The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1912-08-01

select the delegates directly or should
call primary. In some counties
of the state. one course was pursued
and in other counties the other.
In King county the committee con
sisted or $50 men, the majority of
whom were for TAFT, and the major
.ity, acting through its executive
committee had been held after the
gates to the state convention. Mean
time, the city council OF Seattle had
redlstricted the city. 1T before had
$50 precincts. Now. Substantially
the same territory was divided up
into 3S1 precincts. The chairman
OF the county committee was a
Roosevelt man: He had been given
authority by general resolution to
I'LL vacancies occurring in the COM
mlttee. A general meeting of the
committee had ben held after the
city council had directed the redis-
tricting of the city, in which it was
resolved, the chairman dissenting,
that representatives could not be Sc
lected to fill the 3S1 new precincts
until after a nelection was held in
September, 1912. Thereafter, and
in spite of this conclusion. the chair
man assumed the right by his APP
Ipointment to add to the existing
committee 131 precinct committee
men, and with these voting In the
committee, 1t Is claimed that pri-
mary was ordered. There was SO
much confusion in the meeting that
this is doubtful. However, the fact
is that the Taft men protested
against any action by committee
SO constituted, on the ground that
the chairman had no authority to
appoint the 1S1 new committeeman.
They refused to take part In the pri-
mary, and SO did the LaFollette
men. The newspapers reported the
number Of votes in the primary to
be something ever 5000. The
Roosevelt committee showed by at.
fidayit the number to be 5000 out
OF usual total Republican vote OF
I75,O00. The action of the chairman
If the committee in attempting to
add 131 precinct men to the old
lcommittee was of course beyond his
power. The resolution authorizing
him to FIJI vacancies of course ap.
lplied only to those places which be-
Jeanne vacant after they had been
jailed, and clearly, did not apply tc
/ 1871 new precincts. 1t. could not In
the nature of things apply to
change from the old system to 9
complete new system of precincts
lcreated by the city. council because
1if they were to be filled, the entire
number of 331 new, precincts differ
ent from the old must be filed
lone system could not be made into
the other by a mere additional ap
! pointment OF 1S1 committeeman
1 No lawyer will say that such actor
by the committee thus constituted
was legal. Therefore. the actor
which the lawful committee of 25C
took in electing Taft delegates who
made a majority in the state con
vent.on was the only one which
could be recognized. ih
The Ninth Alabama contest turned
on the. question whether the chair
man of district committee hat
power to fill vacancies, whether {
committeeman who had sent his res.
Iignation to take effect only in case
he was not present, being present
should be prevented from acting al
committeeman, and third: on the
identity OF another committeeman
The written resolution under which
the right of the chairman to appoint
TO vacancies was claimed showed
on its, face that the specific authority
was written IN different writing ant
different colored pencil between the
ilines. A number Of affidaVits were
filed by committeeman who were
/. present when the resolution passed
to show that the resolution con.
tanned no such authority. This gave
rise to question of fact upon which
a very large majority of both the
national committee and the commit.
tee on credentials held that the lead
pencil Insertion was forgery, that
the chairman did not have the au-
thority therefore TO appoint to the
vacancies, and therefore the action
of his committee was not valid.
This made 1t necessary to reject the
contestants. The committee decided
the two other issues Of fact before
| it in favor OF the Taft contention,
although the first decision was con
elusive.