Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-07-11
Believed That the State Central
Committee Chairman Will
Ask For Square Deal
POLITICIANS IN Des MONIES
Number of Them Were in the Capital
City Yesterday, But No Special Meet
ing of the Committee Was Held
Doors Of Convention Will Be Open to
Rehtful Delegates.
IBy Ora Williams
| 10 Tinea-Repubiican.


Des Moines. July 11.-Altho the spec
ial meeting of the republican campaign
committee which was advertised by
the, press bureau of Blythe and Hunter
for yesterday, fshled to materialize,
there was goo1ly number OF politic-
ians here Chairman r. II. Spence of
the state committee. spent the day
among political friends.
Chairman Spence is not going to butt
not going to involve the state commit
tee in needless trouble. He is not go
ing to be party to the Blythe Hunter
scheme for stealing the state conven-
tion. 1t will not be on his initiative
that the committee which is primarily
for the purpose Of managing the CAM
paign undertakes the task of issuing
credentials to republicans 10 sit in the
state convention.
The fact Is that while Bob Spence
is right from "the reservation" ani
carries Burlington pass because he
Is local attorney for the Burlington
system. he has long been regarded ev-
en- by those who are on the other side
of the fence as square man In poll
tics. Nobody ever discovered that Mr..
Spence was disposed to petty trick
cry. He does his fighting in the open.
1t is not forgotten that when he was first
elected chairman the progressives on
the ticket were up against the PROPOSE
ton of choosing, between Spence ana
Clayton, and that they deliberately
turned to Spence on the groun that
while he had fought in the standpat
,, ranks he was one who could he trusted
at all times to be fair.
The manner in which the advertised
special meeting of the state commit
tee was handled adds another to the
long list of bl,lnders of the Blythe
Hunter outfit sls entrusted to such
amateurs as Parrott, Johnson. Galarno
and Tedford. First the press bureau
julie Richards. Chancey Weaver. etc.
sent out dispatch stating that the
committee would meet on the 10th.
Then word was sent to Chairman
Spence to call the meeting. He was
little reluctant and insisted on putting
it up to the Individual members of the
sent to the stsndpatters in Spence's
county to "lay down. on Spence and
get him right OIL the question. Howard
Tedford engineered the deal. OF
course he would be able to fix Mr..
Spence. But the pressure did not go
with the chairman. The advertised
committee meeting was abandoned
The fact Is that Chairman Spence
believes that there are only three coun-
ties of the state where the republicans
got into such muddle among them
selves that they We're justified in COM
ing to the state convention with double
delegations. He does not say so for
publication, but in one way or another
he made known his views. 1t is sus-
pected that he was called to Burling-
ton to be given his orders. but that he
manifested an independence that caus-
ed some OF those who have relied on
him to direct a split in the party to sit
up and take notice of the fact that they
are going too far At any rate If he did
hear any rumhlings in the Burlington
direction they caused nothing more
than annoyance.
And Chairman Spence has also re-
fused positively and point-b blank, to be
a party to the scheme Of shutting the
doors of the convention in the face Of
about 800 regularly elected delegates
by issuing tck.ts alone to the fake
contesting delegations. If he has any
thing to do with it the tickets will go
to the men who have the credentials.
Since the discussion came UP about
the duty of the campaign committee
to undertake the task of issuing Gre
dentials to republicans to sit in the
convention, and since the scheme has
been considered by republicans gener-
ally, there has been a change of senti-
ment In the matter of treating the
delegations the state committee acts in
judicial capacity They represent
the party They are creatures Of the
party What they do must be in the
nature OF official acts, and they must
be held accountable to their constitu-
ents. The scheme to delegate the
power to commit a political crime to
persons living in other states so that
they may not suffer the punishment
that would be their due for such crime,
has met with no favor, and the state
committee can no more sanction such
a cold-bloodel scheme than can the
honest republicans in other walks of
life.