Nebraska Newspapers

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RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEP
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HOW WARREN G. HARDING WAS
. NOMINATED BY THE REPUBLICANS
Story of the National Convention at Chicago,
the Struggle to Build a Platform and
the Selection of a Ticket.
GOVERNOR COOLIDGE GIVEN SECOND PLACE
Wood, Lowden and Johnson, Leaders in the Early Balloting,
Eliminated at the Behest of a Senatorial Coterie
and a Dark Horse Wins the Race.
By EDWARD W. PICKARD.
For President WARREN Q. HARD.
INQ of Ohio.
For Vice President CALVIN COOL
IDGE of Massachusetts.
. . .
There Is the ticket with' which the
Republicans hope and Intend to regain
possession of the national government
next fall.
For president, n mnn from the home
fitnto of many presidents, a statesman
of long experience mid solid reputa
tion, who has been n member of the
United States Bcnnto slnco 1014, u
member of the "old guard" who stands
well with the Itepubllcans who lire In
control of the senate.
For vlco president, the governor of
the Rny state, who was virtually un
known to the nation nt large until the
strike of Boston policemen und his vig
orous courso In its suppression gave
Jilui n vast amount of publicity and
mndo him the favorite son of Massa
chusetts In tho balloting for tlrst place
on tho ticket.
These gentlemen now ntnnd beforo
tho electors of the country on a plut
form that Is so braid that It embraces
nearly every topic and Issue of the
day, though there ure those who nssert
that In some places the planks are
perilously thin. Its builders, how
ever, maintain that there Is no danger
of the candidates falling through the
weak spots, nnd It may bo tbnt, with
Borne Judicious straddling nnd side-stepping,
this will prove true.
Struggle Over the Platform.,
Seldom, If ever, has the choice of
a presidential candidate been so close
ly connected with tho building of the
platform or l might be more exact
to any tho rejection of a candidate.
For If II I nun Johnson nnd his sup
porters could hnvo compelled the adop
tion of Just the plank they demanded
on tho Leaguo of Nntlons Issue, tho
California senator, and be alone, could
with consistency liavo consented to go
beforp the pcoplo standing on the plat
form. As It was, his threat to bolt the
party caused a long deadlock In tho de
liberations of tho committee on reso
lutions nnd at last forced the adop
tion of a plank bnsed on tho cnbled
suggestion of Kllhu Hoot. Tbnt wise
mnn hnd gone to Europe, but kept In
closo touch wlt)t the doings In Chi
cago and at the crucial moment his
plan was presented to Johnson, Rornh,
McCormlck und tho other "Irreconcll
nbles" nnd accepted by them. ,.
.The resolution as tlnnlly Incorpo
rated In the platform, nnd swallowed
by the convention, almost without n
quiver, completely avoids any pledge to
ratify the treaty of peace nnd the
league covenant with or without reser
vations, strongly indorses the action
of the Republican senators In that re
gard nnd promises that the party will
work for some kind of International
arrangement for the peaceful adjust
ment of disputes between nations with
out tho sncrillco of American sov
ereignty. Thus, as will be seen, tho
way Is left open for an administration
elected on this platform to do almost
anything It sees tit In this regard, ex
cept to ratify a treaty and league cov
enant such ns President Wilson
brought homo from Tails.
, Wilson's Policies Scored.
For tho rest, tho platform, in brief,
scores President Wilson and tho Dem
ocratic ndmlnlHtratlon for their unpre
parcdness for war and for the equally
unprepnrcd condition of the nation for
tho reception of peace. Denouncing
the autocratic assumption of author
ity by tho president, tho platform
pledges tho restoration of constitution
al government. The republican con
gress Is praised for Its efforts to copo
with the problems caused by the presi
dent's qourse.
Tho fanners gained their requested
support for extension of farm loans
and the right to engage In co-opcrutlvu
marketing and buying.
Tho Industrial plank was Uio sub
ject of much discussion. Some of tho
committee members, presumably speak
ing for big business, favored u plank
for tho prevention of wtrlkes by law.
