The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-06-29
M GOVERNS RoBB1Ne PLAN,

M GOVGRN . ROoolro LAIN
\ curious .taiement was made b"
F; Governor McGo,eru cf Wisconsin ON
I his return 10 Madison from The Chicago
convention. Mctioveu was the choice
Of the La Toilette and Cummins fac.
lions for tho temporary chairmauship
of the Republican National Convention,
IN opposition TO Senator Root Those
factions kept that choice very close.
however. and apparently il WAS not mn
iii the morning of the convention that
the Roosevelt followers rougd out that
McGovcrn was TO be supported by the
la Follcitc aud Cummins delegates.
The Roosevelt men had The day before
agreed upon Senator Borah OF Idaho
as thcir choice for temporary chairman,
but when they found that McGovern
was to be supported by La Toilette and
crmm'ns. the Roosevelt men changed
thcr tactics instantly and dccil led to
support McGoNen, He was defeated
hv Senator Root. and ~ il turns ont
that defeat Of his was greater victory
for peace aud order than could have
been imagined at the time. For Me
Govern has given out programme of
nsurpation and disorder which he in.
tended to follow, which would have
broken up the convention and disor
ganlzcd the party, provided ne had
been able to carry that programme
through.
In long statement issued by the
Governor iustifying his candidacy for
temporary chairman, he presented fig
ares which he argued would have alto
Gcthcr changed the complexion of the
convention. His claim is that under Il
ruling which he proposed to make. the
net Taft strength would have been
$50 and the net Roosevelt strength
40. In order to get at this result Me
Govern says that if he had been elected
temporary chairman he would have
ruled that the IS contested delegates
(why not the whole 25I7) should be
disqualified until lawfully seated
meaning by that he would have under
taken TO make up a new roster Of the
convention to suit himself, disregard.
ing the action of the National Repub-
lican Committee. This would have been
absolutely revolutionary, and would
have been usurpation on the part of
the temporary chairman wholly unpre-
cedented and uniustified His arcu-
ment is therefore. that he could by this
ruling have thrown out those IS votes
which would have left the comparative
strength as indicated, with neither
Taft nor Roosevelt in the majority
He comedies that there would have
been an appeal from the decision of the
chair, but that the Roosevelt delegates
would all have supported him. and that
there were not enough of the Taft dele
gates, even counting the rs, 10 over
rule his decision, since it would have
required twothirds TO overrule it.
Then, having won this point, he pro-
ceeds to state that the cases of the
rs contested delegates would have been
referred to the committee on creden-
tials, and that committee would have
brought in. as it did, a majority and
minority report. He would have ruled
that the lS contested delegates had no
right to vote upon this report, evident
ly considering that the vote would be
taken in mass, and that there would
be no possibility for the Taft men to
adopt the majority report, since neither
faction would have majority in the
In all this it is plain that McGovern
as temporary chairman would have
undertaken TO introduce revolutionary
parliamentary tactics, and would have
made a ruction compared with which
nothing ever before seen in a Repub-
hcan convention would size up. if
McGoyern really had any such iuteu.
ton as this, it is doubly fortunate that
he was defeated for the chairmanship.
II this programme was understood by
the Roosevelt faction, they must for
ever close their mouths against any
cry of treachery, stealing. or any loose
or evil practices; for programme like
that would be utterly unscrupulous,
even anarchistic, and McGovern, in an
nouncing it, proclaims his unfitncss
ever TO preside over a body of men
intent upon doing what is right and