Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-31
REPUBLICANS ARE
READY FOR FRAY
IOWA POLITICIANS FORM TWO
SIDES OF BATTLE
Seats Of Many Delegates to state Con-
vention Contested and Cam
dates Are Sharpening
Knives
sv Associated Press.

Bv Associated Press.
DES MONIES, Ia, July 3O.-The Re-
publican state central committee met
today and decided by a vote of six to
three to sustain the action of the chair
man of the committee in notifying
Governor Cummins that the seats OF
number of delegates to the Repub-
lican state convention were contested.
By the same vote the action of Chair
man Spence in calling the present
meeting of the state central commit
tee was ratified. In both cases, II ap-
pears, the chairman acted upon his
own responsibility He received pc
tition from adherents of George d.
Perkins, candidate for governor, Civ
ing notice that the seats of O large
number of Cummins delegates would
be contested. The chairman thereupon
sent notice of this fact to Governor
-Gu1nmins, who seeks a denomination.
The governor replied in a letter, de-
nying the authority of the state CEN
trail committee to take UP the matter
of contests, asserting that 1t had no
jurisdiction. The chairman. however,
called the central committee to meet
in Des Mones today to consider the
contests.
Chairman Explains
His explanation to the committee
were in Des Moines at the time and
after consulting them and receiving
their approval, he felt justified in taxi
ing the action he did in order that the
delegates whose seats were contested
might have two or three more days
notice than they would have had If he
had called the committee together and
submitted to it the petition and the
question of call for today's meeting.
The vote of six to three was re-
garded as an indication that the. COM
mittee intended to assume jurisdiction
of the contests and to hear the con-
testants and the Cummins delegates
in case the latter entered an appear
ance.
There are 1910 delegates entitled to
seats in the state convention from the
ninety-nine counties of the state. When
the committee met today there were
ten of the eleven members present.
Chairman Spence, of course, did not
vote on the motion to sustain his own
action.
Contests in Ten Counties
Thomas A. Bevington. an attorney
representing the friends of George D.
Perkins, gave notice of contests In ten
counties, which have ninety-two dele
gates. making 2S7 delegates objected to.
In Boone county, with twenty dele
gates, it is claimed that the call for
the county convention stated that del
egates to the judicial and congressional
conventions were to be eleven, no men,
ton being made of the state conven-
serted that this allegation is not found
ed on the facts AS to Polk county,
with seventy-two delegates it is
claimed that it, as we'll as Boone, had
no legally elected delegation.
In the Polk county convention mo-
be authorized to name the seventytwo
delegates. An amendment was offered
looking to a division of the delegates
between Cummins and Perkins, based
on the votes cast when the delegates
to the county convention were elected.
This amendment was laid on the table,
but the original motion was carried.
1t was urged that the tabling of the
amendment carried with it the original
motion. and therefore the delegates
selected by Governor Cummins to rep
resent Polk county in the state con-
vention were not entitled to seats.
No Conclusion Reached
The committee took up and heard
number of cases, but reached no con-
clusion.l Although Governor Cummins
had given notice that he would not be
represented by the committee. the
chairmen of three Cummins delega-
tons whose seats are questioned ap-
peared. They stated. however, that
they denied the state committee, which
they said had no authority to go be-
hind the returns, simply coming before
it for the purpose of furnishing such
information as may be desired.
Such situation as that now exist
ing in Iowa is new to the Republicans
of this state. They have never known
anything like 1t before. The party is
apparently divided into two factions,
one known as the "progressives," rep
resented by the friends of Governor
Cummins, and the other called the
stand patters" who are adherents of
George D. Perkins.
The feeling on both sides Is very BIT
ter. and it is not unlikely that there
may be two Republican tickets in the
field in Iowa next "Wednesday.
Although the state central commit
tee has as yet taken no action looking
to the making up of. temporary roll,
the Cummins adherents say II the con-
testing Perkins delegates are author
lied to participate in the temporary or
ganization of the convention the action
OF the state central committee will be
ignored, and the legally elected Cum
minis delegates, who claim to have the
maj ajority, will organize the convention
as soon as Chairman Spence calls the
delegates to order "Wednesday morn
ing.