Governor Allen and others wanted tho
Kansas Industrial court plan Indorsed.
And President Gompers traveled nil
tbo way to Chicago to tell tho com
inltteo wbnt kind of plnnk tho Ameri
can Federation of Labor demanded.
Nona of tbeso requests were satisfied,
but tho plnnk adopted recognizes the
Justlco of colloctlvo bargaining and
continues;
"Tho, Btrlko, or tho lockout, ns n
means of settling Industrial disputes,
Inflicts such loss and suffering on tho
community as to Justify government
Inltlatlvo to rcduco Its frequency and
limit Its consequences.
"Wo deny tho right to strike ngnlnst
jtiie government; but the rights and In
terests all government employ ooi
must be safeguarded by Impartial luws
and tribunals."
On Economy and H. C. of L.
The failure of the administration to
retrench during the post-war period
and the addition of thousands of swi
vel chnlr wurmers are derided and the
party pledges Itself to n policy of
economy nnd a carefully planned rt
ndjustment. Tho need of nn execu
tive budget and condemnation of the
presidential veto that defeated this
financial reform was coupled with
cnttstlc characterization of the man
ner In which the president, according
to tho Itepubllcans, clings to his war
tlmo powers1. Revision of taxation
also Is demanded.
Coming to tho great Issue of the
high cost of living, the committee
drew tip n declaration to the effect
thut the present conditions are the
hesult of nn Inflation of tie currency
nnd of credit which the party pledges
Itself to correct by deflation, the pre
vention of unreasonable profits nnd
the stimulation of private thrift by
'H chnngo In the Incomo tax law. The
pnrty reaffirmed Its belief In the pro
tective tariff, nnd pledged tho encour
agement of an American merchnnt ma
rine by the application of the work
man's compensation net and the ex
emption from cunnl tolls of the mer
chant marine.
Profiteering was condemned, govern
ment ownership of railways opposed,
wnterways encouraged und the regula
tion of Industry nnd commerco prom-
Mrs. Warren G. Harding.
Ised in order to prevent monopolies. Re
sumption of trado relations with every
nntlon with which America Is nt peace
was pledged. No changes were prom
ised In tho existing Immigration Inws,
but tbo bettering of naturalbatlon
inwa was pledged, and the pnrty went
on record ns favoring n policy by
which American women who mnrry
foreigners shall not lose their citizen
ship. The government's authority to
deport and exclude undesirable aliens
was upheld, but asurance was given
that tho rights of free speech, free
press and free assembly will not be
abridged.
What They Said of Mexico.
A lorge number of minor topics were
hnndled In the plntrorm, and then
came the plank on Mexico. It dealt
very severely with President Wilson's
policy nnd pledged tbnt tho party will
not rocognlzo any Mexican govern
ment miles the lives nnd property of
Americans there are protected. Ar
menln rnme next In the list of planks.
Deep sympathy was expressed for the
Armenians, but the president wns
condemned for asking for authority to
accept an Armenian mandate and It
wns added that tlfh Republican pnrty
was unalterably against the acceptance
of a mnndto for any country In Eu
rope or Asia.
Tho men who fought In tho grent
war were assured of the party's deep
gratitude and were promised liberal
legislation for the enre of the d's
abled, Infirm nnd dependents.
Though William Jennings Rr.vnn was
present throughout tho entire" life of
tbo convention with the avowed pur
pose of reminding the Republican?
to Insert a "dry" plank In their pint
form, ho failed possibly becnuso the
timely decision of the Supremo court
seemed to render unnecosnry any ex
pllclt declaration. Tim rmu,min..
merely declared that all Inws should
oe eniorceu, ami lot It go nt that.
Women and Irish Displeased.
Two other elements also were dlsnp
pointed. Theso were the suffragists
Chv Republican Nominees yft"")
WARREN G. HARDING
and the friends of the Irish "republic."
