The Washington herald., 1908-04-11

0ldte coHFeutlOH the HISt session or WHICH
will be held il Carnegie Hail at Il o'clock
tomorrow morning. win before the day
Is over, according to the programme map
ped out late tonight at State hesdQuar-
ters. adopt a platform which strongly
commends the national administration Of
Theodore Roosevelt. the State admins
tradon OF Gov Hughes, and instructs ths
four delegates-at-large and their alter
mates 10 use every honorable means 70
bring about Gov Hughes nomination for
the Presidency at Chicago in June.
1t was pointed out to-day. very properly
in the estimation OF many. that a
Republican State convention cannot in
.struet any but the four delegates-at-large
and their alternates for Presidential
candidate.
The returns from ali the Congressional
districts in the State, which make up d
total Of seventy-four delegates to the
Chicago convention. are not all in. but it
was estimated tonight that certainly
about "A Of the - have been instructed
for Gov. Hughes. and these twenty-four.
with the four delegates-at-iarge, viii make
a total OF twenty-eight out Of the seventy
eight delegates who have been instructed
to use every honorable means to bring
about the governors nomination for Pres
ident.
Hears Arguments on Contests.
The Republican State committee held
the usual meeting on the eve Of a state
convention at the headquarters, z East
Thirtieth street. Chairman Woodruff pre-
siding and Secretary Gleason taking notes.
This time the committee met in executive
session. The committee met 10 hear pre-
liminary arguments on the contests which
are TO be finally settled by the COM
mittee on credentials tomorrow
The only contest Of which notice has
been served was that in the First as
sembly district Of Niagara, where there
was a tremendous fracas between the
adherents Of John a. Merritt and James
". WadswOrth, ST.. on one side, and
Frederick c. Stevens and Representative
Peter Porter on the other Mr. Wads-
worth and his successor IN the House OF
Representatives, Mr. Porter, were on
hand day and night urging their respec-
tive claims 10 recognition on the COM
mittee Neither. however. was sent for
to state their arguments before the State
committee.
The committee decided TO place the
Merritt-Wadsworth people on the tenn
porary roll of the convention, and the
real fght viii be left for the committee
on credentials tomorrow. Il promises to
be about as bitter contest as both
sides can put up. The indications tonight
were that Mr. Merritt will retain his
place as State committeeman for the
Thirty-fourth Congressional district and
that Representative Porter viii be renom-
mated for Congress in the fall.
The State committee then took up the
fight Of William HalpIn. ex-G0v. Odelrs
chief lieutenant in New York City. to be
retained as State committeeman for the
Eleventh district
OdeI'S Lieutenant Beaten.
The. State committee voted by large
majority in favor Of Parsons. This re-
tires HalDin as the State committeeman
for the Eleventh district. In the makeup
of the new State committee tomorrow it
was said that Charles B. Page would sue
ceed Mr.. Halpin. This viii give, accord
ing 70 the safest and most conservative
Republican mathematicians, TO the Wood
-Parsons-B -Barnes-Greiner, or rather the
Roosevelt element in the State organiza-
tion, vote Of 50 to 3.
There was a queer report tonight TO
the effect that a bombshell may be thrown
into the State convention tomorrow. L
was declared that this political missile
might take the shape of a resolution cali
ing upon the convention to adopt as part
of its platform an Endorsement Of the
Agnew-Hart bills at Albany. which would
repeal the Percy-Gray law. which permits
betting at race tracks. There was a good
deal Of suppressed discussion over the re-
port. which even went so far as to assert
that Senator Alfred R. Page. by many
looked upon as the personal representa-
tive of the governor, was to fling the
bombshell which would raise Old Harry.
Fear Fight in Convention.
A resolution of this kind would have
to be offered in the temporary session Of
the convention and referred 10 the com
mittee on resolutions when appointed. II
was stated tonight that if the committee
on RESOLUTIONS refuses to adopt a plank
the Agnew-Hart bills. there
VIII be a minority report brought into
the convention and fight made upon
the floor. Senator Page would have moth
Ing to say whatever about the report.
AMI when President Parsons, OF the New
York County committee, heard Of Senator
Pages step. he said:
Perhaps that is not a matter for a
State convention called together TO elect
delegates-at-large TO a Latlonal conven-
ton % take up. However. know nothing
about the report that Senator Page is to
bring IN a resolution calling for the con-
ventlon 10 indorse the Agnew-Hart bill"
There was good deal of fiuster when
Il was whispered about that Senator Page
Continued on Page 3, Column 2.