The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1912-08-01

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power to decide whether it would
se.eet the delegates directly or should
call q primary. In some counties
of the state, one course was pursued
and in other counties the other.
In King county the committee con
sisted or $50 men, the majority of
whom we're for TAFT, aud the major
| ity, acting through its executive
committee had been held after the
gates to the state convention. Mean
time, the city council Of Seattle had
redlstricted the city. At before had
$50 precincts. Now. Substantially
the same territory was divided up
into 3S1 precincts. The chairman
OF the county committee was a
Roosevelt man He had been given
authority by general resolution to
Efll vacancies occurring in the COM
mlttee. A general meeting OF the
committee had ben held after the
city council had directed the redis-
itricting of the city, in which it was
resolved, the chairman dissenting,
that representatives could not be Sc
lected to fill the SS1 new precincts
until after nelection was held in
September, 1912. Thereafter. and
in spite OF this conclusion, the chair
man assumed the right by his ap-
lpointment to add to the existing
committee 1S1 precinct committee
man. and with these voting in the
committee, 1t Is claimed that pri-
mary was ordered. There was SO
much confusion in the meeting that
this is doubtful. However, the fact
is that the Taft mon protested
against any action by committee
SO constituted, on the ground that
THE chairman HAD no authority to
appoint the 1s1 new committeeman.
They refused to take part, In the pri-
mary, and SO did the LaFollette
men. The newspapers reported the
number of votes in the primary to
be something ever 5000. The
Roosevelt committee showed by af-
Ifidayit the number to be 5000 out
of usual total Republican vote of
.I75,OOO. The action of the chairman
lar the committee in attempting to
add 131 precinct men to the old
committee was of course beyond his
power. The resolution authorizing
him to FIJI vacancies of course APP
piled only to those places which. be-
Jeanne vacant after they had been
Eflled, and clearly, did not apply to
| 131 new precincts. 1t could not In
the nature Of things apply to a
change from the old system to a
complete new system of precincts
created by the city council because
If they were to be filled, the entire
number of 331 new. precincts differ
Ient from the old must be filed.
lone system could not be made into
the other by a mere additional ap-
i pointment Of lS1, !. committeeman.
No lawyer will say that such action
by the committee thus constituted
was legal. Therefore, the action
which the lawful committee of $50
took in electing Taft delegates who
I. made a majority in the state con-
vent:on was the only one which
could be recognized.
The Ninth Alabama contest turned
on the. question whether the chair
man of district committee had
power to fill vacancies, whether a
committeeman who had sent his res
|ignation to take effect only in case
he was not present, being present,
should be prevented from acting as
committeeman, and third: on the
identity OF another committeeman.
The written resolution under which
the right of the chairman to appoint
TO vacancies was claimed showed
on its face that the specific authority
was written In different writing and
different colored pencil between the
lines. A number of affidaNtts we're
filed by committeeman who were
i present when the resolution passed.
to show that the resolution con-
tanned no such authority. This gave
rise to question of fact upon which
a very large majority OF both tho
national committee and the commit
tee on credentials held that the lead
pencil insertion was a forgery, that
the chairman did not have the au-
thority therefore to appoint to the
vacancies, aid therefore the action
OF his committee was not valid.
IrTNI,