The former, under the leadership of
tho heads of the woman's party, were
In Chicago In strength and during the
entire week maintained around the
Coliseum a line of pickets bearing
banners thnt warned the Republicans
that tho women demanded tho fran
chise and would be satisfied with no
less. A plnnk wns Inserted In the pint
form urging Republican legislatures
that hnvo not acted to ratify the suf
frage amendment, but this did not ap
pease the Indies. In the last few mo
ments of the Inst session they dropped
from n balcony a grent yellow banner
on which wns the statement thnt they
wnnted votes, not planks. As for the
Irish, they, too, mnde a big demon
stration In Chicago nnd Do Valcra, the
president of their "republic" wns there
to deliver a speech before a grent gath
ering. But something went wrong with
tho plans; and the plnnk which wes
tentatively shaped for tho platform
suited them so little thnt It was omit
ted entirely nnd nothing put In Its
place. There wns n story that this
resolution had been drawn up by Jus
tice Cohalnn of New York In the hope
that it would be unsuitable nnd thnt
tho Democrats in San Francisco would
bo "enabled to take advantage of the
circumstance. So, though considerable
space has perforce been given to the
plntform of tho Republican party, It is
not beenuse it must be considered as
a great or a particularly strong pro
nouncement. Lots of men nnd wom
en in the pnrty nre far from pleased
with many parts of It, nnd It must bo
confessed that the writer failed to find
anyone who wns crazed with enthusl
nsm over it.
Tho story of this convention would
be Intensely Interesting If one could
tell nil the truth about tbo secret In
fluences that governed Its actions. On
tho surface It was not n very excit
ing nffnlr, nnd the enthusiastic out
bursts thnt characterized some of Its
sessions appeared too often to be face
tious. For five days tho 14,000 dele
gates, alternates, seat-holders and pos
sessors of tickets that allowed them to
stnnd about the few open plnces nnd
hamper everyone else gathered faith
fully In tho Coliseum, prepnred to howl
with glee over expected contests nnd
triumphs. Rut most of the time all
they could do wns to cheer for
their favorite on occasion nnd try to
keep up with tbo strong-lunged
cheer nnd song lender who had been
brought up from Camp Dovens.
Bossed by Senators.
From tho first It wnB heralded ns
that most unusual thing, an unbossed
convention. All tho experts asserted
thnt the delegates were going to do as
they pleased and that tho old-time
leadership wns Impotent. For a day
or two this seemed true, but then the
senate coterie got Into action, and
from thnt time to the end what was
done was generally what it wished
done. To start with Senator Lodge
was selected ns temporary chairman,
and was continued permanently In the
place, tho entire temporary organiza
tion being retained. On the all-Important
committee on resolutions there
were numerous senators and ex-senators,
and they pretty much dictated
the makeup of the platform. In the
selection of tbo ticket their Influence
was seen and felt In every move nnd
every shift of votes, clear down to tho
moment when Senator Harding re
ceived tho ballots that made him the
convention's choice. All tills time the
greutest of tbo old-time party bosses
still nllve, Senator Roles Penrose, lay
on n sick bed In his Philadelphia home.
Rut n direct telephone wire wns run
Into that room and there was scarcely
an hour of the day or night when ho
was not In communication with his
friend, John T. King. lie knew nil
that was going on, ami It Is fair to
assume that In most c.nscs ho knew
beforehand tbnt It was going to go on.
W'hnt happened, happened hocnus-o ho
willed that It should happen. This Is
not written exnetly In criticism, for It
may be that what Penrose decreed
will suit the party nnd result In Its
victory In November. Rut the fact
cannot be blinked thnt some omlment
Democrats who attended tho conven
tion went away with grins of satisfac
tion decorating their faces.
Lodge Was Too Scholarly.
To go back to the beginning ngnln,
something must be snld of the keynote
address by Chairman Lodge. It was
one of the most scholarly efforts of Its
kind, and tho grent rnnbs of the dele
gates, to say nothing of the audience,
utterly fulled to comprehend It. The
senator did not once descend to the
level of most of his hearers, and con
sequently ho failed to arouse nny grent
mensuro of enthusiasm.
