The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-15
Will Hold State Convention
ON May 8.
Bitter Fight Over Proxies in
the Meeting.
REGULARS HOLD A MAJORITY
Forces Organized and Insur-
gents Are OUtnumbered.
DOIIey, Fighting, Goes Down
With the Ship.

The Republican state central COMMITTEES
Thursday voted to hold a convention
at independence May to select -FOUR
delegates at large to the national con
vention at Chicago. The vote was %
to g.
Independence was selected over u
peka by a vote of 25 to 20
II also passed resolutions endorsing
+ba administration of President Taft
and favoring his reorganization to the
rresioency. The Taft men were in con-
troll Of the committee from start TO
enisb holding a safe majority on all
,n,nortant questions in spite of the pre-
-saatio,.s Of state Chairman Dolley that
the committee would FAVOR O "a
tial preference primary
The regulars did not gain their emo
-,Itbor+ a fight. In fact, from the time
chairman Dolley called the meeting TO
o-dor at 2 O'Clock this afternoon IN
Irnieb+s and Ladies of Security han
mill the adjournment vote was taken
the insurgents fought every inch OF the
Wv MANY charges and counter
charges of unfair and reprehehslote
S.,o+bods were made and bitter. WoIus
rassed. But the Taft men stald IN Tue
saddle and rode the tWo-taleo oI 49,
until he quit oucklnS anu ~
tied him to the rack -. q
This afternoon Mr.. Dolley mace d
sneech to the committee in Wn1ch ne
set forth the object OF the can. +be
GREETED the i'll feeling Wltnln -
%Sart1y and declared that I'VE are neAe
foday not for personal motives put
10 launch a successful campalSh' -
is our duty to place gooo OF PAL - 00-
gain of the individual. fo,-
Mr.. DolIey closed his address as III
lows. For Gods sake do not at lIlls
meeting, manufacture any mo-
teriaI for the Democratic party. ,,
Knights and Ladies of Security H thn
vas crowded to the doors Wneh Ihe
connnittee got down to business
The state convention call provloes
for a representation or SSo delesdcSeS
composed o fone delegate at laIs $50
each county and one for Sacn 1oo
S+otes for Frederick, national elector'
1908 as a basis. 49,, rr.e+
men and a disastrous reverse loI lIlS
e11nnorters of Roosevelt and 1hltu
rTarno in Kansas The Taft men were
organized and primed for the occasion.
THE Roosevelt men We're not AAey
didn't have the votes or the sentiment
That is the whole story me rat men
could tell to a man how many VOTES
+bav had and where they were from
and how many proxies they held- Inc
Roosevelt leaders knew little ABOUT II
except that they were in the minority
he
les and at first claimed majority OF
regular committeeman, but eVldenty
did not have a careful poll even OF
their own men and did not know LOT
certain whether or not they hao a ma
ior-itv of regular committeeman at the
S,eatino until the vote was taken. They
were working haphazard- They were at
sea without oars, sail or a compass and
trusting to friendly winds and uueS TO
take them to the harbor
Regulars Well Organized.
The regulars rallied their forces, cam
vassed every county coInnlttee eL l~H,..,
man in the state and secured every
proxy they could get from committee
men who could not come to Topeka
Thew polled their supporters after they
arrived here and knew all DAY long just
=vhere they stood.
THE Roosevelt supporters knew lit
tie hut they sure did yell fraud"
and federal "office holder and all
thoee kind of names.
Fight Over Proxies.
The fight in the committee came
early. 1t started when the regulars
holding proxies startedto vote for
the absent committeeman.
The progressives objected to any
one having voice in the meeting
not a bona fide committeeman. They
took the ground that under the pri-
mary law by which the present state
committee was formed no member
had q right to give out a proxy any
morethan a member of the legislature
has a right to send a proxy to To-
peka to vote for him. They held
that the proxies were illegal and ir-
regular and not entitled to vote.
Now the regulars had a score or
more of proxies and they took the
ground that these proxies had a per-
feet right to represent the men who
gave them and they fought for the
privilege to vote them. And they
won. The regulars won all the time.
They had the votes and knew where
they were at
Regulars Win, IS to "a.
The first test vote of the commit
tee came when WEIGH of Coffeyville
appealed from the decision of the
chair in regard to considering proxies
on first roll cali. TTelch insisted that
they be considered at that time. Dol
ley ruled otherwise. On a vote of
committee chairmen only, and thus
showing the progressives' full
strength for control of the meeting,
the regulars voted % to "a to ap-
peal from the decision of the chair.
This test vote practically decides
that the regulars dominate the meet
ing. 1t means that the proxies shall