New-York tribune., 1908-02-25
THE VOTE IN OHIO.

The Sandusky Register tells rs that our
comments the result of the recent primary
election in Ohio were based on a miSappre-
hension of facts" We said Oh February 13
when the returns from the election came in,
that the Republicans of Ohio had indicated as
plainly as possible that they stand by the ad-
ADMINISTRATION and its policies and favor unan-
''mous Endorsement of Secretary Taft as Ohio'S
.choice for the Presidential nomination" This
view was accepted by practically every news
paper in the United States outside of Ohio.
Nor was there any reason why the vote at the
primaries should not have been construed as
a complete victory for the Taft forces. Virtually
every county in the state which voted elected
Taft delegates TO the state convention. In those
counties which did not hold primaries there
were no contests, and delegates were named by
other means avOwedly 10 avoid expense. But
as far as could be judged no effective opposition
10 Mr. Taft's candidacy was manifested in any
part of the state. The Register, in the face
of the utter collapse Of the ant-Taft move
ment. insists that tile result Of the contest for
delegates Oh February i had no significance.
1t asserts: I'VE wish 10 say that there is no
clearly defined and expressed wish of the Re
publican voters Of Ohio SO far" To support
this assertion it cites what it says happened in
Erie County, of which Sandusky is the chief
CITY. Here is the substance of its complaint:
We have had no primaries in this county: we
have had no election of delegates; the people
have not been asked to vote for anybody for
delegates to the state convention. Nine tenths
of the voters of this county do not know,
except through the newspapers, whether any
body is to represent this county in the state
convention The collector of the port here called
into consultation one or two others and selected
men TO represent the Republicans of Erie Coun-
ty in the state convention, and this list was
sent TO Vorys at Columbus, who did not know
- hr i2o.s ia
as the Taft delegation from Erie County. Not
another Republican in the county had any voice
in the matter whatever, nor was any notice
given of any election of any convention, of any
effort the part of anybody to select dele
cation from this county. and what is true of
this county is true of more than half the coun-
tiessin the state
We reproduce this statement because ii is
only fair 10 allow a dsputant 10 have his say
Yet if all that our SandusFy contemporary says
is true il does not by any means follow tina t
the true sentiment Of the voters of Ohio has
not been expressed in the choice of delegates
TO the state convention. The Erie County Re-
publican Committee, if we remember rightly,
ndorsed Mr.. Taft's candidacy q couple Of
months ago, then repudiated that Endorsement
and finally reconsidered the repudiat ton The
amti-Taft forces were much stronger in Erie
than in most of the other Ohio counties. The
Register has itself conducted for months a
vigorous anti-Taft and pro Foraker cambaign
1t was the desire and purpose Of the call for the
state convention that the voters in each county
should have Il chance TO pass the issues in
yolyed in Mr. Taft's contest with the two
United States Senators. primary could GER
tainy have been held ia Erie County if there
had been any serious demand for it. We do
not imagine that if ''The Register and any
considerable number of Republican voters had
insisted on holding an election the county COM
mittee could have or would have disregarded
their demand on the plea OF excessive expense.
The fact was, apparently, that throughout
the state '@H opposi''@a carefully avoided any