It wns noticeable thnt this address,
ns well as every other speech and the
platform ns well, devoted Its denunci
atory passages not to the Democratic
party, as Is usually the caw, but to
President Wilson. It wns always his
acts and bis policies that were con
demned nnd tho Inngtingo used in
denllng with him wns scorching. Of
course, the reason for this- Is that,
from tho viewpoint of the Republicans,
Mr. Wilson hns been the Democratic
party for the last seven years.
Tho first day found three candidates
In the forefront of the race for the
nomlnntlon, nnd while the prelimi
naries were completed their workers
were straining every nerve to have
them make the best possible show on
the first bnllot. These men were Gov
ernor Lowden of Illinois, General
Leonard Wood, nnd Senator Illrnm
Johnson of Cnllfornln. From their
elnb'orate headquarters In the hotels
swarms of men nnd women flocked to
tho Coliseum with bnnners and but
tons and literature. Each of them
wns certnln of victory for public con
sumptionbut each of them knew In
his heart thnt he could not win If tho
Honntorlnl bosses had their way. All
tho rest of the possible candidates
really ranked as dark horses. They
Included Herbert Hoover, Dr. Nicholas
Murray Rutlcr of Columbia university,
Gov. Cnlvln Coolldgo of Massachusetts,
Senntor Polndexter of Wnsblngton,
Senator Howard Sutherland of West
VIrglnIn, Governor Sproul of Pennsyl.
vnnla, Senator Philander Knox of
Pennsylvania nnd Senntor Ln Folletto
of Wls-consln. A long enough list In
nil conscience. From these dark
horses, It was predicted, would emergo
tho winner, and the prophecy wns ful
filled. Routine Work, Then Oratory.
It required three days to got through
wtlh tho preliminary work of tbo gath
ering nnd to hnvo the platform built,
read nnd adopted. The latter took
place on Thursday. As has been said,
the resolutions met with nlmost unani
mous approval. A young man from
Milwaukee wns tho only dissenting
member of tho committee nnd lie pre
sented a minority report that embodied
mnny of the policies advocated by Ln
Follette. The audience did not want
to hear him nnd ho took advantage
of their Impatience to try to place him
self In the position of a martyr, but
Chairman Lodge cleverly forestalled
this, nnd tho minority report wns
speedily dumped into the waste basket.
Friday was tho day of oratory. Men
who thought themselves eloquent nnd
others who really were eloquent mount
ed tbo speaker's platform In procession
throughout most of the dny to place:
boforo tho convention tho names nnd
qualifications of tho candidates. In
many cases women were among those
who seconded the nominations, and
usually they ncqultted themselves
much more to tho satisfaction of their
bearers than did tho men, for thoy
were brief, snappy and graceful of
address.
On tho roll call of stntes Arizona
yielded to Kansas, and Governor Hen
ry .7. Allen stepped up to nominate
General Wood. Though obviously
nervous and not qulto adequate of
volco, bo did his excellent Biibject
full tistlce, setting forth specially tho
fine record tho general bad in a do In
Culm nnd the Philippines, and his pre
paredness for wnr when tbo grent
conflict broke out.
CALVIN COOLIDGE
"We heard from him no platitudes
nbout a million men springing to iirms
over night," cried Allen, und everyone
strained for a look nt Mr. Rryau, who
nit In the press stand close to the
speaker.
The governor went on to describe
Wood's skillful training of an army
and bis un.-elliHli and uncomplaining
devotion to duty when he was kept
from going to Europe In command of
the boys whom he had taught bow to
fight and conquer. He also recounted
the general's success In quelling labor
and race disturbances within the last
year or so, and dwelt on bis popular
ity with the very men whom he had
been sent to quiet.
Wood's Feathery Ovation.
As the governor ceased .speaking a
storm of applause broke out, and an
other storm of red und green feathers
fell from the ratters all over the
house. Tho Wood delegates marched
through the aisles, led by Reverldge
of Indiana and Frank Hitchcock, and
the tumult continued for half an hour.
"If Wood drops leathers, 1 suppose
Johnson will drop light wines and
beers from the ratters," laughed Mr.
Rryan, and someone said: "Get your
cup ready then, William."
