The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1912-08-01

at large. The fourth Taft delegates
seat was uncOntested The three con.
testants admitted they were not elect.
ed by the convention which sent the
Taft delegates or by any other They
only cOnfended that If the Roosevelt
forces had had a majority they would
have been elected There were 2.35G
delegates SummOned To the convention
by its call There were 40 of these
whose seats We're contested. If all Of
these had been conceded to Roosevelt
1t would have made the Roosevelt vote
291 votes less than a majority. The
appeal to the committee on credentials
from the decision of the national com.
mittee was abandoned. as it ought to
have been
Michigan.
In Michigan the state convention
had in il about 1.200 delegates There
were only two counties in dispute OF
contest. One was Wayne county. in
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
this 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 clear majority
out Of the total number Of votes that
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 2iJ counties under the call
Of the convention were allowed TO have
something over 900 delegates, repre-
senting them. who were given author
ity to cast 2lS votes. OF the 245 coun
ties there We're 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 III 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
lican administration for ten years in
the state, had been in the habit of con
trolling the Republican state conven
ton by securing from two federal Of
ticehOlderS in each of these ninety nine
counties certificate granting a proxy
to Colonel Lyon or friend of his to
represent the county as if regularly
conferred by Republican county or
ganiZatiOn The national committee
and the committee Oh 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 a
vote equal to that to be cast by the
other 146 counties in which there was
Republican organization and in
which primaries or conventions were
held The two committees therefore
held such ninety-nine proxies to be
illegal and not the basis of proper rep
b. NyiI l. h..
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 clear majority in the state
convention and with it eight delegates
at large
WASHINGTON.
The contest in Washington turned Oh
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 al
which Roosevelt delegates were elect
ed, was properly called, so that its re
suit was legal Under the law tht
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 250 men, the
| majority of whom we're 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 25C
| precincts. Now substantially the samt
territory was divided up into 3Sl pre-
cincts The chairman of the county
committee was Roosevelt man. III
had been given authority by genera
resolution to ill vacancies occurring il
the committee \ general meeting o
the committee had been held after th,
..ity council had directed the redistrict
ing of the city, in which it was re
solved. the chairman not dissenting
that representatives could not be Sc
ected to ill the 33l new precincts un
I'll an election was held in September
1912 Thereafter and in spite of thi
| ,.nnoluSion rho chairman aSSumah th
right by his appointment to add to tn
existing committee l3l precinct com
mittcemen. and with these voting ii
the committee it is claimed that pri
mary was ordered. There was so mucl
confusion in the meeting that this i
doubtful However. the fact is tina
the Taft men protested against an