Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-06-18

vention, which would in turn select
delegates to the state convention. Later,
he said, a small minority OF the
county committee met as an executive
committee" and proceeded 'lawlessly
and without authority to rescind the
! mittee. he said, then appointed" a
delegation to the state convention.
Upon this rests the sole claim Of the
Taft delegation to a seat in the national
| convention" declared Senator Poindex-
ter. .4 ~@gs. ~
When the state convention met" he
continued, force and fraud were used
ma ority Of the Roosevelt delegates en-
tering the hall. The doors and win
dows were barred.
1T is said by some friends of Mr..
Taft that the national committee Will
take the position that 1t cannot go
back Of the decisions Of the state COM
n1ittee. II that is true, the state COM
mittee becomes complete dictator
IF, contrary to the wishes of the peo-
pie of Washington, their votes are cast
in the national convention, the people
OF our state will not stand for it, 1t
will not be representation, but misrep-
RESERVATION, tyranny"
Senator Poindexter declared he pre-
ferred the divine right of kings" to the
divine right of committees" If the
Washington Taft delegation was seat
ed. he said, it would be by "autocratic
and lawless Methods
TAFT Man Makes Reply.
W. T. Dovell Of Seattle. representing
the Taft delegates. declared the repre-
sensations made by his opponents were
the worst misstatements of facts that
had ever gone forth.
Senator Poindexter is not respons-
LII ~ he
nor in the state, but the gentleman who
preceded him is responsible for those
statements"
Mr.. Dovell referred to the state COM
mittee as the "unlawfully constituted
authority which had properly de-
termined" what delegates should sit In
the state convention.
LAS rapidly as Taft delegation was
selected contest would be filed against
it." he said. These contests were all
frivolous. The Roosevelt people con-
ceived the clumsy Idea that in that way
they could disqualify the Taft dele
gates from voting on temporary roll
CALL" .'-. ..-,.
In Ferry county. Mr. Dovell asserted,
a Roosevelt committee picked a Roose.
Welt delegatlon' to the state conven-
ton. In Walla Walla county, he said,
Roosevelt committee did the same
thing. Other county committees, he
charged. had been packed especially the
King county aggregation.
NO pretense was made Of observing
the law in the primary, and only 5000
votes were cast" Mr.. Dovell said.
He declared there was no way of tell
ing who was the choice for president
in Washington.
-Four counties held preferential pri
maries and two went for Taft hnd two
for Roosevelt" he said.
The committee seated the fourteen
Taft delegates by a single decision. To
Mr. Mulvane's- motion to seat them
Frank B. Kellogg offered a substitute
to seat the Roosevelt delegation, head
ed by Senator Poindexter. The Roose-
welt men could muster but ten votes on
their demands for roll calls and the
Kellogg motion was defeated.
Bieber Contest Brief.
The District of Columbia case oc-
cupied but little time. Committeeman
Bieber himself a contestant, asked that
his delegation be seated on the ground
primaries were held were changed by
the Taft men and ballot boxes were
withheld long after the closing Of the
polls. Election Judges, he asserted.
failed to return the results at the re-
quired time.
Aaron Bradshaw, head Of the Taft
delegation. denied there had been any
irregular proceeding. The Taft dele
gates were seated after motion 10
seat the Roosevelt men had been de-
feated. ..
The fourth district contest in North
Carolina, which had been hanging fire
for several days. was then called as the
contest on the docket" 1t was a
contest between two rival Roosevelt
factions, there being no Taft contest
ant. The committee seated the faction
represented by j. G. L. Harris and j. c.
Mathews. Final adjournment was then
taken. ... ..- ,.