The Idaho Republican

CONVENTION HIGH LIGHTS SKETCHED
Pocatello Meeting Will Go Down in State History
Ada county delegates from the state Republican nominating convention, partially organized for the fall elections and pledged to help send to Washington a Republican senator from Idaho, poured into Boise early Friday morning on the same train with many returning delegates from the Idaho Falls Democratic convention. They brought with them a thrilling story of convention tilts, of successes and failures. With them, too, came Judge Charles P. McCarthy, nominee for the supreme bench and Ada county's representative on the state Republican ticket.

According to these delegates, the Pocatello convention of the Republican party, held in Columbian hall at Pocatello with some four hundred delegates, alternates and public officials present, will go down into state history as a memorable and entirely successful convention.

There were four high lights in the session:
The Gooding triumph.
The direct primary-convention filibuster.
The supreme court tangle.
The fight over state superintendent of public instruction.

Of the four, the Gooding success was most momentous. It did not come from steam roller tactics. No unfair advantage was taken of parliamentary form. Little in the convention itself was deplorable. The Gooding organization won thru its own organization, its leaderless opposition and a tactical blunder on the part of its antagonists.

The organization was effected prior to the convention and in caucuses during the convention. Leaders and lieutenants marshalled every Gooding vote and by tireless work gained one by one support from the opposition. This opposition, without a leader for its several component factions, was unable to stem the Gooding tide.

The tactical blunder was the forced motion to adjourn Tuesday night, passed by anti-Gooding forces in the belief that Gooding strength then dwindling, would collapse during the night. On the contrary, this forced the Gooding people to a mass caucus, a renewed organization and iron-bound pledges which saved the day for them.

The direct primary filibuster was a part of this tactical blunder, but once started by the Ada county delegation it could not be stopped and became no longer a filibuster but a pitched battle on the primary issue. The fight proved two things; that most of the convention favored a modified convention form and that the primary election fight will, if necessary, be accepted as an issue by Republicans.

The supreme court tangle and the fight over state superintendent were linked together. This was because certain leaders of the Gooding faction had pledged to Ryan-for-justice supporters a block of votes from the T. Bailey Lee-for-justice crowd in return for three Gooding votes. This wing of the Gooding crowd wanted Frederick S. Randall for the regular term, T. Bailey Lee for the provisional six-year term and Ryan for the provisional four-year term.

In order to help beat this combination, Senator Whitcomb of Lemhi county refused to present the name of his county's candidate, Lennon, and threw that support to William A. Lee. To save Judge McCarthy from antagonism by this faction, Ada and other counties compromised their votes on state superintendent and the name of Ryan was not presented.

The effect of this compromise was shown in the state superintendent fight when Ada county was forced in part to join the fight of a southeastern Idaho group against Miss Redfield. This fight was the real sensation of the convention, a strong organization having been perfected to defeat Miss Redfield.

Twin Falls started the machine by nominating Mrs. Leona M. Logue. Seconding speeches broke from all parts of the house, giving the impression that the fight was general. But North Idaho sprang to Miss Redfield's support, demanding that the territory involving Idaho, Nez Perce and adjacent counties be represented on the ticket. This gave those who favored Miss Redfield's stand on the big Bruneau project, (one reason for the fight against her) an opportunity to start work and, under cover of impassioned speeches on behalf of the mothers of the state they reached delegations which, by seconding the Redfield nomination, could show that the leading candidates were not opposing her. The sentiment visibly changed, the vote showed a landslide toward Miss Redfield and Twin Falls county magnanimously moved that it be made unanimous.

During Wednesday night and Thursday the state central committee and the candidates began plans for the campaign, selecting John Thomas as state chairman and David Burrell as secretary, but details of the organization are to be settled later because Governor Davis was ill in his room at the Bannock hotel in Pocatello and could not take part.