The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-06
REPUBLICAN FIGHT |bEG|NS TODAY WHEN \ COMMITTEE MEETS Taft Forces Will Attempt to
 Make Roots Election
 Permanent
CONSIDER CONTESTS
 FROM ALABAMA
Taft Forces Will Try to Prove Thompson Acted Without Au- thority-Mr. Hundley Will
 Argue the Cases

the full fOrce or ColOnel rRooseNeie . h7iiN to control the organization of the repub- | lcan national convention, by making per manent the temporary organization with Senator Elihu Root as chairman, was partially agreed upon today by Taft leaders who are here for the opening ses- sion of the republican national committee \ tomorrow.
 Control of the national committee by | Taft forces is said by them to be cer- | tain When the committee meets at 2 o'clock tomorrow to organize for the hearing of contested delegate cases the
 k Roosevelt forces will not attempt either K to seat R. B. Howell of Nebraska, to sue |s ceed Acting Chairman Rosewater, or to | eject a Roosevelt committeeman as pre-
 siding officer for the contest hearings. Howell Acting Alone Fresh from conferences with Colonel Roosevelt at oyster Bay, Senator Dixon and National Committeeman William L Ward of New York made it clear that E the Roosevelt managers were not behind | the claim of Mir. Howell to a seat on IN the committee He will endeavor to pre- IA sent his own case, contendng that his recent victory in the Nebraska primary entitled him to the place. but members of the committee expect speedy de-
 cision against him.
 E The committee will select successor E to Chairman John F Hill of Maine, who IN died last winter; adopt rules to govern the E hearing of the contest cases; decide whether to give publicity to the hearings | and arrange the time to be allotted for each case. There are at present more than 2sS delegate seats in the convention for which contests have been prepared by |s either Taft or Roosevelt. The first of the N cases will be taken up Friday morning.
 Senators Crane. Penrose and Sanders. |. who arrived from Washington today, |{ were kept busy canvassing the situation. |E tf is said Taftalesders regard at least E B of the B members of tie national com IA mittee as favorable to the Presidents candidacy
 Taft Forces Strengthen H The ultimatum from Colonel Roosevelt
 z that Senator Root must not be selected N as temporary chairman, which was reit- E eratea by Senator Dixon on his arrival K in Chicago, was met by strengthening K of the Taft forces in opposition | The Taft leaders determined not only to adhere to their purpose to seat Sen | ator Root but to call upon their forces | to help make him permanent chairman of the committee.
 The fight by Roosevelt attorneys for the contested delegates from southern states will include a claim of legality for every convention where they said they had a majority of the delegates. It is contended | that in many cases delegates were kept l out of the convention halls where such N excluded delegates would have made N me iority Colonel Roosevelt's representa- tives will demand that their conventions be recognized as the regular" ones Roosevelt Plans Outlined Senator Dixon outlined the Roosevelt l programme late today. He declared the N Roosevelt forces would fight to the last |5 in the effort to overthrow Senator Roo. Fl for temporary chairman of the conven- M ton.
 M The Roosevelt manager denied many N current stories regarding Colonel Roose- N yelts plans and asserted that mo state- E ments will come from any source but N my office.'' as to the plans of Roosevelt forces
 K .The vote against Senator Root is part II of the moral support which men pledged K to Roosevelt must give, if they are to carry out the spirit of their instruc- tions and pledges" he said .Believing in the perfect fairness of 1 the members of the national committee, I we have no fear in resting our contests upon their decision," he added K As to talk of a bolt from the conven- Y tior by the Roosevelt forces, he said:
 we have control of the convention irrespective of the contested seats, so all that kind of talk is junk.
 E The Taft leaders exhibited great con- r@enee during the day in their ability A of -ra1 1a1 \ delegates for the support of Senator Root | when the issue is forced. Taft confer ences were followed by the prediction that N delegates from Illinois. Maryland. Kan M sas Oregon and other states who will N vote for Roosevelts nomination will re- H fuse to support his forces in the fight H Asainst Senator Root.
 Il W Give Ont Taft Claims II The Taft contest attorneys. Charles \ Dick and Frederick c. Bryan, of Wash II in gton gave out today the basis of ! the Taft claims in the contest cases E from Alabama and Arkansas, which H will be called first by the national com N mittee Friday morning.
 P b Barker, national committeeman N and Pope NJ. Long. state chairman from II Alabama; General Powell Clayton, na- tfonal committeeman, and H. l.. Rem \ mell. state chairman of Arkansas. went over these cases with the attorneys and will assist in presenting the argu- ! ments 10 the committee.
 Tn the Alabama ases, Chairman Lon don contends that the delegates elect ed by conventions called by the regu- i. lar state organization hold title to the ! republican representation from the | state because of previous agreements under which the party was reorganized \ fin the state last year. The Taft forces will try to prove that J. 0. Thompson. who leads the contesting Roosevelt delegates. proceeded without party au- thority in calling the rival conyen- | tions
 Hundley to Argues Cases The Roosevelt headquarters gave out \ no synopsis of the contest cases Orms- by McHarg in charge of the Roose- l welt contests announced that Oscar R. l .Hundley of Birmingham. Ala Roose- ' welt leader in Alabama, would argue ! the contestants' case before the com ' mittee. In the Arkansas cases the
 Roosevelt delegates will be represent ed before the committee by J. A. Co.,
  &Continued on Page Eieven)