Bismarck daily tribune., 1912-06-06
Will give. THE
PEOPLE CHANCE
TO TAKE Choice
Robert M. McWade.
Smarck Tribune Washington Bure

an you takes your choice" So, the
dear public who are concerned about
the complexion of the Taft Roosevelt
l-aFollette- Cummins delegates to the
republican national convention at Chi
cago, on June l8, can suit themselves
as to which of the following official
statements they will believe:
Manager Mckinley, OF the latt
forces: II can confidently state that
the majority of the contested delegates
will be seated by the republican nation
al committee"
Manager Dixon of the Roosevetlans:
We are positive OF seating the dele
gates whom we will contest on legal
grounds"
Chairman Harry S. New, Of the re-
publican national committee: 1.-The
committee will treat both sides of the
present factional fight with absolute i'm.
partiality The square deal will rule
Much depends on the faithfulness OF
the Southern delegation, although the
Roosevelt people assert that they can
win without some OF Them Tatts
adherents admit that Ills hopes have not
improved by recent developments, but
they insist that he will have majority
on the first ballot, that the so-called
d-and-butter delegates from the
South VISA are instructed for Taft"
will stick to their colors, and that
threatened bolter ought not to have any
standing in a Republican national con-
vention, either as a candidate or other
wise.
Mr.. Roosevelt's lieutenants, OH the
other hand, while claiming some of
the Southerners, declare that many of
the Taft delegates have already assured
Teddy that they will be for him when
the time comes They are loudly
clamoring for open hearings of the con-
tested cases, an unheard of thing in
or at any national political convention
uf any party, and are announcing that
tho have more than maj ority now
of delegates eager to name Mr.. Roose-
velt 1t is quite within the probabili-
ties that the National Committee will
decide big proportion of the contests
in favor of Taft, for it must not be
forgotten that at the outset of the cam
paign, Roosevelt contests were started
in many instances before the conven-
tions met to elect their respective dele
gates. No matter how honestly or i'm
partially the committee may act, it will
%ssuredly be condemned by Teddy if it
happens to seat the Taft delegates.
Then, if the Roosevelt folks are de-
>feated, there will be howl about
fraud and the steam roller etc., and
MIR. Roosevelt will claim that he has
been cheated
An impartial glance over the situa-
ton discloses the fact that Mr.. Roose-
welt has again demonstrated his shrewd-
ness as practical politician-when he
couldn't get delegates he instituted con-
tests; and he made these so numer-
Gus that the balance Of power actually
rests with the disputed cases or con-
tests. He has announced that if these
cases are not settled in his favor, 1T
will be because of trickery and dis
esty on the part of the political bosses"
and, thus, he has paved the road for
justified bolt.
The possibilities looking to the hold
ing of two conventions, one of them
composed of boiling delegates, of the
appointment of conferees from each
convention to choose a candidate suit
able and satisfactory to all, of the
refusal of Mr. Roosevelt to abide by
the choice of the conferees, and of two
tickets being placed beore the country
"a Republican and a Rooseveltian.
MIR. Roosevelt will then have an op-
portunity of having Rooseveltian
party, composed not only of dissatis-
fed republicans, but of men of every
party who are willing to follow him
in his radical ideas, and to follow him
hlindly and zealously as the apostle of
change.
The figures now stand: Taft dele
gates, 488; Roosevelt, 452; LaFollette,
SO; Cummins, instructed and otherwise.
TO- Total number of delegates in re-
publican national convention, 1913. |
Needed to nominate Ga rnaority), $40. !
Needed to give Taft maj jority, 80
to give Roosevelt majority, 88; Elect
ed to date, 1856; yet to be chosen, %,
including Arizona, convention June 6, |
Ohio delegates at large and South Da- |
kota.
Among the democrats Champ Clark |
is still leading, with Governor Wilson
steadily gaining ground, the old line
democrats apparently fighting hard for |
the former There appears to be a
suspicion among Governor Wilson's
PSoPlC llldt tlle Ellple Sid It ludy llHO" |
its strength to Underwood, especially
in view of the announced candidacy OF
Congressman William Redfeld, Of
Brooklyn, for the vice presidential NOM
ination, hard working colleague
whom Underwood is said to favor very
strongly. However, as Champ Clark
is equally as staunch friend of the
Brooklynite as is Oscar, the probability
is that this supposition gathers force
through the fact of Congressman Wal
ter Mccoy, of New Jersey, being the
sponsor of Mr.. Redfeld. with whom he
is very chummy, both being outspoken
tariff reformers and close political STU
DENTS
So far as the other candidates, Har-
mon, Underwood, Marshall, Burke and
Baldwin. are concerned, there is no
change worthy of note to chronicle or
comment on. There is however, a re-
markable absence among the militant
democracy of anything like the vulgar
blackguardism which has been a con-
spicuous feature of the campaign of the
founder of the Ananias Club.