Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1912-06-12
Der at the meeting held in washinp

ton
The national committees call specs-
fed that the voters Of each congress
sinoal district should have the priv.
liiege Of choosing two delegates to rep
resent them in the republican nation
al convention Under the California
primary law, although the first returns
showed that the Taft delegates in the
Fourth congressional district won
over the Roosevelt delegates. the sec.
retary Of state acted under the state
primary law and gave all delegates to
Colonel Roosevelt becpuse of his larse
majority in the state
Later. however, the secretary of
state determined that the boundaries
between the Fourth and Fifth districts
we're not clearly enough defined to
make possible an accurate count of
the Taft or Roosevelt votes in the
Fourth district. This change further
complicated the case as it was pres
ented to the committee today.
There are two sets of delegates-at-
large from Arizona, one for Taft and
the other for Roosevelt. the latter the
contesting faction. In the state con
vention, after the Taft men had or
ganized the Roosevelt followers held
convention in the same hall and
elected a delegation The contest
ants deny the right of the Taft leaders
to fix temporary roll call.
Just before the committee met it
was declared that the claim of the
Roosevelt delegation from Louisiana,
headed by Committeeman Pearl Wight
would be that the subcommittee of
the republican national committee ex-
deeded its authority when it went to
Louisiana and consolidated with the
former warning factions
The Wight delegation was elected
under one of the regular committees.
Mr.. Wight was prepared to assert be-
fore the committee that the national
committees delegation which went to
Louisiana in February went there for
the purpose of getting early conven-
tions and shutting out the possibility
of a Roosevelt delegation.
For the six delegates-at-large from
Arizona appeared Samuel J. Elder g
Boston attorney and former classmate
OF President Taft; Robert 3. Morri-
son, an attorney from Prescott, Ari-
iona and Judge Williams, Jr., of Tue
son, one of the delegateseat-large At
the, Roosevelt table Ormsby Mc1arg
was joined by George Record of New
Jersey, and Dwight B. Heard of Phoe-
nix, of the Roosevelt, delegation.
Chairman Rosewater said there was
some doubt as to which Arizona dele
CATION should be heard first, but, as
the Roosevelt delegates had filed their
credentials first, the Taft delegates
would be considered the contestants.
Mr.. Elder said that as no primary
law was in effect when the Arizona
state committee called the state con-
vention for June 8, doubt existed as
to how the delegates should be select
ed. The state committee decided to
leave the election of delegates to the
county committees.
"Only one contest was presented
when the state committee met two
days before the convention said Mr.
Elder. 1t was well known that the
committee was ready to hear all con
tests. At the convention at Tucson
all the contestants received tickets
Chairman ]. L. Hubbell stated that ev-
every one claiming to be delegate
could be heard, when some one pro
tested against the reading of a roll
call as made by the committee
THE man who Objected was
Roosevelt men who was not recogniz-
cd as delegate on the temporary roll
When, apparently by pre-eonceived
plan, the Roosevelt men pushed for the
platform and Immediately scenes of
disorder followed"
The Roosevelt forces, however, soon
left the regular convention which then
organized peacefully" according to
Mr.. Elder, with 6S of the 96 votes
which had been recognized on the
temporary roll'' previously prepared
by the state executive committee.
Robert q. Morrison, a Taft delegate
to the state convention. said he be-
lieved there was fully developed
football organization" among the
Roosevelt men, who proceeded to run
a convention on one side of the stage,
while the Taft convention was going
on at the other. For 20 minutes, he
said, it was impossible to hear any-
thing. The Roosevelt men then left
L e..