Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-07
TAFT OPPONENTS
ARE MUTINOUS
KNOX, FAIRBANKS AND HUGHES
WILL BOLT
CANNON TAKES NO PART IN THE
CONTROVERSY
Other Candidates Say Credentials
Committee is PreJudieed for Sec
retary of War and VIII SUBJ
nit No More Contests

CHICAGO, June 6.-No more evidence
in contested cases will be put before
the Republican national committee by
the allied candidates, according to a
decision reached tonight at a confer
ence between managers representing
the interests of Senator Knox, Vice
President Fairbanks and Governor
Hughes The managers for Speaker
Cannon did not participate.
There were present at the conference
Representative James Francis Burke
of Pennsylvania, Senator Hemenway
and Joseph B. Keating of Indiana,
Senator Crane of Massachusetts, A. B.
Humphreys of New York and former
Governor Bradley of Kentucky.
Convinced that the national COM
mittee as at present constituted has
prejudged all contests in favor of Sec
retary Taft and that all of the dele
cations instructed to vote for him will
be seated by the committee, the man
ayers of the three candidates named
decided upon a radical course. They
talked Inc matter over informally and
then called a meeting for late hour
tonight. They expect also to have sew
eral sessions tomorrow and map out a
definite program, and when that has
been done to issue a statement adj
dressed to the public, setting forth
their reasons for refusing to continue
their cases before the court of first
instance, for such is the national COM
mittee.
In reaching a decision tonight the
gentlemen of the conference came to
the conclusion that If they concluded
to present their claims to the national
committee and received nothing but
succession of defeats on which to ap-
peal to the credentials committee of
| h. lon thnxr q
"black eye" from that body and proba-
bly, from the committee which is the
court of last resort. They admitted
also that If they decline to present
their evidence to the national COM
mittee they may have poor case to
present to the superior court.
Realize Their Step
The determination to take the steps
outlined, therefore, was not hastily
action, and the conferees stated they
realized full we'll what the step means.
Senator Bradley of Kentucky has
been selected as the man best fitted
to conduct the appeal to the national
convention, which explains his presence
at the conference. He was interested
also in the campaign made for Mr.
Fairbanks before the. committee In the
four contested districts from Kentucky.
The allies concede that they are
weakened by the non-concurrence OF
the Cannon managers. The neadquar-
ters of the speaker are now under the
direction of Representative Frank o.
Lowden. Mr.. Cannon has nothing to
gain by the contests however they may
be settled, as he would not be the bene-
ficiary In any case. Mr.. Lowden is of
the opinion that 1t is not good party
politics to precipitate a row in the Re-
publican ranks just prior to the cleo
ton and for that reason is not in
sympathy with the movement to bolt
the committee.
The effect of the non-prosecution of
the anti-Taft contests would be to
cause the committee to seat the Taft
delegates in each instance. These dele
cations would go on the temporary
roll and each one of the state delega-
Continued ON Psre Two,