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Show REPUBLICANS IN BIG CONVENTION NATIONAL GATHERING OPENED IN CHICAGO, CROWDS FILLING FILL-ING THE COLISEUM. Senator Harding of Ohio Is Elected Temporary Chairman and Deliv. ers the Keynote Speech Committees Are Named. Chicago, June 7. The Republican party opened its great quadrennial show the national convention today to-day before a capacity house. Despite the fact that the proceedings of the first session were to be only preliminary prelim-inary formalities, the people flocked to the Coliseum by the thousand and poured through the many entrances in solid streams for hours. When Charles D. Hilles, chairman of the national na-tional committee, arose at eleven o'clock and took up the gavel to call the convention to order there was not one vacant seat in the immense structure struc-ture It was a fine setting for an Important Im-portant event. The Coliseum was decorated dec-orated as never before, with flags and bunting draping the girders and galleries gal-leries and covering all bare spots on the end walls. Up in a gallery at the south end of the hall a brass band was pouring forth patriotic and popular popu-lar airs. Back of the speaker's rostrum, ros-trum, where sat Mr, Hilles and his-working his-working force of 35 men, were grouped many members of the diplomatic! corps who had come on from Washington, Wash-ington, and the distinguished guests of the convention, among them all living liv-ing exchairman of Republican national na-tional convention. To the right and-left and-left of these were placed the members of the national committee and their guests. In the body of the hall, directly in. front of the speaker's stand, were the-991 the-991 delegates gathered about their state standards, and back of them 991 alternates. Just below the rostrum and on both sides of it were the 425-working 425-working newspaper men, and in the galleries all around. the hall were the thousands of spectators who had been fortunate to obtain admission tickets. Convention Begins Business. Mr. Hilles was heartily applauded when he stood before the throng, gavel in hand. He spoke but briefly in calling the great gathering to order, or-der, and called on Rev. John Timothy Stone, pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Presbyte-rian church of Chicago, to deliver the invocation. Dr. Stone's eloquent and impressive prayer was followed by the reading of th'e call for the convention con-vention by James B. Reynolds of Massachusetts, Mas-sachusetts, secretary of the national committee. Mr. Hilles then called for nominations nomina-tions for temporary chairman. Of course the selection of United States Senator Charles Warren Harding of Ohio for that position had been all settled long ago and his election by unanimous vote was only a formality. Senator Harding is an Imposing figure, fig-ure, and as he accepted the gavel from the hands of Mr. Hilles he was enthusiastically cheered. Chairman Harding's Address. Chairman Harding launched at once into his "keynote" speech, and did not belie his reputation for eloquence and deftness of phrase. He began with a warm plea for harmony in the party ranks, coupled with the confident assertion as-sertion that such harmony already was an assured fact. With unctuous sentences he skillfully oiled the way for the smooth return of those who left the party four years ago to follow the Bull Moose standard, and he declared de-clared to them and to the world that he did not believe there was a really reactionary Republican among the delegates. As might have been expected, Mr. Harding early in his address took up the subject of national defense. His utterances on this topic were reasonably reason-ably emphatic and in line with the preparedness sentiment that has been, spreading over the land. Our national unselfishness has been proved since the great war broke out, he said, and our national weakness in defense revealed. re-vealed. The foreign policy of the-Democratic the-Democratic administration, both in relation re-lation to Europe and in the matter of Mexico, was dealt with in a few caustic caus-tic sentences, and the plan to "turn ".oose" the Philippines also was scored. -The speaker devoted some attention -o the need, from a Republican point of view, for a protective tariff, and then turned to the topic of Americanism. American-ism. Here he once more let his eloquence elo-quence have full play, and his call for loyalty, devotion and love for the United States on the part of every one of its citizens was answered by a roar of cheers. "Verily, it is good to be an Ameri-' can. And we may- rejoice to be Republicans," Re-publicans," he concluded. Routine Business Transacted. When the band music that burst forth at the end of Senator Harding's speech was over and the assemblage quieted down again, the other temporary tempo-rary officers were nominated and elected, and the chairman of the various vari-ous state delegations were called on to send up the names of the men selected by the delegations to represent them on the committees on credentials, permanent per-manent organization, rules and order of business, and resolutions. In most cases the names were all ready and were soon in possession, of the secretaries. secre-taries. Some miscellaneous business followed, fol-lowed, and Chairman Harding then declared de-clared the convention adjourned until Thursday morning. The members of Ihe committees at once gathered in the meeting places assigned them and took up their work so as lo be ready to report to the sec. ond session of the convention. |