Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1912-05-24
PRESIDENT TAFT WILL
FIGHT TO THE END
Particularly Desires TO DO Nothing
That Might Help Roosevelt
Figures Are Conflicting.

Cleveland.-Preside Taft will be
in the fisht to the finish, whatever
may be the outcome of the primaries
in the various states.
The Roosevelt people have been
busy circulating as part OF the ONO
campaign reports that the President
will step aside. Some of the Presi-
dents friends have been quoted as say
ing they believed he would be obliged
to follow such a course in final effort
TO defeat Roosevelt at Chicago.
Mr.. Taft himslf, however, has never
entertained a thought Of retiring from
the race He said some time ago that
only death could keep him out of the
fight at Chicago, and his attitude Is
the same to-day as it was then.
He will go into the Chicago conven-
tion ready TO stand TO the end deter
mined, if necessary, to put the respon-
sibility for the present situation in the
Republican party squarely on the
shoulders of those who have created
it.
President Taft's advisers declare
that the day is past for talking of
compromise candidate; that it is now
a fight TO a finish between Roosevelt
and Taft. They add that the President
could not deliver his delegates TO
third candidate even if he had any
thought of doing so. and that the sur
est way TO bring about Roosevelt
nomination would be for Taft TO with
draw.
1t is pointed out further that any at
tempt on the part of Mr.. Taft TO step
aside at this time would lead to his be-
ing characterized as gutter even
though his motive might be party har-
mony.
President Taft received kilograms
from his secretary, c. d. Hilles, and
Director William B. Mckinley of the
Taft Bureau claiming 543 delegates to
the convention for Taft. Five hundred
and forty is majority in the conven-
tion.
The President had nothing TO add to
his statement regarding the delegates
TO Chicago. In that statement he SAID:
"If Theodore Roosevelt were to get
all of the delegates that remain TO be
chosen yet he could not be nominated.
Carefully prepared figures show that
only 500 delegates thus far are in
structed for or pledged to him, and the
talk of real and genuine contests
against delegates who are instructed
for me is as unsustained by the facts
as many of the misleading issues
which have been injected into this
campaign"
Toledo, -Ohio.-Col. Roosevelt issued
a statement concerning his delegate
strength in which he opens the way
TO bolt the Chicago Convention should
Taft have working majority of the
delegates.
y In this statement, speaking of the
Michigan delegation, he says:
In this State the contests for the
Taft delegates Lave literally no foun-
dation whatever. The Taft delegation
represents not merely fraud but vio-
lence. II has no claim whatever to be
considered to represent any Republi-
cans.
In Michigan, as in Indiana and Ken
lucky, the acceptance by the national
committee of the Taft delegates would
be a deliberate violation of the popular
will and would relieve all Republicans
of any duty TO or respect of any con-
yention in which these men exercise
a controlling part
This statement is the first that
Roosevelt has personally authorized
in the campaign.