Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-05-23
TAFT SAFE, SAYS M'KINLEY
Certainty That lie VIII Have Contro,
Of Contcsts--Light on Roose-

Colonel Roosevelts claim that he al.
ready has five hundred of the $40 do,o.
gates necessary to nominate him for
President meets with sharp denia, sroro
Director Mckinley Of the National Tai,
bureau, who denounces It as false and
intended to mislead.
1T is significant" says McK,n,ev
that Mr.. Roosevelt made no claim what.
ever until ne was certain that William
II. Taft will actually be in control of
tho republican national convention. with
enough delegates instructed for and
pledged to his support to secure the
nomination. Mr.. Mckinley makes the
point that Roosevelt is claiming two hun
dred more delegates than his own man
ayers have been credting him with in
their daily tables.
Mr.. Roosevelt needs 23l II is there
fore, evident on the face NJ Mr. Roose-
vclt's claim that he has included I'm h,s
list every contested delegate from the
southern States to which, In accordance
with presidents already set by the re-
publican national committee. he has nc
more real claim that William J. Bryan or
Eugene V. Debs."
The Taft managers then proceed to an
alyze the character of the Roosevelt con.
test in the South ard TO point out what
was indicated in these dispatches at the
time, that practically all of them were
made to order long after the delegates
had been elected.
In no single instance in the South
was a Roosevelt contest brought or
the day of the regular convention"
says Mr.. Mckinley, "and the entire
ria rg l., i,
half we're instigated in Washington,
financed from his own headquarters In
Washington and therefore are the
most irregular Of all contests ever
presented to the national committee
They do not even, In most instances,
rise to the dignity OF 'rump' conven.
lions, In this connection 1t can be fur.
Their said that practically every con.
test to be heard by the national com.
mttee is a Roosevelt contest. brought
after thorough going defeat or
brought weeks after the conventions
were actually held, while the Taft
contests are confined TO not more than
five congressional districts. involving
ten delegates. In other words il f.
physically Impossible at this time for
| Mr.. Roosevelt to have any more dole.
gates than he now has actually-30q-
without adding thereto every delegate
he claims to be contestng In this
campaign. On the other hand it can
be stated that within week conf
dental information came 20 these
headquarters showing that Mr. Roose-
Welt himself was not claiming moro
than 31s delegates to the Chicago con-
!
poses Mr. Roosevelt has suddenly added
200 delegates to his table, thereby
out-claimlng Senator Joseph NJ. Dixon
and all his other satellites by a large
majority.
| Throughout the entire campaign. when
ever it has been absolutely necessary for
Mr. Roosevelt TO make a showing to off,
set tremendous gains by President Taft.
Mr. Roosevelts managers have rushed 70
him. demanding that he take the lime.
| light and make some absurd claim to be-
fog the situation. If possible Not infre-
quently Mr.. Roosevet's managers. un-
able to get some absurd statement into
the newspapers. have forwarded their
material TO Mr.. Roosevelt with a re-
quest that he secure the required pub
Lefty himself and this Mr. Roosevelt
, has unblushingly undertaken to do.
AT one period OF the campaign. when
| the chief cry of the Roosevelt manager
was fraud and contest, Mr. Roosevelt
| accepted every statement sent him hy
| his managers with reference to such al
| legged 'fauds.' He repeated on the stump
! the exact statements of Senator Dixon
| with reference to the Kentucky prima-
| ries. although his own Kentucky man
| ayers took the platform IN the Kentucky
| convention and repudiated every state
| ment made by both Mr.. Roosevelt and
| Senator Dixon. Likewise in New York.
| the Roosevelt managers failed to take
| their cry OF alleged frauds to the courts,
| as they had a perfect right to do. In In
| diana, Mr.. Roosevelt's campaign man
| ayers refused to bolt the convention. al
| though some ~ of their followers did So
IN Vermont they repu Hated abso-
lutely the cry OF fraud raised by Sem
ator Dixon and repeated by Mr.. Roose-
Welt.
ut was at this stage of the proceed
ings. when the Roosevelt column OF
instructed ana pledged delegates was
meagre indecl, that the Roosevelt
managers hit on the plan of contest
ing every county, congressional DIS
trict and state convention they could
not carry. They placed the whole
South in their contested column be-
fore they gave physical evidence OF
single contestins convention any
where. and they hired men TO work
up these contests in the south some
of which are now being set up through
the medium of alleged mass-conven-
tions. although the regular conven-
tons were held weeks and even
months ago and the delegates there
from duly ana regularly Instructed for
President Taft"