The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-14
Insurgents Make Bitter Fight
in State Committee.
WANT A STATE CONVENTION
Date VIII Probably Be Fixed
for May z.
DOIIey Primary Plan Is on the
Rocks.

naittee met at O'Clock this after
noon the indications were that tn
Taft men were in control of the meet
ing. They claimed Sc votes NOR
than enough for a working majority
Their program was to call a state con
Vcntfon at Topeka May and to pas
resolutions endorsing the Taft admin
istration and favoring the president
denomination 1t is almost certain
that this program will go through
without a hitch. The Taft men have
the votes. The Roosevelt supporter:
admitted at noon today that theiI
only chance was to keep proxies from
voting and they did not believe they
had the votes to do that.
All trains from the west into To
peka were late last night on account
of snowdrifts and western members
of the state committee did not arrive
until today. Sentiment expressed
early today in regard to the probable
action of the committee this evening
was strongly in favor of the conven-
ton over the primary plan. In fact
a poll of the committeeman present
developed the fact that fifty four were
for the convention. This is over half
of the 1O5 members, and majority
even if all should be present at the
meeting.
The Taft men have been active for
several days and have secured large
number of proxies from committee
men who cannot come to topeka 10
attend the meeting. Taft men are
claiming the committee for the presl-
dent and declare that the primary
plan will not have a chance at the
District Action Has Influence.
The action of the First, Second,
Third and Seventh congressional com
mittees in calling conventions Will also
have its effect on the deliberations OF
the committee today. But the ch1ef
obstacle in the way of the primary
plan without a law behind 1t is the
cost. The county chalrmen nave no
funds with which to print the ballots
and rent polling places ana pay ne
scores of incidental expense bills at
tendant upon the holding of prl-
mary. With this fact staring tneIn
in the face the committeeman mes. nesl-
tate to call a primary on genera! prln-
ciples and trust to providence to pay
the bills
train service the attendance TO-DAY az
the committee meeting was large.
Republican leaders from every con-
gressiona1 district are here IN num-
bers to promote the interests OF their
candidate for the presidency. For eV-
cry committeeman present there are
two Republican leaders The Ma
tionaI hotel was hive of political in
dustrv all day. The lines between the I
Roosevelt and Taft men were more
sharply drawn today than ever be
fore. The regulars are full OF hghr
and confidence. With four congress
sional committees out or eight nenlnu
them they are claiming fnsurgent |
Kansas the home of one of the orig
inal Roosevelt governors, for Taft.
They declare that while Stubbs was IN
the east and north making RooseVelt
fCiF
colonel his own state was wheeling
into the Taft column
The fight today between the IN
surgents and regulars was bitter and
was not one-sided by any means. The
Roosevelt men made open charges
that the Taft men had secured proxies
by the wholesale, using both falr
means and foul. They charge post
masters and federal office holders
with resorting to old machine methods
to rnuzzIe public sentiment Governor
Stubbs was very indignant the gov
ernor expressed himself forcibly in
denouncing the methods of the men
who run the congressional conventions
YESTERDAY The governor named the
following postmasters and tederal ap-
pointees who had formed a lobby to
eliminate the primary plan: John
Weltmer of Hiawatha. w. D. Casey
of Atchison. Guy Swallow of Leaven-
worth. H. H. Tucker of Holton, w. I.
Biddle of Leavenworth and A. B.
Z
Stubbs Wires Protest to Taft.
The governor sent the following
m essage of protest to President Taft.
Topeka, Kan, March 13, 1912.
''Hon. VIM. H. Taft,
president of the United states,
washington, D. c. I
Your representatives and political
managers in Kansas are using every .
m cans in their power to prevent pres :
fdential primaries being held in this ,
state. The caucus and convention sys-
tenn which they propose to use to Sc
cure delegates for you at the national
at Chicago will disfran- ,
chise fully go per cent of the Repub- !
lican voters of Kansas.
Federal patronage is being dangled :
before the eyes of committeeman and 5
thoroughly disreputable methods are |
being used to influence the election of
delegates favorable to you. The state &
central committee meets in Topeka c
tomorrow for the purpose of calling a
iirect primary election for the state.
In order to discredit this movement, c
which, in my opinion, is favored by /
Is out of every 100 Republicans in Kan f
;as. four congressional district COM V
nittees, whose chairmen are under the c
control of your political managers, call Il
ID meetings today to arrange for dis e
rict conventions without primaries. At o
he First district committee meeting a I
obby consisting of the following fed a
raj appointees, to-wit: Casey. Biddle, :
swallow. Tucker, Burdick and Weltmer I
we're present advocating the elimination
f primaries. In the Second congress f
fonal district the Kansas City, Kan e
nd Paola postoffices are being used 70 e