The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-06-14
BAND WAGON wins
OVER THE ROLLER
Many More Days Like Thurs
day and Taft Will Be
Down and Out.
BY CARL MOTE.


sentiment prevalent at the Congress
hotel, headquarters of the Roosevelt
and Taft national committees.
The sentiment was all Roosevelt.
Gloom hovered over the Taft head
quarters and that Taft managers could
not understand why the national COM
mittee had abandoned its original pro-
gram to unseat every contested Roose-
Welt delegate presented for the con-
sideration of the national committee.
Thursday was distinctively Roose-
Welt day. The Colonel got the four
delegates-at-large from Missouri and
four additional district delegates be-
sides four from North Carolina. OF the
twelve contested Roosevelt delegates
from Mississippi, Roosevelt captured
six, despite the fact that it was pre-
sumed all were for Taft. The Mississ-
ippi delegation numbers twenty men,
ten of whom are negroes, but it is be-
lieved that Col. Roosevelt will have
as many as eight and possibly ten
with him throughout the balloting.
Roosevelt Led Taft.
In reality, the actual score of yes
| terday's session of the national COM
mittee was as follows: Roosevelt
Mississippi, 6; Missouri, s; North Car
olina, 4; total IS. Taft-Mississippi,
g.; Missouri, 6; total, II.
In itself this is sufficient to have
made the majors and the brigadiers
and the generals at the Roosevelt
headquarters feel very much elated.
For the first time, it is assured that
| the race between Col. Roosevelt and
President Taft is dead heat with the
indications favoring a slight majority
for Taft on the temporary roll but with
| the attendant danger that the majority
| is only nominal and that the Roose-
Welt band wagon will deal more severe
ly with the margin of Taft delegates
than the. Taft steam roller dealt with
the contested Roosevelt delegates.
Has the national committee lost its
nerve? That is the question which
was paramount last night in the lobby
of the Congress hotel. Texas and
I Washington will tell Some maintain
that the eight delegates in Missouri
and the four in North Carolina were
given to Col. Roosevelt as a fine de,
ceit for the larger steals that are to
follow when the Texas and Washing
ton contests are decided. Others main.
ho 6
abandoned the idea that it can nomi
nate a president of the United States
and hereafter will decide cases on
their merits.
There was no more merit in the
cases decided yesterday than there
was in the Roosevelt cases in Ken
lucky, Arizona, California, the Ninth
Alabama and the Thirteenth Indiana
That the decision of the national
committee was wholly unexpected at
Taft headquarters and that it brought
the wiser ones to a realization that
Col. Roosevelt and his friends have
determined to proceed with the con
tests and that the presidential nomi
nation fight is to be fought on the
floor of the convention, was plainly
evident.
What Taft Men Claim.
Conservative estimates from the
Taft camp last night gave the presi
dent a majority of twenty on the tenn
William Barnes, national committee
man from New York, who arrived here
yesterday, heard that the Taft forces
were claiming victory on a majority
of twenty votes, he pondered for 6
moment and added, Then you are
beaten"
Col. Roosevelt can prevent the nomi
nation of Taft on the first ballot if h<
wins very many more of the contested
delegates votes. The national commit
tee is bound to seat every one of the
Taft delegates from Texas and Wash
j. ington to have even the temporary rol
) of the convention.
Sen. William S. Borah is to be thu
J Roosevelt candidate against Sen. Elih,
: Root for temporary chairman of the
convention. Sen. Borah's attitude be
fore the national committee will hav.
given him peculiar strength from tn,
simple fact that he has not denounc
, ed the committee savagely like Heney
Johnson and others. Borah is yer.
. popular with the national committee
The vice presidential nomination
which will go to Sherman il Taft il
nominated and will go to Gov. Hiram
Johnson of California or possibly Gov
J Hadley of Missouri if Roosevelt il
nominated. The platform will be ultr;
radical
Unless Col Roosevelt changes hi
mind, he will be in Chicago by mex
Saturday night This statement wa
made authoritatively today by a Re
publican who is very close to the Taf
movement.
James E Watson is ready to figh
and fight desperately unless he is an
pointed as the Indiana member of tn
committee on credentials. In fact
Watson may not vote for Taft O
Roosevelt since the present straine.
relations with the Taft managers il
Indiana developed. Watson is the on
Ily one of the delegates at large VIII,
was left off the Indiana slate OF mem
bership on important committees III,
does not want to violate the instrut
tions of the state convention. but tn
stern duty of casting vote for Taf
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