The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-06-21
Credentials Committee Calmly Throws
Out Roosevelt Contests az Did
the National Com
nltsee.
NOT QUITE SO BITTER
Tho Words "Llar- and "Thlef'' Are
Not Used In Session Which
Lasted All Through the
Might.

UNITED Press Leased Wire service.l
CHICAGO, June 21.-"So far as
can see all you have done In this COM
mittee to make 1t different from the
national committees efforts is that
you have slowed up the speed little.
The results are the same"
This was the angry declaration to-
day OF w. s. Lauder Of North Da-
kota. after the republican national
conventions committee on credentials /
had approved another ruling OF the
national committee and directed that
the Taft men In the fourth California
district whose seats were contested.
be placed on the regular roll OF the
convention. The vote on this propo-
sition was % to 16.
Slowly, but none the less surely.
the committee went through the con-
tests The result in every case was
the same, the action OF the credentials
committee was approved For the
purpose of the record, and In order to
be In a position to present minority
report, the progressive members
voted no on each motion to seat the
Taft men, but the vote of the major
ity seldom fell below the "a mark and
many Of the cases were disposed of
by viva voce vote without record
being demanded.
The committee sat continuously
! from two O'Clock yesterday until a
brief breakfast recess was ordered to-
day. Every member was allowed the
! widest latitude in his remarks At
times the contestants, the seated dele
gates, and the members OF the commit
Itee engaged In debate but there was
! little of the bitterness in evidence that
marked the hearing OF the same con-
tests by the national committee The
only incident that stirred partisanship
was when the California contest was
called. A bitter letter was sent to
the committee by Charles Wheeler
and Phillip Bancroft, the two dele
gates from the fourth California dis
trict in which they accused the com
mittee of having preiudiced their
case. They absolutely refused to
submit any argument as to the legality
of their election. The committee,
after listening to the reading of the
letter ordered viva voce vote that 1t
be returned to the senders. In their
letter the Roosevelt delegates from
the fourth California, after reviewing
!, the contest, said:
THE people of California under a
duly elected primary election law,
elected us to serve as delegates to the
national republican convention by a
a majority OF some 1900 votes over
all of the twenty-six Taft delegates
/ who ran against us. Our credentials
issued regularly by the secretary of
state under the great seal of the state,
have been properly filed. And yet, in
the face of our 77.0oO majority the
late national committee. of which dis
credited body some of you were par
ticipating members, attempted upon
an obviously trumped up case to give
our seats to two of those same defeat.
ed Taft delegates. II we believed
your committee to be a genuinely de.
in accordance with right and Justice
i we would have no hesitation in pre-
:, senting our case to you, but we do not
: have that confidence. We believe that
a majority of your committee will de
eide our case in accordance with a
pre-arranged political PLAN
The letter then devlared that the
writer's had no doubt that the com
mittee would seat them II 1t was found
that their votes would not nominate
Theodore Roosevelt and declared
I that If the committee should sea,
! them, they believed such action would
j be due to desire to better concea
: the fraud upon the voters and on the
: republican party and upon Theodore
: Roosevelt that the majority intends te
) perpetrate."
: F. w. Mondell OF Wyoming. was on,
of the most indignant Of the Tat
: committeeman, all of whom consider
ed themselves insulted by the letter
Il came here hoping to be able t,
: vote for the California Roosevelt dele
gates,' he asserted, mot through an,
: motive other than sympathy. hat
planned to let my sympathy over-rid
r my solemn judgment in the matter bu
2 alter this gratuitious insult I see NJ
e reason why sympathy should b
wasted on such men,
/