The Washington times., 1912-06-21
Continued from First Page.)

Inc tart men insisted tnat tney were
standing pat. Secretary Hilles and
Congressman Mckinley. after a count
Of noses. said that they had more than
$40 votes needed to nominate Taft. They
declared that there was absolutely no
truth in the report that they had offered
to drop the President for another can
didate, either Hadley. of Missouri, or
Root. of New York.
But while the leaders we're talking
this way. many of the individual dele
gates we're asserting that they did not
believe the party should renominate
the President: although they claimed
that he had won a distinct moral VIC
tory through the elimination Of Colonel
Roosevelt as a serious candidate-de-
spite the Roosevelt mems absolute de-
nial that the colonel was out Of tho
race. They contended that when the
vote was taken there would be a uni
versal surprise. and that the President
should now step aside.
Delegates Want Third Man.
Delegates of this stamp had not crys-
tallized their sentiment on any particu-
> lar candidate. Many talked Hadley.
His fiery utterances and potent mag
netism had made hit with them and
they were suggesting that with the
Missourian as the party standard
bearer, there would be little to fear
from the new party launched yester-
day BY Colonel Roosevelt.
Other delegates, and they were mostly
from New England and the South,
wanted Elihu Root named AZ pre-
siding officer, he had made a hit with
all Of the Taft forces, but the party
bosses were insisting today that sug-
gestions Of his, nomination were fool
ish. Indiana was still boosting Vice
President Fairbanks, but his boom, like
the Root suggestion, was purely sec
tional.
Senator Borah had many friends
among the delegates although he per-
sonally had done &ll that he could to
discourage any boom in his behalf
There were also a few Massachusetts,
men who were buttonholing delegates
and sounding the praises OF United
States Senator Cabot Lodge, Of the Bay
State. who for the first time in a gen.
GRAFTON, was not familiar figure
among the spectators
Taft Must Win Early.
The situation so far as the candidates
were concerned today shaped up so that
1t appeared II President Taft was not re-
nominated on the first ballot, he prob
ably would not be named at all. The
managers Of his campaign asserted that
he would be so chosen William
Barnes, jr., in denying the renewed re-
port Of additional defections in the New
York delegation insisted the delegation
was still morally bound to the Presi-
dent. He pointed out that the State
convention asked the delegates to do all
in their power to bring about the re-
nomination of the Chief Executive and
asserted that he saw little reason why
any delegate should choose to disregard
these instructions for any other can
dtdate.
Credentials Block Business.
Circulation Of the report that the Gre
dentials committee positively refused
to aid the steering committee by re-
porting in part on the contests filed be-
fore 1t, had a depressing effect on both
delegates and spectators, and fifteen
minutes before II o'clock, the hour set
for the convention to meet there was
only handful of spectators in the gal
leries. while on the floor there was not to
exceed a score of delegates
Chairman Root communicated with
Chairman Devine, Of the committee, but
he still insisted that he could not sane
ton any partial report.
What would be the user" he asked
the messenger. LAS long as there are
to be minority as we'll as majority re-
ports on the action of this committee,
see no sense of scattering the fire
Rather, I believe, 1t would be better to
let the delegates wait until we can put
the entire matter before. them and then
have an Intelligent solution reached"
Devine's suggestion to the steering
committee was that they meet and ad-
journ until tomorrow morning. but the
steering committee refused to accept
bring pressure to get some work on
which the delegates might get busy. At
10:45 no final decision on the matter had
been reached.
Delegates Getting Peeved.
As the delegates filed into their seats
there was much bitter criticism of the
muddle in which the convention had
been placed. Many of the delegates
frankly confessed that they were find
ing Chicago too expensive a place to re-
main In. and were suggesting that pos
sibly the hotel proprietors might have
more to do with the muddle than ap
peared on the surface.
At 1850 William Barnes, jr., and Col.
Harry c. New went to the national
committee headquarters to make a last
appeal to Chairman DeVine for action.
The peculiar part of the situation was
that the men who seemingly had the
most as stake. Barnes and the Taft
leaders, were willing to take a chance
and start things going, while Devine,
Maloy. and other organization men in
the committee, who had been depended
on to help out" were refusing to pull
the blocks from in front of the wheels
OF the convention chariot.
At ll:0l the convention hall galleries
were two-thirds filled, and all of the
delegates were in their seats.
Root Forces Action.
At that hour Chairman Root sent a
messenger to Chairman Deyine OF the