Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-03

front in the next heat
This for the Taft statement:
Although two weeks of the campaign
yet remain. involving the election Of IA
more delegates to the Chicago convention.
the work Of the week has convinced press
and public generally that the nomination
of Secretary w. II. Taft on the first bal
lot is a foregone conclusion. Concessions
OF this character now abound among
newspapers which have not heretofore
supported his candidacy.
Taft Delegates NNmed.
During the week now ending 14e dele
gates were elected. bringing the total thus
far chosen to 736. OF the delegates elected
this week. 81 were instructed for Taft.
bringing his total instructed strength to
3S4. or to within 1O7 Of the number neces-
sary to a choice. AS he is assured Of
nearly 200 more instructed delegates with
in the next fortnight, the hopelessness OF
the opposition to his nomination is made
palpable. Only 60 OF the delegates pledged
to him are contested. some on the fiimsi-
est pretexts. Those who have been in
charge Of his campaign apprehend no
losses from the Taft column on the score
OF these contests. But they look for ma
terial gains from the column OF unin-
structed delegates. which now totals l.9.
and Of which a vast majority have ex-
pressed q preference for the Secretarys
candidacy.
"Of the 142 delegates elected this week.
only II were instructed for candidates
other than the Ohio man. The Penn
sylvania state convention instructed for
Senator Knox. bringing his total strength
up to 6s. all in Pennsylvania: Gov. Hughes
carried three more New York districts.
making his total strength all in his
own state. 81. Mr.. Fairbanks for
the nrst time since Indiana's thirty
to his list. being the two delegates from
the. second Kentucky district. In other
respects the results of the primaries In
Kentucky were Overwhelmingly for the
Secretary Of War, indicating that next
week every other Kentucky district ana
the four delegates at large will be in
structed for him. The state central COM
mittee this week decided the contest In the
first Kentucky district against the con-
tention of the Fairbanks delegates and In
favor Of the Tart delegation.
States That Are Pledged.
among the states that. pledged their
delegates at large to Secretary Taft this
week are West Virginia, Colorado, Arkan
sas, Maryland. North Carolina. Maine and
Mississippi, the latter being contested. In
Oregon, the home OF Senator Bourne. the
republican state committee significantly
indorsed the candidacy of Secretary Iaft
and the state convention VIII INSTRUCT or
him. Other acceseions TO the list OF Iait
Qoi6RateS
fifth and seventh Arkansas districts: the
fifth. sixth and seventh North Carolina:
the second South Carolina: the NTH West
Virginia: the second Colorado: the NTH
Alabama: the second and fifth Maryland:
the ninth Tennessee; the eight Mississippi
districts: the first Michigan: the nrst
Maine: the seventh and eighth New Jer-
sew and the thirteenth Ohio. Contests
are threatened from six of these districts.
a well as from the eight Mississippi dis
tricts. 80
Next week Utah and Wyoming will
each elect six delegates at large, New Jer-
sey. Connecticut. kentucky and Alabama
four each There will be district conven-
tons also in Alabama, Arkansas, Connec-
ticut Kentucky. Missouri, New Jersey
and North Carolina."
The enterprising, energetic ana sone-
what pessimistic press agents or the al
lies apparently did not agree with The
forecast of the Taft people. for they gave
out the following last night:
1T is now certain that the oppositio1
TO Secretary Tat VII control the national
convention by majority OF more than a
hundred votes.
THE last week was the fourth in which
Secretary Taft has lost ground in the pro-
norton of delegates committed 10 his
cause On the first Of April Secretary
Taft had more than half the delegates
then elected in his instructed column On
the first of May less than one-third were
so classified.
Some Circulated Reports.
During the past week the report has
been widely circulated in behalf Of Secre-
tary Taft's candidacy that the opposition
TO his nomination was disintegrating, and
several opposing candidates have been
mentioned as about to withdraw from the
race. 1t may be stated authoritatiNely
that these statements, in line with many
others issued for the purpose of creating
the belief that the nomination OF Secre-
tary Taft is assured, have no basis In
fact.
"DurinR the past week 146 delegates
were elected. OF this number only for
ty-two were instructed for Secretary TAN.
although only eight of these delegates
were elected in so-called 'favorite SON
states. The regular delegates chosen this
week i'm the thirteenth Ohio district are
for Senator Foraker. This. with two that
have already been instructed for him, ana
his friends control. will give him a total
of ten votes in the state and prevent
Secretary Taft from having a solid dele.
CATION in his home state.
I'm Kentucky and Mississippi the ef.
forts of the federal ofYiceholders to CON-
troll the selection OF delegates were at
tended by fraud and violence. resulting IN
delegations contested almost i'm their en-
tirety. In Mississippi delegates TO the
state convention, including the state
chairman, were prevented rom particle
pating I'm the proceedings by armed men.
although large majority of the dele
gates regularly chosen were opposed TO
the program of the offceholders. TIE
regular delegation is for Senator Foraker.
OF Those Elected Already.
"Of the 134 delegates elected up to this
time. 237 are instructed for Secretary TaN
and 24I for the opposition. One hundred
and iorty are uninstructed and 10 con-
.fN Of
structed delegates are committed to the
opposition, as the plan OF the Taft manage.
ment has been to secure instructed dele.
gates wherever possible. while tina; Of tho