The demonstration was calmed at
Inst really It did not seem very spon
taneoiis and utter Frank Knox of
New Hampshire bad made a seconding
speech, the first of the convention's
woman orators appeared. She was
Mis. Corlnne Roosevelt Robinson ot
New York, sister of the late Colonel
Roosevelt. With much of the colonel's
fire and vim, she told why Leonard
Wood should be the next president, and
she told it so well thnt prolonged ap
plause rewarded her efforts.
Governor Lowden's turn came next,
nnd the honor of presenting his name
was entrusted to Congressman Roden
berg of Illinois, a big muii with a big
volco who mnde an old-fash 'mum!
speech that hit tho audience In the
right wuy. He, too, hnd an excellent
subject, whose cause was handicapped
only by the revelations of excessive
expenditures brought out by the .en
ate committee at, the instigation of
Johnson and his friends.
Lowden's ovation outlasted that for
Wood, but was no more enthusiastic.
It was featured by a display of ban
ners und portraits of the candidate
nnd by a pretty girl ln a cerlso sweat
er who was carried on men's shoulders
nt the head of tho puraders. Lowden,
too, had a woman among his second
ers, Mrs. Fletcher Dobyns of Chicago,
a doer politician and good speaker.
Then Governor Morrow of Kentucky
told why the Republicans" of his state
loved Lowden und wanted him for
president.
Johnson's Sponser a Failure,
Charles S. Wheeler of San Francisco
had been deputed to place Senator
Johnson in nomination, und much was
expected of him, because a reputation
for fiery eloquence had preceded him.
Rut, though his address was smooth
and Ids volco pleasing, he scored tho
worst failure of tbo entire convention.
He evoked some cheering from the gal
leries by a denunciation of the League
of Nations, but soon after made the
gross mistake of twitting tbo rescrvn
tionlsts on having been worsted by
Johnson In the committee on resolu
tions. The delegates did not relish
that, nor did most of tho others In
the hall. Then ho made nn unfortu
nate allusion to tho campaign expendi
ture revelations, and ns thoso had hit
most of the candidates, their friends
resented it with boos and hisses. Mr.
Wheeler smilingly waited for the row
to cease, nnd proceeded to finish an
address thnt was fully twice as long
ns It sliould have been. Ills poor per
formance cast a wet blanket on the
planned demonstration, and the Cali
fornia delegates, accompanied by a few
others, marched rather sadly through
tho aisles, listlessly waving fiugs.
Far better than Wheeler's was the
speech for Johnson by Thorn D.
Schnll, tho blind congressman from
Minneapolis, and better, uIbo, were the
brief talks by Rlchnrd Doherty of New
Jersey, Charles P. O'Neil of Michigan
nnd Mrs. Katherlne Phillip's Edsou of
Cnllfornln.
Now began the parade tof dork
horses. They were led forth' us fol
lows: Calvin Coolldge. by Speaker
Gillette of the house of representatives
nnd Mrs. Alexander Pelffer; Rutler, by
Ogden Mills or New York; Prltcluird,
by Marlon Rutler of North Carolina ;
Hoover by Judge Nathan L. Miller of
New York: Harding, by Frank Willis
of Ohio; Sproul. by William I. Schaf
fer; Polnde.Mer. by George II. Walker,
and Sutherland, by Joseph M. Saiide.ru.
When Wisconsin was reached on the
roll call the clerk paused expectant
ly, but no one appeared to nominate
La Follette, and the crowd seemed
grateful.
Balloting Is Begun.
The powers that were decieed that
several ballots should be taken that
day before adjournment, and In an ex
cited hush the call of tha states was
begun. The hush' did not Inst, how
ever, for every, considerable vote for
any one aspirant was greeted with tlie
cheers of his friends.
As had been foretold, Wood lei)
on the first ballot with 2S7V6 votes,
Lowden was second with UlHa. nnd
Johnson gathered In V.WA. The oth
ers In general wereaccorded the votes
of their home stales and n few more.
