a public reception while
his managers put on radio pro-
gram with Col. Theodore Roosevelt
as master of ceremonies.
Gov. James dropped in on an in
formal gathering of American
Legion friends about the time Sen
ator Vandenberg opened his head
quarters in the same hotel, and re-
marked he had some friends in Sen
ator Vandenberg's Michigan dele
cation. Gov. James would make no
prediction about his first-ballot
strength outside the II pledged from
Pennsylvania.
Senator Bridges held press con-
ference, at which he brought into
the open subject about which
there had been much private talk.
Two or three candidates were circu-
lating vicious stories" about their
opponents, he said, campaigns of
innuendoes," which would "hurt the
party and the country" Two or
three OF the stories involved, he said,
fell within the category of SANDER.
He declined to elaborate, or to name
names, but one of his campaign
leaders said that most of the bitter