Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-08-01
TAFT NOMINATION
FREE FROM FRAUD
Statement from White House Re.
views Each Contest at the
Chicago Convention.

day. It reviews every contest before the
republican national committee and the
credentials committee of the convention
and asserts that each contest was set
tied logically, upon its merits. The state
ment was submitted to the cabinet at
recent meeting and received the approval
of the Presidents official family.
The statement which is lengthy docu-
ment Of 144 printed pages, is n detailed
denial of the charge that the renomina-
ton OF President Taft was accomplished
by the seating of fraudulently elected
delegates to the convention. 1t takes up
individually tho 23s contests Instituted by
the Roosevelt forces against Taft dele
gates who were seated. and presents evil
dcnce In each of these cases to show
that the Taft delegates were regularly
elected.
A resume of the statement prepared by
Charles ID. lTilles, formerly President
Tafts secretary and now chairman Of
tho republican national committee, takes
up each contest briefly.
This resume opens with the declaration
that the Roosevelt contests. as original
~ filed before the national committee.
were not instituted in good faith.
THE total number Of delegates sum
moncd to the convention, says the
resume. was LOIS. with $40 necessary
to choice. Mr.. Taft had 561 votes on
the first and only ballot and was de-
clared the nominee. There were institute
ed against 23S of the delegates regularly
elected for Taft. contests on behalf of
Roosevelt. These contests were avowcdly
far, he
securing seats in the convention, not for
the purpose of adducng evidence which
would lead any respectable court to en-
terrain the contests. but for the purnoso
of dccciving the public into the belief
that Roosevelt had more votes than he
really had as the conventions and prim-
aries were in progress for the selection of
delegates. The Two hundred and thirty.
eight contests We're reduced by abandon.
ment. formal or in substance, to a. The
very fact Of these Ia frivolous contests
itself reflects upon the genuineness ana
validity OF the remainder"
The resume then enumeratos the con-
tests, and reviews the arguments in each
case. The review of the evidence I'm the
contests embraced in the White Uouso
statement is certified to by Victor Rose
water. chairman of the national commit
tee, and Thomas II. Devine, chairman of
the credentials committee. As an appen-
diX. the statement carries in detail the
vote in the national committee on each
OF the contests. and statement of the
Gates OF the Taft and Roosevelt conven-
tons in contos ted States. The object of
IL" latter is to show that the Roosevelt
delegates We're chosen after the rc.ul lr
conventions had named Taft representa-
ives
Another appendix is the report of the
crclen falls committee to the convention.
III which the statement issued by the
Roosevelt; committeeman attacking the
majority of tie committee Vas answered.
IL discussing the charge the report said :
The statement as II whole in its in
situations OF combination Of unworthy
motive, in its recital of alleged facts.
is grossly ana maliciously untrue, 1t
was intended to convey the impression
tn1t the time for hearing cases was
so limited as to prevent their being
properly presented to the committee.
The untIuthfulness of this statement
Is clearly shown by the records of the
committee and the newspaper reports
of its deliberations. Not only did the
rules make liberal provision for time
in presenting the cases. but in every
instance whore the parties presenting
the cases, or any members of the COM
mittee, asked for an extension of time.
1t was granted
The statement of the Roosevelt
members of the committee asserted
that the speed with watch the Gre
dentials committee brought in reports
made it evident that the reports ha 1
| been prepared beforehand" In reply
| to this statement. the appen lix to the
| White House statement said:
I'm regard to the assertion that re-
ports were prepared in advance of
! the action of the committee on cre-
dentials. no one of the gentlemen who
makes this statement will state of ais
own personal knowledge that any re-
ports were thus made"
| In concluding. the majority of the Gre
dentials committee, defending its decision
said
| las to the merits of these contested
cases upon which the committee passed II
| should be remembered that the national
| committee sat for IL days hearing evidence
and argument upo.. them. Ont of a tota
membership of % only Is members of that
committee objected to the findings and de
| cisions and they only with regard 10 q
| part of the cases. the action of the com
| mittee having been unanimou, with re-
gard to n majority of them. The conven
! ton declined, by substantial majority
| t. reverse the action Of the national COM
mittee, and 1t referred the contested casos
| to the committee on credentials. Wher
| our committee met. rules were adopted b,
| unanimous vote. No one desiring tC
| make complaint as to the seating of any
delegate was prevented from presentni
his case. The committee even considered
cases which had been decided by unan
nous vote of the national committee, no
tably the Indiana case.
1.-The committee on credentials OF tho
republican national convention consists
of SO members. The committee in every
case sustained the decision of the ma
tonal committee. and in no case by ma
jorities of less than two-thirds. This
| statement of facts, endorsed by 10 mem
| bers of the committee, who listened pa
ticntly through all-day and a'l-night SEES
sions to evidence and argument in or
der to be able to Judge cases intelligent,
ana pass upon them honestly, should b'
n sufficient answel to the reckless, IN
warranted and untruthfu assertions con
tanned in the statement signed by al
members of the committee. two of whom
did not attend sessions OF the commit
tee, did not hear any of the evidence pre-
scented. and nearly all of whom indi