Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 April 1920 — CUMMINGS TO PRESIDE AT PARTY CONVENTION [ARTICLE]

CUMMINGS TO PRESIDE AT PARTY CONVENTION

Named by Democratic Executive A Committee —Other Officers Selected. Chicago, April 21, —Homer S. Cummings, chairman of the Democratic national committee, will preside as temporary chairman of the national convention at San Francisco June 28 and will deliver the keynote address. The committe decided to establish its headquarters for the present at the Grand Central Palace in New York city. The Washington headquarters will be abandoned. The convention slate was formed at a luncheon at the Iroquois club, where the Democratic leaders later listened, with particular interest to a speech in which their leader sounded what they said, probably, would be the main point of his “keynote address.” The Republican party has lost its moral character, he declared, in a vigorous attack on the action of the majority in the congress in defeating the peace treaty and league of nations and particularly the methods by which control of the foreign relations committee was held by the Republicans. * “The whole fight on the league of nations dates back to a corrupt election in Michigan,” he said, “and a convicted criminal is the thing upon which Republican supremacy rests.” He said he was convinced that the people of the United States wished the league of nations. The Republican congress, he said, had debated the peace treaty for eight months and had failed “to pass one constructive piece of legislation.” Turning to the war, he declared that, “not chance but brains” won

It, and for this leadership he said the Democratic party was entitled to credit. "It matters not what they may say of President Wilson,” he added. "His fame is Immortal and future generations will render tributes of praise and obligation to this great Democrat.” Mr. Cummings expressed absolute confidence in outcome of the coming presidential campaign. He said that the most poorly equipped Democrat could "defend the Democratic administration successfully against the most talented Republican” and denounced what he termed the “Republican campaign of slander, misrepresentation and vituperation.” He claimed for the Democratic patty credit for passage of the income tax law, revision of the tariff, creation of a non-partisan tariff commission, establishment of a department of labor in the cabinet and the Clayton amendment to the Sherman anti-trust act, which amendment he termed “the magna charta of labor in this country.” Mr. Cummings also called atten-t tion to the federal farm loan system and the federal reserve banks. "The slightest jolt used to start a panic and bring the old financial structure about our ears,” he said. “For generations the Republicans had promised to reform this system but they could not because their leaders were Interested in preserving it. When a Democratic congress was about to pass the federal reserve act, it was Lodge, Root, Smoot, Penrose and every reactionary senator who opposed this great reform —the same men who today are attacking the Democratic administration and the league of nations.” Relation of Democratic women to the party and their part in the direction of its affairs would be decided by the San Francisco convention, the national executive committee decided. Meeting with members of women’s advisory board, the committee appointed Mr. Cummings chairman of a subcommittee to draft the program under which the enfranchised women Will work. Their findings will be presented to the convention for adoption.

YeSterday’s session was said to be the first in which women have had representation on the national executive committee. Plans for the convention were virtually completed with the selection of the temporary officers. Besides Mr. Cummings, these officers are: E. G. Hoffman, national committeeman from Indiana, secretary; W. R. Hollister, Missouri, assistant secretary; John I. Martin, St. Louis, sergeant-at-arms of the national committee, to be Convention sergeant-at-anne; J. J. Hughes, Oklahoma, assistant sergeant-at-arms. Mr. Martin, who has been ser-geant-at-arms of the national committee for the last 25 years’-, has officiated at four previous conventions. Objection to the San Francisco convention committee’s arrangements and particularly to the size of the hall, were removed following the ap l pearance before the committee on arrangements of Postmaster Charles Fay, chalrhian of the San Francisco committee, and Isador Dockweller, national committeeman from Call-* fornia, who explained the plans being made to handle the guests and the convention. Suggestions that the convention might be moved across the bay to Oakland, or to another city, were dropped. General William Bruce Haldeman of Louisville announced his resignation as national comm|itteeman from Kentucky because of ill health. The executive committee and committee on convention arrangements will meet at San Francisco early in June, it was decided. Those present at the meeting were: John T. Barnett, Colorado; Charles Boescheinstein, Illinois; Isador Dockweller, California; E. G. Hoffman, Indiana; Thomas Taggart, Indiana; Wilbur W. Marsh, Iowa; Arthur F. Mullen, Nebraska; Norman E. Mack, New York; William Bruce Haldeman, Kentucky; Homer S. Cummings; Mrs. John B. Castleman, Kentucky; Mrs. George Bass and Mrs. Kellogg Fairbanks, Illinois; Mrs. Stiles Burr, Minnesota; Miss Elizabeth Marbury, New York, ana Mrs. Pattie Ruffner Jacobs, bamaMiss Marbury is a delegate-at large to the national convention, and Mrs. Burr an alternate-at-large.