The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1912-05-16
FORCES Or ROOSEVELT AND
TAFT ARE, LINED UP FOR
A'DEATH STRUGGLE.
Balance of Power
Is Held Ivy Negroes, Staunch Friends
m The Former President, Who
Can Not be Depended Upon ia
Support Republican Ticket if
Taft Leads.
Especial tO The Advocate.

Especial tn The AdvOcate)
Nashville, Tenn., May 15.-Politics
is the main attraction in Tennessee
this week. All lines of both parties
lead to Nashville.
The Roosevelt Rough Riders are
very much in evidence They have
the fighting spirit Of the Colonel The
| Job-holderS' Of the administration are
mere. The two elements will get to-
gether with a rush in the. convention
today.
Hon James A. Fowler, assistant at
to1ney general Of the United States:
the Hon. Sam Sells, congressman from
the, First District, and J. G.. Napier,
heglster of the Treasury, are among
! the "job-holders" who have come as
| TART 'spell-binders." Oliver and his
nghtlng mountaineers from East Ten
nessee and the majority Of the Me-
! grnes are Roosevelt men Both sides
: are claiming the advantage. The
! roosevelt men are demanding "a
square deal" The Taft men claim the
! whole thing but the winner will not
| be known until the adjournment of
| the convention
| 'The Negro?" is an eternal mes-
'loh IN tennessee politics now Here
IN Nashville where Napier, as the ad-
! mlhlsratlOn man, ought to be boss, -
! ne mas no influence in politics among the
majority Of Negro voters. This, is
generally true throughout the State
| The Black Cabinet of the Taft ad-
mlnistration individually and as q
whole do not represent the ~political
opinion of the Negroes of Tennessee e
ana theS have no more weight in
tennessee politics than a. snow flake
mas chance, in a fiery furnace. Ten
neSsee Negroes have had enough of
Taft and if he is the party nominee
next June at Chicago two things may
be expected in this state: Tafts NOM
| nation will place the state in the
hands of the Democratic party, and in
the national election there will be no
L.
didates.
! The Negroes of the State are all
ready on the road to reorganization
in the Republican party. The gray
halrs, grafters, skin-flnts and job
hunters are rapidly passing away.
Some are being put away. There is
to be a new order Of things. A re-
Organization has already taken place
In Davidson county. T. Clay Moore,
young man Of bright parts was
elected chairman of the Davidson
County Republican Convention held
May in A. N. Johnson's Majestic
Theatre. He was chosen to lead the
fourteen delegates elected by this con
Venhon at the state convention today
The convention that elected Moore and
named the delegates declared in strone
1 resolutions that the Republican -Coun-
ty Executive Committee had not car.
ried out the law governing the primar.
les to select delegates, but instead OIL
a primary, list of delegates had beer
! hht'ue up Wy TIE ring at It's own die
tatlon and that these so-called dele.
gates were entirely unrepresentative OF
the rights and interests of the mass
and popular expression of Davidson
county Republicans. The business
transacted by the convention repre-
i senting the Taft interests was repu
dated, and delegates to the Distric
and State Convention, held today, were
= named. The delegates Of the new Da
wilson County Convention are in
, structed to vote for Large
: who will vote for Theodore Roose
welt in the National Convention. Thi,
I is Napier's county and it can be seer
, very readily that, as Taft man, h,
has little weight with the voters.
There is already lot Of anti-Hoop
er talk among the supporters o
Roosevelt. Treasurer Tom Taylor j.
for Roosevelt. He leads one wing 0
the party and can command the sup
port Of the Negro voters Of Tennes
see It is reported that the Secont
:, Congressional Convention for tn
o Ninth district will be held in Unio1
City May -, and that the ball viii
then be started rolling for another Re
publican gOvern0r-probably Ali Tay
I lOr, brother Of T. "BOb" Tavlor n