Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1912-08-01

were only TWO counties i'll dispute or
contest. One was Wayne county. i'm
which Detroit is situated, and the other
was Calhoun county. The evidence
left no doubt that the Taft men car
ried by very large majority Wayne
county, but It was immaterial whether
thls was true or not. because, leaving
out both Wayne county and Calhoun
county, the only counties in contest.
the Taft delegates outnumbered by
several hundred the Roosevelt dele
gates, and they had a clear majority
out OF the total number Of votes that
should have been in the convention.
The contest was so weak as to hardly
merit recital.
Texas.
In Texas there were 249 counties. of
which four have no county govern
ment. The 245 counties under the call
or the convention were allowed to have
something over l 900 delegates, repre-
senting them. who were given author
ity to cast 24S votes. OF the 245 coun-
ties there were ninety nine counties in
which the total Republican vote was
but 1000, in fourteen Of which there
were no Republican voters. in twenty
seven Of which there were less than
ten each and in none of which was
there any Republican organization and
In none Of which had a primary or con
vention been held. 1t was shown that
Colonel Cecil Lyon, to whom had been
assigned as referee the disposition of
the patronage of the national Repub-
hcan administration for ten years in
the state, had been In the habit Of con-
trolling the Republican state conven-
tion by securing from two federal Of
ticeholders in each of these ninety-nine
counties-a certificate granting a proxy
to Colonel Lyon or a friend of his to
represent the county as If regularly
conferred by a Republican county or
ganization. The national committee
and the committee on credentials and
the convention after the fullest investi-
CATION decided that these ninety-nine
counties in which the Republican vote
was so small and in which there was
no Republican party, no convention. no
primary, no organization, was not the
proper source for a proxy to give
vote equal to that to be cast by the
Republican organization and in
which primaries or conventions were
held. The two committees therefore
held such ninety-nlne proxies to be
Illegal and not the basis Of proper rep
resentation. The two tribunals who
heard the case decided that they should
deduct the ninety-nine votes from the
total OF 245 and give the representation
TO those who controlled the majority
of the remainder. The remainder was
152 votes, and out of that the Taft
men had carried eighty nine counties,
having ninety votes. This gave to the
Taft men a clear majority in the state
convention and with it eight delegates
at large.
WASHINGTON.
The contest in Washington turned on
the question whether the Taft dele
gates appointed by the county COM
mittee in King county, in which Seattle
is situate, were duly elected to the
convention or whether primary,
which was subsequently held and at
which Roosevelt delegates were elect
ed, was properly called, so that its re-
county committee had the power to de
eide whether it would select the dele
gates directly or should call primary.
In some counties Of the state one
course was pursued and in other coun-
ties the other. In King county the
committee consisted of 80 men, the
majority of whom were for Taft. and
that majority, acting through its exec
utive committee, selected the Taft dele
gates to the state convention. Mean
time the city council of Seattle had re-
districted the city. 1t before had 25O
precincts. Now substantially the same
territory was divided up into 3S1 pre-
cincts. The chairman of the county
committee was n Roosevelt man. He
had been given authority by general
resolution TO fill vacancies occurring in
the committee. A general meeting of
the committee had been held after the
city council had directed the redistrict-
ing of the city, in which 1t was re
solved, the chairman not dissenting
that representatives could not be Sc
lected to fill the 331 new precincts un-
til an election was held in September.
conclusion the chairman assumed the
right by his appointment to add to the
existing committee 131 precinct com
mitteemen, and with these voting In
the committee 1T is claimed that a pri-
mary was ordered. There was so much
rOnfusion in the meeting that this Is
doubtful. However, the fact is that
the Taft men protested against any
action by a committee so constituted
on the ground that the chairman had
no authority to appoint the 131 new
committeemcss. They refused to take
part in the primary. and so did the La
Toilette men. The newspapers report
ed the number of votes in the primary
TO be something over 5000. The RoOse-
welt committee showed by affidavit the
number to be 6.000 out of usual total
Republican vote Of $4,000. The action
Of the chairman Of the committee I'm
attempting 10 add 191 precinct men to
the old committee was, of course, be-
VOnd his nOwor The resolution an