Of the Wisconsin delegation 21 voted
for La Follette; and It may as well
be recorded here thnt those 24 dele
gates kept voting for Ln Follette.
to the hitler end. And every time the
announcement was greeted with groans
and hisses from the galleries.
In the following three ballots Wood
climbed to HM'A, which the wise ones
said was about his maximum strength.
Lowden nlso Increased his vote, going;
up to 28!), while Johnson reached
MOU.. The votes for the dark
horses did not vary to any grent ex
tent though Rutler lost steadily ami
Piitcbard soon dropped out entirely.
Ry this time ovevyono was ready for
a rest and tbo convention adjourned
to Saturday innrniiig.
The Break to Harding.
The crowd filled thu Coliseum to
sulfocatlon on what was destined to
be the final day of tbo convention, for
It was felt tfiat the conferences of
the preceding night would be fruitful.
The senatorial coterie had been In ses.
slon many hours and tho word was
passed around thnt they had picked
on Harding as the nominee. In tho
early ballots of Saturday thoOhlnnn
did not gain rapidly, and nil wero
waiting for the moment when the big
delegations from New York. Pennsyl
vanla and Massachusetts would find
the time ripe for n break. The men
from the Keystone stale had been
voting almost solidly for Sproul, fr
the bosses were not decided between
him and Harding. And the New
Yorkers really did not know to whom
to throw their strength.
Johnson's vote dwindled gradually,
and then the Lowden column suddenly
began to go to pieces. He was really
the victim of the shift, for the Wood
delegations stood by the general almost
to the last moment. On the ninth
ballot It wns seen thnt Harding;
could bo "put across," so the uncer
tain ones climbed Into the band ff ag
on on the tenth nnd gave the Ohio
senator a grand total of flT-Hfe. which
was 181 J more than necessary to nom
inate. Tho hubbub wns deafening nnd aftof
Pennsylvania ptit GO votes In the Hard
ing column the clerks could scarcely
complete tho roll call. At Its finish
the usual motion to make the choice
unanimous wns made, hut those 21
La Follette men from Wisconsin voted
ln the negative and marred the lovo
feast.
Coolldge Gets Second Place.
There still remained the task of
selecting n vice presidential candi
date. Senntor Lcnroot of Wisconsin,
Governor Allen of Kansas, Governor
Coolldgo of Massachusetts and Ol.
Harry Anderson of Virginia wcie
placed In nomination nud the roll of
tho sintes was called. Lenroot re
ceived n good vote, but Coolldge was
the evident fucrlte and long before
the roll was completed his nomination
was assured. The 21 La Follette men
voted for Senator, Gronmi.
With some dilllculty Chairman Lodge,
whoso voice wns gone, managed to hold
thu delegates together long et.ougli to
pass tho usual resolutions of thanks
to thu ollldiils of the convention nnd
to the city of Chicago, and then the
republican convention of 1020 came
to an end.
Convention Well Handled.
Thu management of the convention:
hall teullv deserved thanks, for the
svatlng, tho policing nnd the other
arrangements wero the best over seen
In such gatherings. The Coliseum was
handsomely decorated and well lighted
and tho comfort of the delegates nud
guests was ns well looked after as
could bo expected. Of courso the niinl
swarm of sergeants at arms was pres
cut, clogging up the aisles iiml l." t
tlng In the wny of the '( is nut
that Is inevitable, for the iiiutiou
of thosu badges is u peiipi e of the
local Republicans. It wis i.u worse
this time than usunl. The doors were
In chnrge of a for'-o of ex-service men
under the coiiiuiniid of General Ryan,
and their wnrk'was done with milllnry
efllclency
Everyone had good tilings to say
nbout the music supplied by Johnny
Ilnnd's band, which was stationed In
a lofty little gallery. On occasion it
wns led by John Hand third, a sturdy
chap In brilliant uniform who used the
baton presented to his fniher, Armln
Hand, by Theodore Roosevelt at the
Progressive convention. It was made
of wood from trees on the "Itlver of
Doubt," which the colonel discovered.
(Copyright, lo:o, Wiitorn Nwju)er Unloi.
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