The Washington herald., 1912-06-11

which attended the opening of the COM
mittee session.
Asks Retirement Of Roller.
Finally. stnwen remarked that he had
not charged that the committee had a
steam roller-he merely asked that It
should not begin TO operate one.
Former United States Senator James
A. Hemenway addressed the commit
tee briefly on the delegate-at-large stu
alton. and Merrill Moore, OF Indianapolis,
who has frequently represented the Re-
publican State Committee, presented the
situation.
Then came the real surprise Of the
meeting. When a roll-call was ordered
the Roosevelt members voted with the
Taft members 10 seat the Taft men.
Frank B. Kellogg and Senator Borah
explained their votes. kellogg said that
while he was not convinced no fraud
had been committed. no specific charge
Of fraud had. been sustained by the evil
dence presented. Borah's reason for vot-
Ing with the Taft men was the same.
After the delegate-at-large contest was
out OF the way the work OF the COM
mlttee became easier The First district
Taft delegates. among them Hemen-
way, were seated. after a short hear
ing. The Third district. supposed to give
the Roosevelt men one OF their best
cases was also decided In favor Of the
Taft men. after a short hearing.
Kentucky Comes Neat.
The Roosevelt men. on their showing.
failed. the committee held. to prove that
the slight Taft majority in the district
convention had not been legally ac-
quired.
Gavel methods against them were
charged by the Roosevelt men as the
ground for presenting the Thirteenth
District contest. II was alleged that
In two counties in the district conven-
tion the vote was challenged after It
had been cast. Roosevelt men asserted
they had demanded that the delegates
Of the counties In question be polled.
The committee adopted the view OF the
Taft men who asserted that the chal-
lenges were interposed by men not MEM
bers Of the county delegations and that
the chairman had given both delegations
chance to get a poll. No delegate. II
was asserted, asked that this be done
and so the vote was allowed to stand
The committee adjourned after the In
diana contests were ended. Tomorrow
the Kentucky grist will be dropped into
the mill. A lively fight from the Blue
Grass State is expected, but hope that
they might win. was not conspicuous
about the headquarters Of the Roosevelt
men tonight The committee tomorrow
may get through with Kentucky, and
take up the Louisiana contests.
VigiIRntes Busy.
About headquarters to-day the Wig
iisnte" committees Of both factions were
busy. William Finn. OF Pittsburg. who
heralded his entrance into the fray Sat-
urday by giving out a lot OF singing
interviews directed at various members
Of the Taft general headquarters stan
had little to say to-day. Finn was busy,
however. He openeds the headquarters
Of his committee IN a new suite Of rooms
I'm the Congress Hotel, and laid his plans
for buttonholing delegates as they came
in. The fight for delegates has been made
a personal one on both sides, and the
committees Of both factions plan to see
every delegate as he comes in and try to
win him over.
The Taft men tonight were confident
that they had votes enough to nominate
Taft on the first ballot. They were not,
however. so sanguine that they could
hold them. Admittedly they fear the
effect OF a personal visit by Col. Roose-
welt and they expect H.
Begin Platform Talk.
Talk Of platforms took a more promi-
nent part to-day than II has at any
time since the politicians have begun 10
assemble. Three sets OF carpenters are
at work on platform building. One rep
resents La Toilette, one Taft, and one
Roosevelt.
Secretary Of the Treasury MacVeagh
dropped into the Taft headquarters to-
day. He is in Chicago 10 deliver an ad-
dress, but admitted he brought an i'm
portant message to the Taft leaders. A
number Of the later arrivals among the
politicians visited the various headquar-
tiers.
Clifford Pinchot and James r. Garfieki
were among the newly arrived Roose-
welt men who began their activities to-
day.