Arizona republican., 1912-05-02
The Massachusetts Primaries


 Massachusetts has gone for Taft !! The president won straight out in 1 half the districts. but the thing of :. overshadowing importance is that he 1 got the vote of the state. thus winning ! the delegates at large and obtaining 1 the indorsement of the state under ! the preferential plan. It was hard i fight and the majority is small. but 1 the fact remains that Massachusetts | is in the Taft column. This. in and of itself. is important: but Of far greater importance is the moral ef- i feet. It does not seem possible now that the president can fail of nomin- i ation.
 The Massachusetts primary law is a l peculiarly constructed measure. It l provides for the indorsement of the l candidates and at the same time per mits vote for would be delegates i who are identified with one candidate |! or the other Thus, in the election i Tuesday an elector had the chance of i voting for the indorsement of Presi- i dent Taft and at the same time -vot- | ing tor candidates for delegates who i belonged to the Roosevelt groups. It 1 is the same thing, precisely as the advisory vote for United States sena- tors as operative in Arizona
 TO illustrate: In the election in this i state last December four republicans i were chosen to each the upper and 1 lower house of the legislature But l at the same election two democrats | had been indorsed for the senate So, 1 when the legislature met, the repub- 1 iican members obeying their party l platform and the advisory section of 1 the constitution. voted for the demo- ! have been the same if the legislature i had been overwhelmingly republican, or unanimously republican for the l matter of that
 A similar situation has developed l in Massachusetts. The state has in l dorsed President Taft A majority of the people have said it's votes shall be 1 cast for him at the Chicago conven- tion. Yet some of the Roosevelt dele 1 gates, because of their own popularity 1 or the unpopularity of their oppon- l ents, have won. And strange as it ! may seem some of these delegates are already declaring that they will dis 1 regard their instructions and vote for Roosevelt at the Chicago convention !
 If they should follow that course it ! will be the hardest blow the presi- 1 dential primary law has ever re- ceived. Also it will show up the Roosevelt managers in d most un- enviable light if they permit it.
 It will be recalled that Senator Dixon time and again insultingly challenged President Taft to recom- mend the presidential primary in Massachusetts. 1t was declared over and over again that Mir. Taft was afraid to abide by the decision of the electorate and sanction presidential preference primary. It was also af- firmed with a great deal of enthusi- asm, not to say violence, that in the event of the adoption of d preferen- tiaI primary MT Roosevelt would win, hands down
 Well, the legislatur did pass the law and it was signed by Governor Foss the same day it was passed by the legislature; and the primary was held under the very kind of law NIT. Dixon said he desired.
 The result has been vindication of AIr Taft On the eve of the election the president went into the state. broke his long silence, and told a number of plain truths The force of the entire Dixon machine was cen tered upon that state: but in spite of that fact MT. Taft was endorsed. The disgruntled delegates may vote for Roosevelt regardless of the advis- ory vote They can do it if they want to-
 And it might be perfectly safe to do