The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-15


 
 Charles Banks, one of the negro dele gates at large from Mississippi, seated by the national committee and credited to Taft. In this letter Banks purported to be returning to MT. Mckinley a sum of money alluded to in the letter as a few hundred dollars" and referred to as having been advanced to him by the Taft people for expenses of some of the delegates from Mississippi"
 The reply of the Taft headquarters, in the form of a remark from Mckinley, was brief and oracular. MT. Mckinley said:
 q hope every republican will read the Banks letter with extreme care, and then draw his own conclusions. Its disclosures are Illuminating. Its issuance from the Roosevelt headquarters is significant" It was more than intimated that this was merely the forerunner of more spe- cific material to be issued from the Taft headquarters tomorrow.
 Such talk as there was tonight about the matters incidental or subsidiary to
 Tail Goes With Hide Obviously, as one leader put it. the tail goes with the hide," whoever has the majority of the delegates will con trol the temporary organization and
 
 and resolutions. If it turns out that the Taft people have votes enough tS nominate, their slate already announced. presumably will go through to success. If the Roosevelt people have the majority they claimed tonight-they would give no | fgures-they can name their own tenn porary chairman and otherwise organ | ize the convention.
 One of the rumors late today was that there had been overtures from the ! Roosevelt to the LaFollette people In l the form of an offer to join in. the selection as temporary chairman of some one to be selected by Senator La Toilette or his adherents. It was said that the LaFollette men rejected the proposal.
 Behind the conflict of claims between the adherents of the leading candidates and the grim silence from the LaFol- lette camp their rose up lively little show of hope, almost it might be dis covered as confident in the Iowa dele gation, that out of the turmoil would come at last the nomination of Sen ator Cummins. The Iowa men were not claiming anything except that their senator and ex-governor was the most available man"
 Banks Letter Published
 letter written by Charles Banks, one of the negro Taft delegates at large from Mississippi to Director Me- Kinley of the Taft headquarters, an- nounced that he would support Roose- welt and was returning 'the money placed in my hands, at your suggestion, to defray travelling expenses of some of the delegates from Mississippi" was given out tonight by Senator Dixon, manager for the Roosevelt campaign, and created a sensation in political circles. The letter was unaccompanied by explanation from the Roosevelt managers further than that ESenator Dixon received at Roosevelt headquar- ters this afternoon the following copy of letter sent today to Hon. William E. Mckinley"
 Banks and his associates on the Taft delegation at large were seated by lthe national committee yesterday against the protests of the Roosevelt contestants from the state The letter alleged to have been writ ten to MT. Mckinley by Banks:
 "In keeping with my suggestion of yesterday I am returning to you here with the money placed in my hands, at your suggestion, to defray traveling expenses of some of the delegates from Mississippi
 "It is apparent that someone con pected with your campaign has been continually trying to discredit me be- 
 for some time.
 Did Not Solicit Aid "When I was in Washington a few weeks ago looking after the new fed- eral court bill from Mississippi and called at your headquarters, your as- sistant, without any suggestion from me whatever, brought up the matter of expenses for delegates from my state. I told him then and there in your presence that so far as l was concerned I would not accept any ex- pense money for me whatever
 You then proposed that I take enough for the rest of the delegates. 1 stated to you that they were all men who could get to Chicago and you could look after them here. Both of you, however, proposed that the matter be closed then, to which I agreed"
 Banks says in the letter that when he reached Chicago last Wednesday he learned that someone had informed the Mississippi delegate that you had given me lot of money for them. as well as for myself" He adds that 'I am returning you herewith the money and you can do as you see fit"
 Tn turning from the support of your candidate 1t may be urged that I have violated instructions" the letter says.
 T shall say nothing of the condi- tionss under which the convention fs- sued instructions unless later develop ments require It, but no member of the delegation from Mississippi will say with justice to his conscience that was elected on the strength of or al- liance with, any particular candidate.'