Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-06-05
ANTI TAFT COMBINE
Friends Of All Other Candidates
Form an Alliance.
HEARING OF CONTESTS BEGINS
National Committee Commences Big
Task Today.
AIRING OF CONTESTS BEGINS
TALK
VICE
PRESIDENTIAL
]. P Dolliver and James D. Sherman
Mentioned for Second Place.
TAFT'S BROTHER IN CHICAGO
Cincinnati Newspaper Wan says Sec
rctnry VIII Re Nominated on
First Ballot - CnnnonS
MANAGER DissentS.

FfNnfN W III hf Nb"NhhAFN ""
First Ballot - CRnnon'S
Manager Dissents.
CHICAGO. June 4.-Fon,ical activity
commenced in earnest today around tho
Auditorium and the Auditorium Annex and
the Coliseum. where the republican ma
tional convention is soon to Doe held. Tn"
Cannon headquarters were permanently
opened In the Auditorium and the an
nounComcnt was made 10y a number NJ poll
ticans friendly to candidates other than
William n. Taft that Foraker headQuar-
ters will be opened tonight or tomorrow
in the Great Northern hotel Charles +.
Kurtz Of Columbus. o.. who has been a
Foraker lieutenant for thirty years, is 10
! have charge Of the senator's interests.
Charles r. TAFT Of Cincinnati, brother Of
! the secretary of war, came to Chicago to-
day and promptly announced that he eN-
/ pected the secretary to he nominated with
! out difficulty on the first ballot. lie smiled
! as he cautioned listeners to remember that
! he was a preiudiced witness. but asserted
! that there was no doubt In his mind that
| only one ballot would be cast. He said
/ that in his opinion the figures Of the TAFT
bureau would he taken seriously because
"our figures from the beginning Of the
| fight for the republican nomination hav"
! always been nearer right than those of the
other fellows"
Vice Presidential Talk.
Vice presidential gossip was INDUCED In
today for the first time. The names Of
| Senator J. p. Dolliver Of Iowa and James
D. sherman Of New York were mentioned
John Hays Hammond, the we'll known min
| ing engineer. was also talked Of.
At the headquarters of Joseph c.. Cannon
it was declared that the estimates OF
strength made by the TAFT people were
largely overdrawn and John Eversman
the confidential man Of Congressman Nc
Kinley of Champaign, who is in charge
Of the headquarters at the present time.
asserted that the Illinois candidate would
not only have more strength than has
been generally conceded to him but that
Taft would not be able TO show moro
than $50 votes on the first ballot
The republican national committee will
meet tomorrow at noon for the purpose
of hearing evidence In contests for the
seating Of delegates on temporary roll.
Hearings on Contests.
The full republican national committee
will meet at II O'Clock tomorrow and
begin the hearings of which will be made
the contests involving 2-9 seats in the con-
vention. The number OF contests filed IS
so large that their settlement has become
the most important Of the pre-conventioh
proceedings The nomination OF the re-
publican candidate for the president
hinges absolutely on the decision Of the
. members Of the national committee and
the subsequent approval of that decision
! by the credentials committee on the con-
vention. Half OF the contests decided in
favor of Secretary Taft would result in his
winning on the first ballot, while failure
, to capture this number unquostionably
? would put the nomination in doubt.
Pool Against Taft.
Realizing the necessity of keeping a ma
jority Of the contested delegates out Of the
Taft column. the representatives Of other
e. candidates have pooled issues in most Of
, the cases and as allies would urge their
3 claims before the national committee The
: proceedings therefore. will be largely re-
p solved into a Taft and anu-Taft contrO-
! versy. So far as the south is concerned.
p and most Of the cor.tests are in states from
z south OF the Mason and Dixon line. the in
terests Of the allies are being looked after
$ by Major +. c. Bryan OF Washington, D.
c. lie arrived iu Chicago today and an
e nounced that ne would base his argument
chiefly on the contention that In most Of
, tine southern states the Taft forces had
p disqualified the negro voters from psrtiCi-
paung in the state and district conventions
and that the allies delegates had been Sc
D Iected al conventions from which no class
or race had been barred.
r II the program mapped out by National
Z Chairman. New 20 govern the proceedings
of the committee in hearing the contests rs
carried out little opportunity for fine argu'