The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1912-08-02

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 contended that II the Roosevelt
forces had had a majority they would
have been elected There were 2,356
delegates summoned to the convention
by Its call. There were 449 of these
whose seats were contested. II all Of
these had been conceded to Roosevelt
1t would have made the Roosevelt vote
297 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 1t about 1000 delegates. There
were only two counties in dispute or
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 or votes that
should have been in the convention.
The contest was so weak as to hardly
merit recital
In Texas there were 249 counties. of
which fOJr have 40 county govern.
ment The 245 counties under the call
OF the convention were allowed to have
something over 1000 delegates, repre-
senttng them. who were given author
fty to cast 248 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 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 ha bit of con-
trolling the Republican state conven-
ton by securing from two federal Of
dcehOlders in each of these ninety nine
counties certificate granting proxy
to Colonel Lyon or friend of his to
represent the county as il regularly
conferred by Republican county or
gantza ton. 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 proxy to give
vote equal to that to he cast by the
other 146 counties IN which there was
q 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
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 tho
convention or whether q primary,
which was subsequently held and at
which Roosevelt delegates were elect
ed, was properly called. so that its re-
suit was legal. Under the law the
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 ono
course was pursued aud in other coun-
ties the other. In King county the
committee consisted OF $50 men. the
ma Ority Of whom were for Taft, and
that majority. acting through Its exec
utive committee, selected the Taft dele
gates to the state convention Mean
districted the city 1t before had 25O
precincts. Now substantially the same
territory was divided up into 3S1 pre-
ctncts. The chairman of the county
committee was 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 IA September,
1912 Thereafter and in spite of this
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 Ii In claimed that pri-
mary was ordered. There was SO much
confusion In the meeting that this Is
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