Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1912-08-06

seat was uncontested. The three coa-
testants admitted they were not elect
ed by the convention which sent the
Taft delegates or by any other. They
only contended that if the Roosevelt
forces had had a majority they would
have been elected. There were 1856
delegates summoned to the convention
by its call. There were 449 of these
whose seats were contested If all of
these had been conceded to Roosevelt
1t would have made the Roosevelt vote
297 votes less than 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 it 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 of votes that
should have been in the convention.
The contest was so weak as to hardly
merit recital.
Texas.
In Texas there were 249 counties, of
which four have no county govern
ment. The 245 counties under the call
Of the convention were allowed to have
something over 1000 delegates, repre-
senting them. who were given author
ity to cast 24S votes. OF the PAS 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 habit of con
trolling the Republican state cOnven-
ton by securing from two federal Of
ficeholders in each of these ninety-nine
counties certificate granting a proxy
represent the county as if regularly
by Republican county or
ganiZa 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 a proxy to give
vote equal to that to be cast by the
other 146 counties in which there was
a 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
The two tribunals who
heard the case decided that they should
1educt the ninety-nine votes from the
.otal of 245 and give the representation
o those who controlled the majority
If the remainder. The remainder was
I52 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
and with it eight delegates
It large.
WASHINGTON.
The contest in Washington turned on
he question whether the Taft dele
rates appointed by the county com
nittee in King county, in which Seattle
s situate, were duly elected to the
or whether primary.
which was subsequently held and at
which Roosevelt delegates were elect.
d, was properly called, so that its re-
ult was legal. Under the law the
Ounty committee had the power to de
ide whether it would select the dele
ates directly or should call a primary
n some counties of the state one
curse was pursued and in other coun-
les the other. In King county the
consisted Of $50 men: the
majority Of whom were for Taft, and
hat majority, acting through its exec
tive committee, selected the Taft dele
ates to the state convention. Mean
me the city council Of Seattle had re-
istricted the city. 1t before had $50
recincts. Now substantially the same
erritory was divided up into 3Sl pre-
incts. The chairman Of the county
Ommittee was a Roosevelt man He
ad been given authority by general
esOlutiOn to fill vacancies occurring in
be committee. A general meeting Of I
he committee had been held after the 9
Ity council had directed the redistrict
lg of the city, in which it was re- ]
1lved. the chairman not dissenting,
nat representatives could not be Sc E
cted to ill the 331 new precincts un. q
an election was held in September. e
]12 Thereafter and in spite Of this [
inclusion the chairman assumed the !
ght by his appointment to add to the Q
Iisting committee 13l precinct com {
and with these voting IN
le committee II is claimed that a pri 0
AIRY was ordered. There was so much c
in the meeting that this is
oubtfuL However. the fact is that
le Taft men protested against any
,tion by "a committee so constituted q
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